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Sun, May 22, 2011 | Rubin Reports | By Barry Rubin

Analyzing Internal Conflicts in Iran

Spiritual Guide Ali Khamenei is supposed to be the boss. In curbing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power, Khamenei is reminding him of that fact, which Ahmadinejad tends to forget at times.

In Iran there is talk of a “military coup” that is Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps taking over more and more power and wealth in Iran.

So the differences are real and serious but have little or nothing to do with issues like the drive to obtain nuclear weapons or Iran’s expansionist, subversive and anti-Western foreign policy.

Presumably if Khamenei lives long enough, he will replace Ahmadinejad with someone else as the next president.The question is whether in the long run Ahmadinejad has any chance of becoming Iran’s dictator with Revolutionary Guard backing. This battle, and not the regime’s overthrow — unfortunately — will probably be the main political issue in Iran during the next few years.

Read more about the backgrounds of these internal conflicts between Ayatollah Khamenei, the Guardian Council, the Majles (Iranian Parliament) and President Ahmadi-Nejad below.

Sun, Jan 30, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Iran’s president accuses Expediency Discernment Council, Majles, and judiciary branch of working against government, anti-constitutional activity

 

The political power struggles between President Ahmadinejad on one hand and the Majles, the judiciary branch, and the Expediency Discernment Council have reached a new peak this week when the president sent a strongly-worded letter to the Majles members. In the letter, Ahmadinejad accused the Expediency Discernment Council, headed by his political rival Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, of collaborating with the heads of the legislative and judiciary branches in an attempt to change the constitution and the way state affairs are handled.

The president claimed that the council interfered with the government’s responsibilities and overstepped its authorities in an attempt to weaken the government. Ahmadinejad noted that the Majles is only allowed to make laws in accordance with the powers accorded to it by the constitution, and that the Expediency Discernment Council has no authority to approve draft laws that go beyond the authority of the Majles. For example, the council cannot approve a draft law approved by the Majles about a declaration of war on a country, since such a draft law does not fall within the authority of the Majles. In addition, the council may not choose the head of a particular government ministry.

The president went on to say that the authority to resolve disagreements between the three branches of government (the executive, the judiciary, and the legislative) was held exclusively by the Supreme Leader, and that the council could not interfere with issues on which the branches were in disagreement and which were transferred to the Supreme Leader to decide. The president addressed, among other things, the disagreement between the Majles and the government on the power to appoint the Central Bank governor, claiming that the issue fell within the government’s responsibility and that it was therefore inappropriate to submit it to the Expediency Discernment Council.

The council acts in a way that leads to changes in the constitution, the president argued, when it had no permission from the Supreme Leader or the Iranian people to do so. It is not even authorized to interpret the constitution, since that power belongs exclusively to the Guardian Council (Fars, January 24).

Unsurprisingly, the president’s letter provoked strong reactions in Iran’s political establishment. Majles Research Center chief Ahmad Tavakoli, considered one of the president’s staunchest political opponents in the conservative camp, fiercely criticized the president’s letter. He mentioned that, following the letter sent by the president to Ali Khamenei earlier this year about disagreements between the government, the Majles, and the Expediency Discernment Council, the Supreme Leader ordered the establishment of a committee consisting of government, Majles, and Guardian Council members to discuss the mutual complaints of the president and the Majles speaker and examine the relationship between the two authorities. Following the discussions of the committee, the Guardian Council chairman, the Majles, and the government submitted their views to the Supreme Leader. It would be prudent of the president, Tavakoli noted, to be patient and wait to hear the Supreme Leader’s position instead of launching a new political conflict.

Tavakoli also claimed that the president’s attack on the Majles, the judiciary, and the Expediency Discernment Council when the subsidy policy reform implementation started was aimed to hide the social problems and economic weakness of which his government is responsible (Fararu, January 24).

Members of the Majles board of directors also criticized the president’s letter. Majles member Mohammad Hossein Farhangi claimed that even if some of the president’s remarks were justified, the style of the letter was inappropriate. Instead of sending letters, the president would be better advised to take part in the Expediency Discernment Council discussions and attempt to influence the council members to support his positions and not to approve draft laws to which he objects.

