Iran Election June 09

[Merlin]

Oh! A sudden softening in A-jad's tone.

Iran's Ahmadinejad Promises Changes In Govt, 'Respect' For Young

7 July TEHRAN (AFP)--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged Tuesday to make changes to his team and "respect" young people when his new government takes office after his disputed re-election.

"The structure of government should change. The changes in the government will be considerable," Ahmadinejad said in a televised address to the Iranian people.

He said his new government will put "housing, employment and economic reform" on its agenda.

"I am against police confrontation with people...We must respect people's tastes, especially the youth," said Ahmadinejad. ....

[JAD_333]

Jad, I understand its all in the context. :) And I certainly hope they wouldnt allow Israel to take action against Israel.;)

That would be a good trick. I suspect a typo.:))

[Dreadnought]

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose re-election last month led to massive protests, on Tuesday called the balloting "the most free election anywhere in the world."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected last month, setting off days of protests.

"It was a great event," he said in a nationally televised address.

The election, which opponents charge was rigged, was followed by street demonstrations and civil unrest that led to the deaths of at least 20 protesters and the arrest of more than 1,000, according to Iranian state-run media.

The numbers of casualties and arrests could not be independently verified by CNN because the Iranian government banned coverage by international journalists.

The president, who said voter turnout was 85 percent, said opponents "did not provide even one piece of document regarding irregularities or vote fraud."

Without specifically mentioning the post-election violence, Ahmadinejad said criticism of government "is the key to the success of a nation."

Everyone has criticisms, he said. "I have my own."

But he accused the "arrogant powers" and "enemies" of Iran of interfering in his country's affairs, including the post-election situation. Some Iranians collaborated with enemies, the president said.

Iran reformists call for end to 'security atmosphere'
Report: Ahmadinejad says he wants talks with Obama
Obama: No green light for Israel to attack Iran
Ahmadinejad also said Tuesday he believes the government should be "substantially" reorganized. Although he didn't elaborate, he said the areas of employment, housing, development and civil rights were high on the agenda.

"[We] need to create newer capacities and prepare ourselves for this new period," he said, apparently referring to his upcoming second term in office.

"With this election, we have entered a new era ... in domestic spheres and on an international level," he added. He called it "an era of solidarity."

"The government is at the service of the entire people," Ahmadinejad said. "Things will be done in a better way, more effective way, so we can reach higher aspirations."

He said experts have been invited to help the government achieve.


SOMEBODY PLEASE WELD STEEL PLATES OVER THIS IDIOTS EARS TO STOP THE HORSESHIT FROM HIS BRAIN SPEWING FORWARD AND INFECTING THE CIVILIZED WORLD. HIS MOUTH JUST CANNOT KEEP UP WITH IT ANYMORE

[Castellano]

I would be surprised if there hadn't been communication between Najaf & Qom, as I imagine that there are people in both cities who are acquainted with each other.

You are very much correct in that.

The most exciting and underreported news of the past few weeks in Iran has been that the emerging challenger to the increasingly frantic and isolated "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. And Rafsanjani has recently made a visit to the city of Najaf in Iraq to confer with Ayatollah Ali Husaini Sistani, a long-standing opponent of the Khamenei doctrines, as well as meeting in the city of Qum with Jawad al-Shahristani, who is Sistani's representative in Iran. It is this dialectic between Iraqi and Iranian Shiites that underlies the flabbergasting statement issued from Qum last weekend to the effect that the Ahmadinejad government has no claim to be the representative of the Iranian people.

One of the apparent paradoxes involved in visiting Iran is this: If you want to find deep-rooted opposition to the clerical autocracy, you must make a trip to the holy cities of Mashad and Qum. It is in places like this, consecrated to the various imams of Shiite mythology, that the most stubborn and vivid criticism is often to be heard—as well as the sort of criticism that the ruling mullahs find it hardest to deal with.

