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TEL AVIV – In a new level of crackdown against daily protests, the Iranian government reportedly has issued orders prohibiting all mosques in Tehran from holding memorials or publicly mourning the deaths of riot victims.

The order comes as amateur video released Saturday capturing the violent death of a female protester has become an iconic image in Iran and abroad, prompting scores of mosques to schedule memorials for 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan.

The 40-second video, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.com, shows Soltan walking with her father among demonstrators before she is filmed on the ground with blood coming from her nose and mouth as attempts are made to save her life.

People around Soltan are heard screaming. A white haired man is seen pleading with her: "Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!"

The image is now being compared to the picture of an unnamed man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989 that came to symbolize the protests against China's communist regime.

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The banning of memorials for Soltan and others apparently represents another way the Iranian government is working to combat the opposition movement demonstrations, aside from shooting live ammunition and tear gas at protesters.

'Bullet fee'

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