Majles member Hossein Sobhaninia claimed that while it was the president’s right to write letters on any subject he saw fit, the legal and rational basis of his letter was unclear. Nobody can deny the right of the Majles to realize its legal and constitutional rights, Sobhaninia noted. It was within the authority of the Majles to discuss the multi-year development program, to which the president referred in his letter. Even if the Majles did not take into account the government’s position on every single issue, it did not mean that its actions were against the law. Speaking about the Expediency Discernment Council, the Majles member said that its actions were legal and monitored by the Supreme Leader, and that even if the president has a problem with some of the council members, he cannot question the activity of the entire council. Such letters do not solve any problem, Sobhaninia claimed, and even create new problems which do not serve the interests of the three government branches, the regime, and the Iranian people. The authorities must act in accordance with the recommendations repeatedly issued by the Supreme Leader and cooperate with each other (Tabnak, January 24).

In the past year, there have been strong differences of opinion between the president and the other two government branches: the legislative branch and the judiciary. On several occasions, the president accused the Majles of approving anti-constitutional laws and overstepping its authorities. Majles speaker Ali Larijani, on his part, accused the president of interfering with the legislation process, violating the constitution, and ignoring laws passed by the Majles. There have also been differences of opinion between the president and the judiciary, headed by Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, Ali Larijani’s brother. In recent months, the president also accused the Expediency Discernment Council of overstepping its authorities and passing anti-constitutional, anti-Islamic laws.

Sun, April 17, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Ninth Majles elections slated for March 2, 2012 as internal disagreements in the conservative camp continue

The Ninth Majles elections will be held on March 2, 2012, according to Iranian media. Mehr News Agency reported that the date was agreed upon by the Interior Ministry and the Guardians Council. The release of the election date will likely speed up the election preparations of the two main political factions: the conservatives and the reformists.

The conservatives’ preparations for the Majles elections are expected to focus on the ongoing major controversy between President Ahmadinejad’s supporters and his critics in the conservative camp. The controversy was reflected in a strong-worded letter sent this week by Majles member Ali Motahhari to President Ahmadinejad. Motahhari, considered one of the president’s strongest critics in the conservative bloc, accused Ahmadinejad of straying from the ideas of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution, and adopting the controversial religious and cultural views of his associate, Rahim Masha’i (Fars, April 9).

This week, the president removed Masha’i from his post as chief of the president’s office. He was replaced by Hamid Baqa’i, who is also the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. Javan, a conservative daily affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, assessed this week that Masha’i’s removal from office had to do with the election preparations of the political faction affiliated with him. Javan, which formerly strongly criticized Masha’i and the ideological school of thought he represents, assessed that those elements in the conservative bloc affiliated with this “deviant” faction soon intend to launch additional organizational changes to allow them to run as a separate list in the coming Majles elections (Javan, April 11).

The reformist camp is also stepping up preparations for the Majles elections in the midst of an internal debate on whether the reformists should take part in the elections given their experience in the latest presidential elections, which took place in the summer of 2009. Several months ago, former reformist president Mohammad Khatami announced that the release of political prisoners, respect for the constitution, and the guarantee of proper, free elections were basic conditions for the reformist bloc’s participation in the elections. In response, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, chairman of the Guardians Council, responsible among other things for screening candidates, said that the reformists’ participation in the elections was unnecessary.

Reformist opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi are currently still under house arrest, while the two major reformist parties — the Islamic Participation Front and the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization — were banned following the riots that broke out in the summer of 2009.

In an interview to Khabar Online, Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, member of the minority reformist faction in the Majles, said that in the next several days, the reformist Majles members intend to hold a discussion on the reformist bloc’s participation in the coming Majles elections. Khabbaz also discussed the possibility of cooperation between those moderate elements in the conservative camp affiliated with President Ahmadinejad’s critics, saying that he does not rule out that possibility (Khabar Online, April 10). In response, the daily Keyhan warned against the possibility of cooperation between conservative and reformist elements. The daily claimed that true conservatives can never cooperate with those who took part in the “incitement” after the 2009 presidential elections even if they have criticism regarding the government’s functioning (Keyhan, April 12).

