TEHRAN - DEFEATED Iranian presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi called for a mourning ceremony to be held on Thursday for protesters killed in demonstrations since the June 12 election.

'I invite my fellow citizens to hold a mourning ceremony for the martyrs of the past few days,' Mr Karroubi, a reformist, said in a statement on the website of his Etemad Melli (National Confidence) party on Monday.

State radio said on Monday at least 457 people had been detained in street clashes in Tehran on Saturday that left 10 people dead, bringing the overall toll from a week of violence to at least 17.

'Unfortunately those who can not tolerate people's civil and peaceful behaviour are seeking to establish an atmosphere of fear and fright and a disturbing security climate to impose the will of a minority on the majority,' Mr Karroubi said.

The time and location of the mourning ceremony will be announced later, he added.

The Combatant Clerics Assembly, a reformist group headed by former president Mohammad Khatami, added its voice to Mr Karroubi's call for a ceremony to mourn the dead protesters.

'The assembly insists that people nationwide be allowed to mourn one day for their martyrs and (other) people take part in the mourning ceremony in full safety,' the group said in a statement posted on its website on Monday.

Mr Karroubi, who wants the whole election to be staged again, also urged Iranian authorities to 'quickly release the arrested people' and deliver the bodies of the 'martyrs' to their families.

He called for the ending of censorship and the removal of pressure on press and other media.

The Combatant Clerics Assembly also voiced support for the people's right to protest and backed Mr Karroubi and the other two defeated candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mohsen Rezai in calling for a re-election.

'Millions of noble people believe that their votes have been played with and that their intelligence has been insulted, so they have spontaneously taken to the streets to shout their pain and humiliation,' the group said. -- AFP