Iran: Showdown between Khamenei and IRGC?

[formercia]

http://tehranbureau.com/looming-confrontation-khamenei-irgc/

Showdown between Khamenei and IRGC?

By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 28 July 2009

analysis Two important developments over the past few days suggest that a possible confrontation may be under way between Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and the high command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

One development was the order issued by Ayatollah Khamenei overruling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as his First Vice President (Iran’s president has eight vice presidents). The second was the firing of ultra hardliner Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehei, the Minister of Intelligence.

A reliable source in Tehran told the author that both episodes were meant to be signals by the IRGC’s high command to Ayatollah Khamenei that they were in control, and that he should toe the line — their line. According to the source, Ayatollah’s Khamenei’s order to fire Mashaei was delivered to the Voice and Visage (VaV) of the Islamic Republic (Iran’s national radio and television network) on the day Mashaei was appointed by Ahmadinejad. The VaV was asked to announce the order on national television and radio, but Ezzatollah Zarghami, the director of VaV and a former officer in the IRGC, refused to do so.

--snip--

[RandySF]

1. So if "dinner jacket" doesn't like the clerics

Is he trying to set up a dicatorship similar to Iraq under Hussein?

[formercia]

2. It's not that cut and dried

One of the protesters that was arrested, tortured and died of Meningitis was the son of a good friend of the head of the IRG and former high-ranking member if the IRG. He claimed that his son was totally innocent. He's not a happy camper.

[Recursion]

4. I think the US missed that fact: Rasfanjani, Moussavi, et al are the "old guard"

and Ahmadinejad is something of a Mahmoud-come-lately (as, frankly, is Khamenei), at least to the circles of power. There's a power struggle, but the people a lot of westerners see as the reformers are for the most part the original revolutionaries.

Where exactly Khamenei stands on this whole fiasco is not clear, and is very important.

[formercia]

7. Even the crazies want their vote back

http://tehranbureau.com/ansar-vote/

Ansar warns Ahmadinejad that they may have to take back their votes

Source: Tabnak After a barrage of harsh criticism from the Principlist camp over the past few days, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was dealt another blow, this time from a hardline weekly affiliated with Ansar al Hezbollah.

“Mr. Ahmadinejad, apologize to the nation!” read the headline of the Ya Lassarat editorial, warning the president of the consequences of his actions. Should Ahmadinejad decide to continue in this manner, Ansar al Hezbollah said it would ask its supporters to take back their votes.

“Our vote was not for an individual, it was for the values of Islamic Revolution and allegiance to the rule of the just jurisprudence .”

--snip---

[Turborama]

5. Bob Baer mentioned that briefly...

...in this discussion: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x344946

Have you got any more details?

[formercia]

6. You might find this interesting

http://tehranbureau.com/mps-investigating-level-detention-center/

[Soylent Brice]

3. .

:kick:

[formercia]

8. Unconfirmed reports say troops arriving at Tehran airport

soon afterwords, SMS services went down.