Following the release of the Majles elections date, the conservative daily Resalat warned against premature preparations by political elements for the elections, which may intensify Iran’s political polarization. An editorial published by the daily states that the enemies of Iran may take advantage of the pre-election atmosphere to deepen the political disagreements in the country. The political bodies should prepare for the elections, the article says, but refrain from involving the public until it is time. The daily also called on the political bodies planning to take part in the elections to promise to accept the results, whatever they may be, to avoid repeating the events that followed the presidential elections (Resalat, April 12).

Sun, April 24, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Political and media storm over conflicting reports on intelligence minister’s sacking

 

The conflicting reports on Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi’s sacking by President Ahmadinejad have stirred a political and media storm in Iran this week.

On the evening of Sunday, April 17, Iran’s media reported that President Ahmadinejad had accepted the Intelligence Minister’s resignation and appointed him intelligence affairs advisor. Several hours later it was reported that the Supreme Leader expressed his objection to Moslehi’s removal, and that the minister would therefore remain in his post. Fars, Mehr, and ISNA news agencies therefore removed the initial report on the minister’s resignation.

IRNA, a government news agency, claimed that the report on the Supreme Leader’s alleged objection to the minister’s removal was baseless, claiming that the report was released due to the political considerations of those who oppose the president to give the impression of differences of opinion between the president and the Supreme Leader. IRNA noted that the Supreme Leader’s office had issued no official announcement on Khamenei’s objection to the minister’s removal, and that it would publish the Supreme Leader’s official stance on this matter if and when it was available (IRNA, April 18).

Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, the president’s press advisor, also claimed that the information on the Supreme Leader’s alleged objection to the intelligence minister’s removal was false, and that it aimed to compromise the government by portraying the president as not following the Supreme Leader’s instructions.

On his official website, Javanfekr wrote that the removal of such an important, strategic minister as the minister of intelligence cannot take place without prior coordination between the president and the Supreme Leader. Accordingly, the conflicting reports released within such a short period of time about the minister’s removal and the Supreme Leader’s objection are unreasonable and only meant to weaken the president, the Supreme Leader, and the status of the “rule of the religious jurisprudent”. The president’s press advisor defined the release of the report on the Supreme Leader’s objection to Moslehi’s removal from office as a “new plot against the government”.

The government’s critics, on the other hand, took advantage of the affair to once again slam the president and his government, accusing Ahmadinejad of deliberately ignoring the Supreme Leader’s position.

Alef, a website affiliated with Ahmad Tavakoli, one of Ahmadinejad’s major opponents in the conservative bloc, claimed that it was the second time the president ignored explicit instructions given by the Supreme Leader. The website noted that following Ahmadinejad’s re-election in 2009 he insisted on appointing his associate Rahim Masha’i to his first vice president in spite of the Supreme Leader’s objections. At the time, those close to the president also claimed that the Supreme Leader had issued no formal letter about Masha’i’s appointment. It was only after the Supreme Leader released explicit instructions that the president was forced to go back on his decision and appointed Masha’i his office chief instead of first vice president. Also according to Alef, Ali-Akbar Javanfekr recently claimed that the Supreme Leader’s letter on Masha’i’s appointment as vice president was only a recommendation, and the president was therefore under no obligation to implement it. It appears, Alef says, that the government and the president’s media team once again took the Supreme Leader’s instructions as a recommendation. The fact that government media refrain from publishing the report on the Supreme Leader’s objection to the removal of the intelligence minister reflects, according to Alef, their refusal to accept the Supreme Leader’s position as mandatory, using the excuse that Khamenei’s position was not officially published by his office (Alef, April 18).

The Tabnak website also strongly criticized government media and the president’s supporters for their conduct in the affair. The website also expressed reservations over the fact of the president’s decision to dismiss the intelligence minister, claiming that in light of the dramatic developments in the region, making changes to the leadership of the country’s most important intelligence body was inappropriate.

According to Tabnak, the behavior of the pro-government media exacerbates Iran’s political crisis and seeds doubts among Iranians. The website warned the government supporters that they could no longer delude themselves thinking they may do as they please and ignore the people and the top regime officials. The government will only have support as long as it operates within the context of the principles of the revolution and the approval of the clerics, who according to the website have become the government’s most prominent opponents (Tabnak, April 18).

