Free Republic

The Iranian leader found himself at the centre of bitter infighting within the Iranian establishment when he dismissed his intelligence minister after his choice for vice-president was overruled by the country's Supreme Leader. The backlash intensified when another minister offered his resignation in protest at Mr Ahmadinejad's move at the weekend. The tit-for-tat exchange between feuding elites threatened his already embattled grasp on power after his disputed election victory in the presidential election last month which provoked street protests and allegations of mass fraud at the ballot box.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's supreme leader ordered the closure of a prison where rights workers say protesters detained in the country's election turmoil have died, officials said Tuesday, as the head of the opposition sharply condemned the wave of arrests. The order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was a nod to concerns over the treatment of the hundreds arrested after the disputed June 12 presidential election. Authorities appear to be paying greater attention to the complaints after the son of a prominent conservative figure died in prison — reportedly the same one closed by Khamenei.

Mr. McCOTTER. Madam Speaker, the Iranian people's peaceful struggle for freedom continues despite the tyrannical regime's barbarous crackdown. In fact, in his Friday's sermon, former President Rafsanjani called into question the legitimacy of the present government and rebuked the regime for its crackdown on peaceful protesters and its cavalier rejection of the cries that the election was stolen. Finally, former President Rafsanjani called upon the regime to free and fully account for all those peaceful freedom seekers who have been arrested in the repression. Then, on Sunday, former President Khatami called for a referendum on the legitimacy of the Iranian...

When Iranians want to highlight someone's isolation, they use the proverb: "Ali is left with his pond!" The proverb was on many minds last Monday during a live telecast of ceremonies in which Ali Khamenei, the "Supreme Guide" urged "the elite" to close ranks behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The cameras did their best to show that, in this instance at least, Ali was not alone at his pond. The "Supreme Guide" was surrounded by men in uniforms, sporting ferocious beards. There were a dozen or so African dignitaries in colorful tribal attires. (What they were doing there we never fond...

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's supreme leader told politicians Monday not to disturb the country's security in a strong warning to the opposition to back down after one of its top figures called for a referendum on the government. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed "Iran's elite" and warned them to be cautious in the positions they take on the turmoil that has shaken the country since the disputed presidential election on June 12.

A very interesting article appeared recently indicating that the Iranian armed forces may be starting to politicize themselves as some officers were arrested for planning to attend Rafsanjani Friday sermon in uniform (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/19/iran-army-officers-arrested ). Those of you who have followed my previous posts will note that the most significant event in a revolution is when the security organs either move against or refuse to act against Khameni and Co. are looking more and more like Hans Brinker trying to shove their fingers into a leaky dike. A couple of weeks ago it looked as if they had managed to stifle...

"Friday Prayers, another occasion to come out into the streets As with other such days, I felt a dual sense of fear and fervor, heightened by the uncertainty of whether people would turn out or not. I arranged to go with friends, because the past month’s experiences have taught me that going alone is unsafe. I remembered to put my name and number on a piece of paper in my pocket so if anything happens to me, my family can be notified. Two kilometers left to the venue: Tehran University, Prayer Hall" -- "Generosity has become commonplace in Tehran these...

Tens of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran yesterday to hear the country’s most influential powerbroker pronounce the Islamic Republic in crisis and as he called for the release of those arrested in recent pro-democracy demonstrations. Militiamen confront protestors outside Tehran University today In a devastating attack on the regime, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a leading cleric and former President, told a crowd at Tehran University that the Government had lost the people’s trust. Referring to the handling of last month’s disputed election, which President Ahmadinejad claims to have won, he said that the custodians of the Islamic...

Another eyewitness account, emailed to us from a very close friend. Made my way down the west side of Laleh Park, large crowd was gathered around a radio listening to Rafi give the sermons, moved down to Keshavarz Blvd, where people had already started to taunt the bassijis who look like teenagers with Darth Vader helmets that was one size too big for them. The main slogans were “Baradar’e basiji chera Baradr Koshi” (”Brother basiji, why do you kill your brother?”, the speaker after Rafi was urging people to shout “death to America” and “death to Israel” people responded in...