So it is very hard to overstate the significance of the statement made last Saturday by the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Qum, a much-respected source of religious rulings, which has in effect come right out with it and said that the recent farcical and prearranged plebiscite in the country was just that: a sham event. (In this, the clerics of Qum are a lot more clear-eyed than many American "experts" on Iranian public opinion, who were busy until recently writing about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the rough-hewn man of the people.)

From our old friend Hitchens.


Did the toppling of Saddam Hussein lead to recent events in Iran? - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

But I suspect you will disagree with his contention that the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, and the subsequent holding of competitive elections in which many rival Iraqi Shiite parties took part, had some germinal influence on recent events in Iran.

[Dreadnought]

Dread:

Yes; it was posted. What's interesting is that all Biden did was state an accepted principle inherent in sovereignty. All sovereign nations have the right to decide what is in their national interests and act accordingly.

That is not to say that nations don't attempt to get other nations to change course. If the reporters had asked Biden what the US would say to Israel if it asked for the US blessing to attack Iran, then Biden would have probably said he can't answer hypothetical questions.

It would have been strange had Biden said instead "we haven't decided whether or not to allow Israel to take action against Israel."

Jad, I understand its all in the context. :) And I certainly hope they wouldnt allow Israel to take action against Israel.;)

[Dreadnought]

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The United States is "absolutely not" giving Israel a green light to attack Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama told CNN Tuesday.


President Obama meets Tuesday with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin near Moscow.

"We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East," Obama said, referring to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Obama has been in Moscow for a summit aimed at trying to reset the U.S.-Russian relationship.

On Sunday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appeared to leave the door open for Israel to attack Iran if it saw fit.

"Israel can determine for itself -- it's a sovereign nation -- what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," Biden said on ABC's "This Week."

Obama said Tuesday that Biden had simply been stating a fact, not sending a signal.

"I think Vice President Biden stated a categorical fact, which is we can't dictate to other countries what their security interests are. What is also true is that it is the policy of the United States to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear capabilities in a peaceful way through diplomatic channels," he said. Watch CNN's Ed Henry interview President Obama »

The State Department took a similar line on Monday.

U.S. wants strong, peaceful Russia, Obama says
"Our goal here is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. When I say 'our' it is just not the United States -- it is the international community," spokesman Ian Kelly said. "Israel is a sovereign country. We are not going to dictate its actions. We also are committed to Israel's security and we share Israel's deep concerns about Iran's nuclear program."


Asked if this could be interpreted as the United States flashing a green light for Israel to attack Iran's nuclear sites, Kelly said, "I certainly would not want to give a green light to any kind of military action."

The Israeli government considers Iran's nuclear program to be the dominant threat facing the country.


*Any wonder why they keep Joe on a shorter leash then Bo.:));)

[JAD_333]

Did anybody catch VP Bidens "give the greenlight to Israel" story this week end in the media?

This is not the article I am referring too however it is along those lines.

Israeli FM Praises Biden On Iran Stand - CBS News

(AP) Israel's hard-line foreign minister on Monday welcomed Vice President Joe Biden's statement that Israel can make its own decision about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, calling it "logical."

Dread:

Yes; it was posted. What's interesting is that all Biden did was state an accepted principle inherent in sovereignty. All sovereign nations have the right to decide what is in their national interests and act accordingly.

That is not to say that nations don't attempt to get other nations to change course. If the reporters had asked Biden what the US would say to Israel if it asked for the US blessing to attack Iran, then Biden would have probably said he can't answer hypothetical questions.

It would have been strange had Biden said instead "we haven't decided whether or not to allow Israel to take action against Israel."

[Dreadnought]

Did anybody catch VP Bidens "give the greenlight to Israel" story this week end in the media?

This is not the article I am referring too however it is along those lines.

Israeli FM Praises Biden On Iran Stand - CBS News

(AP) Israel's hard-line foreign minister on Monday welcomed Vice President Joe Biden's statement that Israel can make its own decision about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, calling it "logical."

