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Montazeri and Rafsanjani Take a Stand

Montazeri issues a fatwa.

Things in Iran have gotten interesting.  With Montazeri making such a bold statement, and Rafsanjani scheduled to make his first public statement in weeks, it is a new stage in the Iran situation.

The NYT is running a similar story from their Asia desk.

News outlets have died down with their coverage, with news trickling down to bare commentary, but like the revolution that catapulted the current Ayatollahs into power, this struggle for power within Iran is taking time. Especially given that the protesters aren’t calling for a change in the system, but demanding it live up to the ideals that it’s declared.

To catch folks up The Green Brief is dang handy.  


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 26 Comments

26 comments

  1. John Allen

    to resist the regime. His statements give cover to the protesters.



    Note: I will be very busy today and probably won’t have time to comment in any of the threads.

  2. HappyinVT

    Gingrich Announces Iran Policy: Topple The Government By Provoking A Gas Crisis Through Covert ‘Sabotage’

    In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines program, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich outlined his U.S. policy towards Iran. Gingrich said the U.S. should “sabotage” Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure as part of an effort to topple the Iranian government.

    Al Jazeera’s Avi Lewis told Gingrich, “In the past, you’ve called for the bombing of Iran’s oil refineries.” Gingrich clarified, “I called for sabotage, not bombing. … Fundamental difference.” Gingrich explained that the U.S. should use “covert operations” against Iran’s refineries because they “have only one refinery that produces gasoline in the entire country.” (According to the Energy Information Administration, Iran has nine refineries operated by the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company.)

    When Lewis pressed Gingrich on the likely disastrous consequences of “sabotaging” Iran’s oil refineries, the former Speaker responded by claiming his plan was highly “strategic”:

    GINGRICH: The only purpose of sabotaging them would be to create a gasoline-led crisis to try to replace the regime. I’m against using tactics that don’t have any strategic meaning.

    I think we have a vested interest – the world has a vested interest – in a responsible Iranian government. […]

    LEWIS: Which you can precipitate by provoking a gas crisis with black-ops sabotage? [Laughs] That’s the scenario you have suggested here.

    GINGRICH: Look, I think that’s one piece out of many.

    Previously, Gingrich has said, “I favor taking out Iranian and North Korean missiles on their sites.”

    thinkprogress  They have video for those who like to watch.

    And the ads for the next Republican primary/general election keep writing themselves.

     

  3. HappyinVT

    The blogosphere is also making far to much of a fatwa or religious ruling by Grand Ayatollah Hosain Ali Montazeri in answer to the questions of reformist theologian Mohsen Kadivar.

    It is being alleged that Montazeri is saying that the Iranian regime is illegitimate, which he is not. He is implying that if Ahmadinejad stole the election by foul means, then his presidency is illegitimate. That is just a self-evident conclusion.

    Also, it is being alleged that Montazeri is foremost among the grand ayatollahs, which he is not. On the Iranian scene he has been effectively marginalized by the regime. It is well known that he is on the outs with Khamenei, who put him under house arrest for five years in response to his questioning of the Khomeinist doctrine that the clerics must rule. His fatwa is therefore to be expected and will not cause any surprise or make any special waves in Iran. (It may result in a renewal of his house arrest).

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