Wow, colour me seechless too. I think it was pretty clear that there was a large number of clerics siding with the moderates, but I really didn't expect them to speak out with a unified voice. Obviously it gives support to the people in the streets, and I hope to see some big rallies planned next week, defying the government to crack down on them now.
And it makes the arrest of Mousavi much less likely if there are hundreds of other clerics echoing the same claims he makes. For the Republican Guard to go to Qom and start arresting clerics would incite the vast, vast majority of Iranians, both reformists and conservatives.
I think the greater political implication is that the Assembly of Experts - the political body with the power to dismiss the supreme leader and run by moderate cleric Rafsanjani - now knows that they have the support of a large number of clerics if they were to dismiss Khamenei if he doesn't change his course immediately.
(okay, so I'm not entirely speechless. But pretty close.)
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