Iranian security forces have limited the movements of a leading opposition figure by refusing to protect him when he leaves his home,his son said on Wednesday as authorities broadened their crackdown with a new wave of arrests that included the sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. Iran's worst internal violence in three decades has grown increasingly violent and bitter in the wake of clashes Sunday that left at least eight people dead. Security forces also arrested a relative of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday,while government supporters held rallies in at least three cities. Iran accused the US and Britain of fomenting the violence,threatening to "slap" Britain in the face as it summoned the British ambassador to an urgent meeting. The son of leading opposition figure Mahdi Karroubi told The Associated Press by telephone that guards assigned to his father by Iranian police stopped yesterday providing security for him when he goes out,apparently under police orders. Police have for years provided leading opposition figures with security. Taghi Karroubi said the measure means his father cannot go outside safely,calling it a "quasi-house arrest."
