Iran’s Supreme Leader has renewed his concern about the mass protests after the disputed 2009 Presidential election, declaring the regime’s strength while warning of the continued efforts of the “enemy”.

More than a million Iranians marched in the days after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “won” the June 2009 vote, with widespread claims of regime manipulation to ensure that opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi did not lead the first-round poll. The demonstrations continued for months, until a combination of detentions, repression, and regime-organized rallies helped put down the Green Movement. The regime’s success was marked by a mass march on December 30, 2009.

Mousavi, fellow 2009 candidate Mehdi Karroubi, and Mousavi’s wife, activist and academic Zahra Rahnavard, were put under strict house arrest in February 2011 to blunt any possibility of further protest.

Ayatollah Khamenei said on Tuesday that Iran must continue to strengthen itself in the face of “enmity”:

Today, the geometry defining the arrogant powers’ confrontation with the Islamic Republic is directed toward robbing the Iranian nation of its material and spiritual power and conviction. In turn, we should preserve and strengthen that power day by day.

Portraying domestic dissent as a US-led campaign for regime change, he compared Washington to a burglar, “They would attempt to disarm the householder through guile and various means such as talking, joking, smiling, and rebuking [so they could] enter the house.”

The Supreme Leader maintained that the December 30, 2009 march had shown the regime’s strength in confronting the enemy threat. He denied that the “unique” event had been organized by Iranian officials, saying it was propelled by “intellectual power”.

“Vigilance Against Sedition”

High-ranking regime members echoed Khamenei’s line. Head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani said the “dossier” on the 2009 protests remains open. He denied any legitimacy for protests, saying they gave enemies the “green light” to interfere in Iran’s politics and to increase pressure and sanctions against the regime. The new commander of the paramilitary Basij Organization, General Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, called on his force to be “vigilant against possible sedition in the future.”

Leading officials continued to rule out any trials for Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard. The deputy head of Iran’s armed forces, General Massoud Jazayeri, said that the trio deserve “harsh punishment” through their house arrests.

Friday Prayers leaders said last week that the Green Movement leaders would be condemned to death in any public trial. Karroubi had renewed the movement for a hearing in April, in a letter which has been endorsed by a number of Iranian politicians.