The name of Rahim Masha’i, the president’s former office chief, was also brought up in connection with the affair when several news websites reported he had been behind the president’s decision to dismiss the intelligence minister. The Jahan News website said that Masha’i had pressured the president into dismissing Moslehi after the minister had dismissed his deputy Hossein Abdollahi, deputy minister for planning and budget, who was Masha’i’s close associate (Jahan News, April 18).

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Keyhan, also mentioned Masha’i in connection with the affair, strongly criticizing pro-government media for not reporting the Supreme Leader’s objection to the removal of the minister. Shariatmadari insinuated that it was the faction affiliated with Masha’i that attempted to keep the media from releasing information on the Supreme Leader’s objection. Luckily, says an editorial published by the editor-in-chief of Keyhan, President Ahmadinejad saw himself committed to the Supreme Leader’s instructions. The government news agency, however, continued ignoring the Supreme Leader’s instructions, apparently acting on Masha’i’s orders. Shariatmadari advised the president to distance himself from Masha’i’s dangerous, harmful influence (Keyhan, April 19).

Sun, May 01, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Differences of opinion between Supreme Leader, president over dismissal of intelligence minister

 

In recent days, media affiliated with the reformist opposition and government critics have reported a growing divide between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the removal of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi last week. The president was forced to reverse his decision to dismiss the minister due to the Supreme Leader’s objection.

Alef, a website affiliated with Ahmad Tavakoli, Majles Research Center chairman and one of President Ahmadinejad’s most prominent political opponents in the conservative camp, reported earlier this week that the president had refused to obey the Supreme Leader’s instructions with regard to the dismissal of the intelligence minister, did not invite Moslehi to the weekly government meeting, and did not bring him on his trip to Kurdistan Province last weekend (Alef, April 23).

In addition, several news websites report that after returning from his trip to Kurdistan the president has not resumed regular work in his office in protest of the Supreme Leader’s intervention in his decision to remove the intelligence minister. According to the reports, the president has conducted almost no official activities, other than a meeting with a political delegation from China, and the weekly government meeting on Sunday, April 24 was presided over by his first vice president, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi. The reports also sparked rumors about Ahmadinejad’s resignation (Rooz Online, April 25).

On Monday, Amir-Hossein Sabeti, an Iranian journalist affiliated with ultra-conservative elements, reported that the president had set three conditions for staying in office: appointing his controversial associate Rahim Masha’i as first vice president, removing Sa’id Jalili from his position as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and dismissing the intelligence minister. The journalist, whose report could not be verified, estimated that the president will eventually return to his office, and that the conditions he set are designed to put him in a more advantageous position vis-à-vis the Supreme Leader (www.digarban.com, April 25).

In light of the numerous reports about differences of opinion in Iran’s senior leadership, earlier this week the Supreme Leader was forced to address the removal of the intelligence minister for the first time. In a speech made during a visit to Fars Province, Khamenei said he does not normally intervene in the government’s decisions or work unless national interests are disregarded, claiming this was the case when Ahmadinejad decided to dismiss the intelligence minister. The Supreme Leader stated that, as long as he is alive, he will not allow the Iranian people’s movement towards values to stray from its path.

The Supreme Leader also criticized the way the media covered the minister’s removal, saying the coverage intensified internal tensions in society and was used by foreign media to claim that Iran has a “dual government” and that the president does not obey the Supreme Leader (Fars, April 23).
On the backdrop of the Supreme Leader’s remarks, the Digarban website (www.digarban.com) reported on April 26 that in recent days, several news websites were instructed by the Supreme Leader to remove reports published prior to that on disagreements between the Supreme Leader and the president. The authorities’ efforts to calm the situation were also evident in a report given by conservative Majles member Seyyed Ali-Mohammad Bozorgvari, according to which the Supreme Leader and the president had had a work meeting on Monday night (Asr-e Iran, April 26).

