Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- The Iranian government kept a heavy security presence across central portions of the capital Monday, and blocked the homes of opposition leaders after they called for rallies in support of the uprising in Egypt.
Last week, the Iranian government rounded up activists after opposition leaders Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Moussavi called for supporters to gather at Tehran's Azadi Square -- the site of mass protests by Iran's opposition movement after the disputed 2009 presidential elections.
Security forces on Monday blocked roads leading to Moussavi's home, his opposition website Kaleme reported. The website also said phone lines and cell phone service to the area have been cut off.
Plain-clothes security forces blocked Moussavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, from leaving their home Monday, said Kaleme and another opposition website, Saham News.
"This is what we've been told do," security forces said when Rahnavard asked why she couldn't leave, Sahan reported. "We're sorry."
Surveillance cameras, installed outside Karrubi's home have been stolen and destroyed, Kalame reported.
About 50 riot police on motorcycles were seen heading toward Azadi Square, while 100 more were stationed at Ferdowsi Square in the city center.
Iranian authorities had warned against holding the rally, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
"We definitely see them as enemies of the revolution and spies, and we will confront them with force," Revolutionary Guard Cmdr. Hossein Hamedani told IRNA.
The government's stance on the rally was in stark contrast to its position in the days following the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The head of Iran's National Security Council and other Iranian authorities had lauded this development, comparing "the Egyptian Revolution with the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution," according to Iran's state-run media.
The White House says such threats to stifle dissent and mass communication suggest that Iran's government is not willing to let its people voice their views and embrace freedom.
"They are scared," then-press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday, hours after Mubarak stepped down.
"That's why they threatened to kill anybody that tries to do this," Gibbs of the Iranian government. "That's why they have shut off all measure of communication."
Over the weekend, Iranian authorities blocked the word "Bahman" -- the 11th month of the Persian calendar -- from Internet searches within the country, according to an opposition website.
The measure appears to be an effort by Iranian authorities to obstruct access to several websites that are promoting the rally -- the 25th day of Bahman, Saham News reported Saturday.
Sources : cnn
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