FUCK THE POLICE
911 EVERY DAY
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/01/wiran101.xml
The future shape of Iranian politics was being decided yesterday after the sudden death of an ayatollah who held a key position. It creates an opening for moderate reformers to regain some influence.
Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, who died on Monday at the age of 86, had chaired the Council of Experts since its creation 26 years ago. This crucial body is the only formal constraint on the power of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Its 86 members are charged with "supervising" the Supreme Leader, choosing his successor and, in extremis, removing him from office. Ayatollah Meshkini, who was jailed by Shah Reza Pahlavi and played a leading role in the revolution of 1979, was one of Iran's most influential hardliners.
A crucial ally of both the Supreme Leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he was openly critical of reformers, who he accused of abandoning the values of the revolution. Their slogan "freedom and civil society" was, he said, the "main threat" to Iran because it excluded Islam.
advertisement
His death creates a crucial opportunity for the country's moderate voices, who have suffered a series of hammer blows culminating in Mr Ahmadinejad's accession to the presidency in 2005.
"Its impact on the political future of Iran is very important. In fact, it is more important than the outcome of the next parliamentary election," said Isa Saharkhiz, editor-in-chief of Aftab, a reformist monthly in Teheran which was closed by the authorities.
The Council of Experts' official deputy chairman is the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. While never a liberal, Mr Rafsanjani is a pragmatist and one of the few senior figures to have questioned the wisdom of pursuing the nuclear programme in defiance of outside pressure.
Mr Rafsanjani has become the slightly incongruous standard-bearer of Iran's reformers, especially since his defeat by Mr Ahmadinejad in the last presidential polls.
If Mr Rafsanjani can win the chairmanship, he would be able to influence Iranian politics for years to come. Although the council can choose its own chairman, the Supreme Leader's opinion will be crucial.
Mr Saharkhiz predicted that he would try to block Mr Rafsanjani. The favoured hardline candidate may be Mohammed Yazdi, the former head of the judiciary. The choice will be made later this month.
The future shape of Iranian politics was being decided yesterday after the sudden death of an ayatollah who held a key position. It creates an opening for moderate reformers to regain some influence.
Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, who died on Monday at the age of 86, had chaired the Council of Experts since its creation 26 years ago. This crucial body is the only formal constraint on the power of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Its 86 members are charged with "supervising" the Supreme Leader, choosing his successor and, in extremis, removing him from office. Ayatollah Meshkini, who was jailed by Shah Reza Pahlavi and played a leading role in the revolution of 1979, was one of Iran's most influential hardliners.
A crucial ally of both the Supreme Leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he was openly critical of reformers, who he accused of abandoning the values of the revolution. Their slogan "freedom and civil society" was, he said, the "main threat" to Iran because it excluded Islam.
advertisement
His death creates a crucial opportunity for the country's moderate voices, who have suffered a series of hammer blows culminating in Mr Ahmadinejad's accession to the presidency in 2005.
"Its impact on the political future of Iran is very important. In fact, it is more important than the outcome of the next parliamentary election," said Isa Saharkhiz, editor-in-chief of Aftab, a reformist monthly in Teheran which was closed by the authorities.
The Council of Experts' official deputy chairman is the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. While never a liberal, Mr Rafsanjani is a pragmatist and one of the few senior figures to have questioned the wisdom of pursuing the nuclear programme in defiance of outside pressure.
Mr Rafsanjani has become the slightly incongruous standard-bearer of Iran's reformers, especially since his defeat by Mr Ahmadinejad in the last presidential polls.
If Mr Rafsanjani can win the chairmanship, he would be able to influence Iranian politics for years to come. Although the council can choose its own chairman, the Supreme Leader's opinion will be crucial.
Mr Saharkhiz predicted that he would try to block Mr Rafsanjani. The favoured hardline candidate may be Mohammed Yazdi, the former head of the judiciary. The choice will be made later this month.