[Merlin]

These are not due to a campaign of covert civil disobedience, just small ways of showing their unhappiness. But they can snowball in the number of small expressions.

Iranian dissenters embark on campaign of covert civil disobedience

7 July [Times] Forced to stop demonstrating by police brutality, a Tehran nurse called Mojgan has found a new way of expressing her hatred of a regime which, she believes, stole the election from Mir Hossein Mousavi then ruthlessly stifled dissent.

In the privacy of her home she takes all the banknotes from her purse and, with the help of her two children, writes on them “Mousavi” or “Death to the Dictator”. Then she goes out and spends them, using the legal currency of the Islamic Republic to undermine a rotten state. ...

Its massive street protests crushed by the regime’s deployment of overwhelming force, Iran's Opposition is now embarking on a campaign of civil disobedience of which the nightly chorus of Allahu Akbar — God is greatest — from the roofs and balconies of Iranian cities is only the most obvious manifestation. Other ideas are beginning to catch on, some of them positively witty.

People are buying mobile phone pay-as-you-go cards from secondary servers instead of using the state-run service.

They are boycotting goods advertised on IRIB, the monopoly state broadcaster, or in state-controlled newspapers, and banks controlled by the regime, the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij volunteer militia or any other branch of their repressive Government.

And on Iran’s city streets, collection boxes for government-run charities are filling up with slips of paper bearing Mr Mousavi’s name to show how many votes he really got.

The basiji are hitting back at some forms of protest. They are reportedly lashing out with their batons at cars that drive with their headlights on to show support for Mr Mousavi. They have also been painting red crosses on houses that gave refuge to demonstrators, or where they think people are chanting from rooftops at night, so they can revisit them at their leisure. The Opposition has an answer to that, too. It is encouraging all Iranians to paint red crosses on their houses. ....

[Skywatcher]

Thanks, Professor.

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but the hardliners are forgetting that selecting Khamenei only worked because THE Khomeini said so. Khamenei, no matter what delusions he holds, is definetely no Khamaenei. And if even a quarter of the reports of IRGC officers (including generals) being detained for disloyalty are even approaching truth, then the hardliners cannot rely on the Pasdaran, which is anyways outnumbered several times over by the Artesh, the regular Iranian military (which in some instances is better equipped and controls the vast majority of air and naval assets to boot).

[Merlin]

This article below agrees with your observation Sky. It is a long article. Click the link to read more.

Crisis Response Hints At Early Stages Of Iranian Power Struggle

2 July [RFERL] Over the past month, Iran has experienced some of its worst unrest since the founding of the Islamic Republic three decades ago. The focus has been on who should be the next president.

But in the not too distant future, many observers are convinced that Iran's political establishment will face a far greater crisis that revolves around who will succeed ailing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The religious leader is nominally above factional politics, but Khamenei has backed hard-liners in key battles with reformists, so conservatives appear to have little incentive to leave the succession to chance.

Moreover, the hard-line government's methods and determination to win the presidential elections are a signal to some that preparations for the succession battle might have already begun.

Setting the Stage
"I have a poor life. I have a disabled body. I have a little honor which you have given to me," Khamenei told a crowd of ritually sobbing loyalists on June 19, directing his words toward a central figure in Shi'ism, the 12th Imam, in the midst of Iran's street violence earlier this month. "I will take all of these in my hand and sacrifice them for this revolution and for Islam."

The pledge came as Khamenei was delivering the sermon for Friday Prayers at the Tehran University mosque -- something he does only in times of crisis or to mark special anniversaries.

This time, he used the occasion to warn opposition leaders that they would be responsible for any blood spilled in protests over the results of the previous week's presidential poll.

The public mention of his health -- Khamenei is believed to suffer from cancer -- helped drive home the urgency of his demand that the protesters leave the streets.

