Iran has banned an ally of the country’s opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi from leaving the Islamic state, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Abolfazl Fateh, head of Moussavi’s media office, said the ban would not change his political stance, adding he was banned from leaving Iran because of his role in post-election developments.

“Such pressures cannot push people like me to change our political stances,” he told IRNA. “The imposed ban will not change my political views.”

The state-run Iran newspaper said Fateh, who had been studying for a doctorate in Britain, was banned from leaving the country because of his involvement in post-election developments.

The direct confrontation over Iran’s presidential election was effectively silenced on Friday when the Moussavi said he would seek permits for any future protests, an influential cleric suggested that leaders of the demonstrations could be executed.

Moussavi posted a report containing a long list of irregularities on his website. He he also signaled that the street phase of the protests was ending, saying on his Web site that he would try to seek permits for future protests — permits the government has consistently refused.