A senior member of Iran’s judiciary on Monday night said that “any words or statements” encouraging people to “create insecurity” would be considered a crime, in a veiled warning to Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the opposition leader who continues to tell supporters protesting at the outcome of the June 12 election that peaceful rallies are their legal right.

The warning on state television came after the head of parliament’s judiciary committee, Ali Shahrokhi, had earlier said that the candidate’s call for “illegal protests” and his “provocative statements” were “criminal acts” that should be “confronted firmly”.