Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
Until I see someone who actually knows anything about Iran verify the legitimacy of these clerics I will remain sceptical.
Its not Amadinijon that is the problem. Its the Supreme Leader who acts as the Leader of the country and for which there isnt an election.
|
I'm not an expert, but I'll tell you what I do know: this group of clerics is a purely theocratic, non-political organization, traditionally. They have no official political power, although they do recommend judges to Khamenei, and also nominate a list of supreme leaders for the Assembly of Experts to chose from, should a new supreme leader be needed. They include several grand ayatollahs who are equal to Khamenei in terms of stature is Shia Islam.
The important implication here, as I mentioned earlier, is for the Assembly of Experts. They do have the power to remove Khamenei from power and they are dominated by moderates and chaired by the very powerful and influential Rafsanjani, who has butted heads with Khamenei repeatedly. So far, they have been cautious to stick their necks out. They now know that they have some very strong supporters in this conflict.
Even though all we hear publically is about Ahmadinejad, make no mistake, this is about the Supreme Leader. He has made this about himself, and if you read between the lines, this statement is not a statement against Ahmadinejad but against Khamenei.
I think that the next move is that the Assembly of Experts will meet, and basically say that unless Khamenei ceases the violent crackdowns and calls for a do-over on the election, they'll move to dismiss him from power. Because AoE meetings are secret and the only person who sees the transcripts of the meetings is Khamenei himself, they can use these meetings to discretely give him an ultimatum. Whether Khamenei calls them on it or backs down though is anyone's guess.