Iran bracing for Green Movement protests?

STANFORD, Calif., May 14 (UPI) -- A refusal by Tehran to hand over the bodies of five executed prisoners is a stark warning to the opposition movement, U.S. experts on Iran said.

The Iranian government is refusing to return the bodies of five people executed for alleged ties to terrorist organization to their families. Authorities are said to be concerned their return would spark unrest in the Kurdish provinces of northern Iran.

Though the executed have no connection to the opposition Green Movement, analysts told National Public Radio that the response from Tehran was a message to the opposition.

"The regime is clearly trying to send a very, very strong message to the opposition, to the Green Movement, that it is going to deal very harshly with the prospects of a demonstration on the anniversary of the June election," said Stanford University's Abbas Milani.

Opposition leader and former Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi said the executions were unjust. Mousavi, who leads the Green Movement, challenged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June elections.

Many Mousavi supporters believe Ahmadinejad stole the election, sending Iran into political violence not seen since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Mousavi supporters are said to be preparing for demonstrations to mark the one-year anniversary of the disputed election June 12.