Mehdi Karroubi’s family announced on Sunday that after two angiography operations on the ailing opposition leader, a pacemaker was put in his heart.

Karroubi who was a presidential candidate in the controversial 2009 presidential election, has been repeatedly hospitalized in the last few weeks, due to his heart ailment.

Karroubi along with Mir Hossein Mousavi, rejected the official results of the 2009 elections, which installed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term as president.

This led to widespread protests by millions of people who believed their votes were disregarded. After a long period of recurring protests, the Islamic Republic put the two politicians under house arrest in February 2011.

Karroubi’s wife, Fatemeh Karroubi told Iran’s Saham News that the house arrest must be reconsidered. She reiterated that the most urgent issue is the presence of intelligence agents in their house, complicating her husband’s already fragile health situation.

During their six years of their confinement, both Mr. Karroubi, 79 and Mousavi, 75 have experienced more and more health problems.

Although it is not yet clear who has exactly ordered the house arrests but many believe that the Supreme Leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei is personally responsible for the decision.

Iran’s Constitution grants wide powers to the Supreme Leader, but according to Article 30, no one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law.