PrintJuly 21, 2009
Khamenei warns opposition of their 'collapse'
One assumes he is being descriptive of their bodies lying in the streets along with protestors who are going out again today in defiance of the Supreme Leader's orders.
Najmeh Bozorgmehr reporting in Tehran for the Financial Times has the story:
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, warned the country's opposition leaders on Monday that they faced "collapse" if they continued to incite protests over the disputed presidential election.
The warning came amid an unprecedented war of words between the regime's senior leaders and looked like a retort to Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the influential former president who has backed the opposition. Mr Rafsanjani said on Friday the country was in "crisis" and the regime had to regain people's trust.
Mr Rafsanjani delivered his speech during prayers at Tehran university, attended by hundreds of thousands of protesters, in what became the biggest show of dissent in the country since a crackdown by Iran's security forces followed the June 12 presidential election.
The speech, an implicit criticism of the supreme leader's declaration that Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was the election winner, appears to have given fresh impetus to the opposition, which claims the June vote was rigged. Opposition rallies are planned for Tuesday.
"The [political] elite should be careful," warned Ayatollah Khamenei. "They [the opposition leaders] are in an exam session; a big exam. Failing in this exam does not mean getting one [academic] year behind. It will lead to [their] collapse.
After Rafsanjani's throwing in with the opposition last Friday, Khamenei is finding himself increasingly isolated. Many respected clerics in Qom are against him, as are Rafsanjani's bloc in the Assembly of Experts. It is here he may be the most threatened because the Assembly can toss him out if they've a mind to.
That probably won't happen. They would have to demonstrate he has not followed the Koran - a highly technical argument that would be difficult to carry off considering Khamenei still has enough allies to control the Assembly.
But it appears that there may be some kind of a consensus that a compromise must be reached. One of the reformists, former president Khatami, has suggested a referendum on what is transpiring in Iran. The vote would have to feature impartial observers but if Khamenei wants an "out," one of his opponents is showing him the way.
Again, not very likely. Khamenei seems determined to stay the course on slaughtering his own people - which is where this whole thing might be headed; a showdown between the Rev guards and the protestors that will get very bloody indeed.
