Liberal Iranian leader commemorated

Several thousand Iranians have attended a memorial service in Tehran for the former liberal prime minister, Mehdi Bazargan, despite threats of disruption from Islamic militants who opposed him.

On Tuesday, the supporters of Mr Bazargan were beaten up by Muslim radicals as they gathered at a mosque to commemorate him.

The Iranian authorities condemned the attack.

Mr Bazargan, who died three years ago, was prime minister after the Islamic revolution in 1979, but later fell out with Iran's religious leadership.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service