Word: khamenei
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...however, had become an embarrassing inconvenience to Baghdad's increasingly cozy ties to Tehran. Although Iraq has repeatedly said it is in its own national interest to remove the group, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in late February, left little doubt as to what he expected the Iraqis to do. "We await the implementation of our agreement regarding the expulsion of the hypocrites," he was quoted as saying...
After Khatami on July 20 demanded that a referendum be held on whether Iranians accept the outcome of the election, Khamenei must have been sorely tempted to order the Revolutionary Guards to round up the opposition, including Khatami. Khatami's speech was a direct swipe at the legitimacy of his rule. Even the opposition was surprised that mild-mannered Khatami dared go this far. The question now, in all the turmoil, is who will be next to come out in favor of a recount...
Iran is locked in a classic power struggle, pitting the house of Khamenei against the house of Khomeini. It has been simmering since Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader in 1989, but it is only now that Khomeini's heirs have chosen to finally fight back against a complete takeover of the regime by Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards. The Khomeinists were mistakenly convinced that if they could muster a 70% turnout and win the elections, Khamenei would not dare throw out the results...
...that Khamenei has refused new elections, the opposition has switched from challenging the June 12 election results to attacking the legitimacy of Khamenei himself. They are counting on Khamenei to continue cracking down on demonstrators, arresting larger numbers of opposition supporters and eventually jailing the leaders. In the end, they believe, Khamenei will so antagonize Qom's ayatullahs that the country's clerical leadership will issue a fatwa condemning Khamenei and the June 12 election. Such a fatwa would strip Khamenei of any legitimacy as Iran's clerical Supreme Leader, eroding his support in the Revolutionary Guards. Already, the enlisted...
...poured into the streets, the army laid down its weapons and the Shah had no choice but to flee. It's impossible to tell whether Iran has reached this point again. But even if it hasn't, the open war between the house of Khomeini and the house of Khamenei will forever change Iran...