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(FILES) In a file picture dated 30 January 2003, Iran’s dissident cleric, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri (R), once in the line to lead the country after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, meets with supporters and journalists after being freed from five years of house arrest in the holy city of Qom, about 120kms south of Tehran. Montazeri has called for direct talks between Tehran and Washington to avert a war over Iran’s nuclear programme, his office said, 06 November 2007. In statements to student leaders Montazeri also criticised the judiciary 06 November over a recent spate of student arrests, as another student leader was reportedly detained by the authorities. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)