November 22, 2007
NOT WHAT HE MEANT BY THE CLOCK STRIKING TWELVE:
Influential Iranian daily issues a rare rebuke to Ahmadinejad (Nazila Fathi, November 22, 2007, IHT)
The newspaper, Jomhouri Eslami, criticized Ahmadinejad for calling a former nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian, a spy and saying that influential politicians were using their power to have him cleared of those charges. Mousavian was a close aide to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanajni when he was president."Lately, defaming political rivals has become common in the country and has replaced lawful behavior," the daily wrote in a front-page editorial in its Wednesday editions. "We want to reject this kind of behavior as immoral, illegal, illogical and un-Islamic and remind wise figures that such a trend is dangerous for the country."
Ahmadinejad has proved a divisive leader, with both hard-line conservative and reformist opponents finding fault with his economic programs and his strident anti-Western rhetoric. But the criticism is often indirect, to avoid political repercussions. Jomhouri Eslami, however, is so established - the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was once the managing editor - that it is unlikely to be closed down or censured.
Imagine Mahmoud's surprise that he'll be voted out before the Return from Occulation? Posted by Orrin Judd at November 22, 2007 11:55 AM