But if the hard-liners welcomed Khamenei's backing against the reformists -- something he also gave them in Iran's 1999 street unrest -- an unspoken question remained in the air.

The question was: With Khamenei ailing, who might help them next time?

The divisions between reformists and hard-liners run so deep now in Iran that the issue of who succeeds Khamenei will be immensely contentious. The competition is likely to be even more heated due to the fact that the reformists and hard-liners are relatively equally matched for the formal selection process.

Second Front
The supreme leader is chosen by an 86-member Assembly of Experts that includes both conservative and reformist clerics. The popularly elected body also has the power to dismiss a sitting leader if he is unable to fulfill his duties.

The current chairman of the assembly is the moderate conservative cleric Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. A former president of the country, he is widely seen as having provided the financial backing for presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi's challenge of incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

The hard-liners cannot be sure of controlling the succession process. But they have made huge gains over the past four years in controlling the government, and just won a second term based on official results.

That could offer the possibilities of a second front.

Some say the key to hard-line gains in the government has been close cooperation between one of the supreme leader's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, and Ahmadinejad.

Mojtaba Khamenei has a powerful unofficial position as the gatekeeper for all who want to contact his father. His role is reported to include acting as an interface between his father and the Office of the Supreme Leader.

The office has an extended staff of thousands to arrange the supreme leader's meetings and keep him up to date on all political developments in the country. It does that by close contact with the supreme leader's own appointed representatives to the executive branch, the military, the provincial governments, and virtually all major revolutionary, religious, and cultural organizations.

Executive Brawn
Mojtaba is widely credited with winning his father's endorsement for Ahmadinejad to run for president in 2005, when Ahmadinejad emerged from the shadows as a former mayor of Tehran but not a major national figure.

Ahmadinejad's victory has since led to radical changes in the makeup of Iran's executive branch, presumably again with the necessary support of the supreme leader.

In his first term, the president filled crucial ministries and other top posts with hard-line allies, including filling 14 of his 21 cabinet posts from among former members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) or its associated paramilitary, the Basij. ....

[Skywatcher]

What can the Revolutionary Guard do now? Jailing all the revered religious leaders who declared the election illigitimate is out of the question.

Desperate and stupid people can make very bizarre decisions when their house of card collapses, so I wouldn't count that out. That would end with the Basijis being strung out on lamposts, though.

[Skywatcher]

Maybe those rumors about Khamanei trying to install his son as his successor have some truth in them? The clerics in Qom won't stand for that, obviously.

[Merlin]

Moussavi continues to be active.

Moussavi said to be planning new party after Iran vote

1 hr ago (CNN) -- Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi plans to form a new political party aimed at reining in the power of the Islamic Republic's leadership, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday.

Moussavi told supporters the party will be focused on upholding "the remaining principles of the constitution," according to Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with fellow opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi.

He is expected to file papers with Iran's Interior Ministry to establish the party before hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a new term, the newspaper reported. ....

[Merlin]

This article explains more clearly the moral weight of these Qom clerics in their statement against the announced election results.

Shift by Influential Clerics Bolsters Iran Opposition

6 July [WSJ] Some members of Iran's powerful clerical class are stepping up their antigovernment protests over Iran's election in defiance of the country's supreme leader, bringing potential aid to opposition figures as the regime is increasingly labeling them foreign-sponsored traitors.

An influential group of religious scholars seen as politically neutral during the presidential election called the country's highest election arbiter, the Guardian Council, biased, and said the June 12 election was "invalid." Earlier, it had endorsed the official result that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated Mir Houssein Mousavi and other challengers by a wide margin.

The group, with no government role, has little practical ability to change the election outcome. But its new posture may carry moral weight with Iranians after security forces have quashed street protests and jailed hundreds of opposition supporters.

It highlights a growing unease among Iran's scholarly ruling class about the direction of the country, and questions the theological underpinning of the Islamic Republic: that the supreme leader and the institutions under him are infallible. .....