Khomeini kin seeks action on Iran

[democratic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3144082.stm

The grandson of the man who led the religious revolution in Iran has called on the West to do more to support those who wish to end Islamic rule there.
In the same way that Winston Churchill mobilised an unconcerned population about Adolf Hitler, so could leaders such as US President George W Bush generate action inside Iran, Hossein Khomeini said.

"The best way is for the United States to help the movement for democracy in Iran," he said through a translator during a visit to Washington.

"Today, Iranian people again want democracy, they want freedom"
Hossein Khomeini

"They should look at this issue very seriously and not as dispassionately as they have been, waiting for something to happen and then get involved."

Correspondents say Mr Khomenei's criticism of Tehran's rulers is highly significant because he is himself a Muslim cleric and it attracts attention overseas because of his lineage.

Mr Khomeini told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative thinktank, that he welcomed the US action against Saddam Hussein in Iran's neighbour Iraq even though he had not expected it until the US was faced by an immediate threat.

He railed against the "dictatorship" in Tehran and said the regime could yet give the US a reason for intervention. Though he had no knowledge that Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons, he added: "I wouldn't put anything them."