By: Meir Javedanfar for Al-Monitor Until recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad behaved like a boxer who always knew that in fights against his rivals, the referee (i.e., the Iranian supreme leader) would back him. And he was right. The referee, who clearly favored him, was willing to overlook many things in his favor. In some … Continue reading »
Tagged with Guardian Council …
Khamenei’s Strength Could Be a Vulnerability
At a time when the international community’s attention is focused on Tehran‘s nuclear program, Iranian politicians are more preoccupied by the country’s increasingly dysfunctional politics. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appears to undercutting many government institutions, including the presidency, leaving him more directly in charge. An important indicator of how far this process will go is … Continue reading »
Iran: Fair Vote Impossible
NewYork) – Iran’s parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2, 2012, will be grossly unfair because of arbitrary disqualifications and other restrictions,Human Rights Watch said today. The voting for 290 parliamentary seats follows the disqualification of hundreds of candidates based on vague and ill-defined criteria, and opposition leaders are either barred from participating, serving unjust prison … Continue reading »
Uniting the Iranian opposition
Editor’s Note: Geneive Abdo is the director of the Iran program at The Century Foundation. Reza H. Akbari, the research associate for the program, contributed to this article. By Geneive Abdo – Special to CNN The speculation over whether Israel will attack Iran this spring is having an unintended consequence: It’s bringing Iranian opposition groups … Continue reading »
Head of Iran’s Guardians Council Now The Principal Butt Of Jokes
“Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the powerful Guardians Council, is Iran’s oldest man. No one knows when he was born. He is said to have been on planet Earth before all of us, even before Adam and Eve…” That’s the gist of numerous jokes that are making the rounds about the senior cleric who … Continue reading »
