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(Semi-op-ed) Ahmadinejad vs. Khamenei?


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Is the Arrest of Ahmadinejad Imminent?

Evidence is piling up that suggests Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will order the arrest of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the not-too-distant future. This conclusion, based largely on information from open sources, is supported by extraordinary new revelations provided by a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who recently spoke with this reporter.

 

According to the officer, who insisted on anonymity, forces loyal to Ahmadinejad have allegedly been secretly negotiating political and military cooperation with foreign states that are Iran's nominal enemies. According to the Revolutionary Guard officer, one such state -- a NATO member -- was in the final stages of reaching agreement with Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei to provide training and sophisticated equipment to an elite paramilitary organization created by the president himself. All 15 men who attended the most recent of several meetings concerning the deal, claims the Guard officer, were put under arrest by the country's security services upon their return.

 

Wow. If this stuff is accurate, it sounds like Ahmadinejad has been planning a takeover of the supreme leadership.... :ph34r:

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AP: Iran's supreme leader ups fight with Ahmadinejad

 

For months, the ruling theocracy has been piling pressure on Ahmadinejad and arresting his allies for attempts to challenge the near-absolute authority of the cleric-ruled system that has controlled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The blunt words by Khamenei on Sunday suggest a twofold agenda: Further tightening the lid on Ahmadinejad and showing others in the wings that Iran's rulers are ready to take drastic measures to protect what's theirs.

 

"There is bad blood," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, who follows Iranian affairs at Syracuse University. "Khamenei is trying to make it very clear that the system can only handle so much discord and that he holds the stronger cards."

 

It also marks one of the first clear hints of the ruling clerics' hardball strategies for parliamentary elections in March. Khamenei and his allies are expected to use their many tools, including the ability to vet and block candidates, to try to steamroll Ahmadinejad's backers and push the president — once Khamenei's protege — farther into the political margins.

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