[TEHRAN BUREAU] In a very important development, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the most senior cleric living in Iran, and one of the top two* marja’ taghlid (source of emulation) in Shiite Islam, issued a series of Fatwas, calling the Supreme Leader illegitimate and saying that he was working with the government against religion. Montazeri has called on people to take action against this injustice, even if they have to pay a heavy price for it. Ayatollah Motazeri, who has long been one of the most outspoken critics of Iran’s hard-liners, issued the Fatwas in response to a letter that...

A report says senior conservative clerics are concerned over Ayatollah Khamenei's alleged attempt to groom his son for leadership. As protesters return to the streets in Iran to demonstrate against Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the results of the recent election, a new report says that Mr. Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is leading the government's anti-protest militias. The Guardian reports that, according to "a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus" in Iran, Mr. Mojtaba's leading role in the crackdown has "dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians, and Revolutionary Guard generals."

Reporting from Beirut -- A top advisor to Iran's supreme leader today urged the country's establishment to be more tolerant of dissent, even as military officials stepped up their rhetoric in the latest signs of divisions created by the marred reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad one month ago. Mohammad Mohammadian, a midranking cleric who heads Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office of university affairs, acknowledged simmering discontent over the vote, which sparked massive protests and a violent crackdown last month.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's supreme leader has imposed his will on the streets with security forces that crushed mass protests over the country's disputed election. But he faces an unprecedented level of behind-the-scenes political discontent among the Muslim clerics who form the theological bedrock of the Islamic Republic. The bitterness could represent a deeper, long-term challenge to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The outright rejection by some clerics of election results that Khamenei ruled valid breaks a basic taboo against criticizing the man who in the philosophy of the Islamic Revolution literally represents God's rule on...

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source. The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals. But these conservatives are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions in the organs of...

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is personally behind the alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election, former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr claimed in Vienna late on Monday. "Khamenei ordered the fraud in the presidential elections and the ensuing crackdown on protestors," Banisadr said at a symposium marking the 20th anniversary of the murder of three Kurdish opposition leaders in Vienna. "The regime is edging closer to the abyss and is holding on to power solely by means of violence and terror," said Banisadr, who was Iran's first elected president following the 1979 Islamic revolution. The regime wanted to...

The news from Iran may have died down, but that's a function of the mainstream media getting bored and the Presidents weak response, it does not, by any means, indicate that the revolt that began the day after the presidential election is over. The oppressive regime must be getting nervous as it is beginning to threaten the opposition candidates. In two editorials, the Iranian daily Kayhan termed Mousavi, Khatami and their followers a dangerous opposition, and called to put them on trial for treason, cooperation with foreign elements, and responsibility for the death of civilians during the recent protests. Source:...

CAIRO -- The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

I'm combining a look at America's new regime under Oba-Hussein-Khomeini and that of Mullah Khamenei to let you decide if we are on the same road as the Mullahs, but a few steps behind. The killing has not started in America but counter-action for foreseen riots and opposition in our streets has started. Some 80,000 soldiers are being trained in Georgia to respond and handle martial law needs. And ACORN agents are carefully doing GPS suveys of all homes so that these or other outside forces, unfamilliar with your neighborhood, can kick down your front door at will, you "domestic...

The revulsion of Iranians for the political system that has imprisoned them for three decades was triggered by the disputed results of the June 12 election. Once, however, the opposition took to the streets and the regime spilled blood to intimidate the people, it became transparently clear the revulsion a majority of Iranians are displaying is not over details of the rigged election. It is directed at the bloody-minded theocracy oppressing them, and its overthrow most Iranians want. Those with the misfortune of living inside totalitarian regimes know -- except for their apologists and the delusional lib-left crowd in the...

There are few anecdotes about him, and pictures, at least ones that have appeared publicly, are scarce. The younger Khamenei operates behind an elaborate security structure, an overlapping world that stretches from Iran's Revolutionary Guards to the motorcycle-riding Basiji. That accumulation of control was used to outflank reformists such as Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hossein Ali Montazeri, revered figures of the Islamic Revolution who years ago had questioned the senior Khamenei's qualifications as supreme leader. The violence that has erupted over the last week -- state media have reported that 10 to 19 people have died -- were in part the...