Rift between supporters of Rahim Masha’i, senior conservatives grows deeper

Senior conservatives have stepped up criticism of the president’s associate and former office chief Esfandiar Rahim Masha’i over the intelligence minister’s removal affair. Elements in the conservative camp claimed last week that Masha’i was behind the president’s decision to remove Moslehi contrary to Supreme Leader Khamenei’s position.

Last weekend, Assembly of Experts chairman Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani called on the president to distance himself from the influence of those who stray from the values of the Islamic revolution and create discord in the conservative camp. Speaking at a meeting with top conservative politicians, the senior cleric and newly appointed chairman of the Assembly of Experts said that those who claim Iranian thought should be given precedence over Islamic thought stray from the principles of the revolution, referring to Masha’i and his supporters. In a veiled reference to the ideological faction represented by Masha’i, Mahdavi-Kani also criticized those conservatives supposedly claiming that the clerics have lost their influence in society (Aftab News, April 22).

Ultra-conservative cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi once again implicitly criticized Masha’i and his supporters. Speaking at a conference on Iran’s cultural policy, the senior cleric, formerly considered President Ahmadinejad’s spiritual mentor, once again warned about the influence of those ideological factions taking a hostile stance against clerics. He said that, since the revolution, some Iranian officials have come under the influence of secular and liberal factions, as well as factions that oppose clerics. It is this influence and the lack of cooperation between government bodies and clerics that have made it impossible for clerics to fulfill their proper role in shaping the cultural policy of the Islamic republic. Mesbah-Yazdi noted that the influence of secular views that oppose clerics is evident not only among reformist opposition leaders, but also among other important figures in society (RASA News, April 21).

Mesbah-Yazdi’s statement came just days after he made another implicit reference to Masha’i and his supporters, in which he warned about the increasing influence of the “Free Masons” on the government. This week, Qassem Ravanbakhsh, one of Mesbah-Yazdi most notable students, called on President Ahmadinejad to heed the conservative cleric’s warning and prevent another political crisis in Iran. According to Ravanbakhsh, the growing influence of deviant factions in the government may prove even more dangerous than that of the reformist government (1997-2005) (Jaras, April 22).

Islamic Society of Engineers chairman and former conservative Majles member Mohammad-Reza Bahonar also warned about attempts by “deviant factions” in the conservative camp to compromise it, announcing that the conservatives have already started taking the necessary measures against them. In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Bahonar said that the clerics and the conservatives are well aware of the plans concocted by the factions seeking to undermine the conservative camp’s unity, and that they will take action to expose them if necessary (Mehr, April 23).

The criticism against the activity of Masha’i and his supporters was joined by Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad-Ali Ja’fari. In an interview to Fars News Agency, Ja’fari warned about the formation and activity of a “deviant faction” consisting of some of the president’s associates, saying that unlike deviant factions that operated in Iran since the Islamic revolution, this time the dangerous faction acts clandestinely among senior conservative camp figures who are loved and accepted by the public (Fars, April 23).

Meanwhile, Hojjat-ol-Eslam Abbas Amiri-Far, the head of the Cultural Council in the President’s Office, said that if Masha’i decides to run for presidency in the next elections (slated for 2013), his victory will be certain. In an interview to Fars News Agency, Amiri-Far said that Ahmadinejad and Masha’i are inseparable, and that Masha’i does not do or say anything without first consulting with the president. He strongly criticized those members of the conservative camp who attack Masha’i and claim that he represents a deviant faction of society. According to Amiri-Far, those who oppose Masha’i are concerned over the possibility of his becoming president. He added that those conservative elements seeking to ruin Masha’i, including Majles speaker Ali Larijani and Keyhan daily editor-in-chief Hossein Shariatmadari, were never President Ahmadinejad’s supporters to begin with. Referring to the criticism made by senior cleric Mesbah-Yazdi against Masha’i, Amiri-Far said that while the cleric deserves respect, not all of his statements on political issues are necessarily true.

Speaking about the coming Majles elections in early 2012, Amiri-Far assessed that the president’s supporters will run against the conservative camp representatives and defeat them. Regarding the possibility of the Guardians Council disqualifying Masha’i from the presidential race, Amiri-Far said that Masha’i had done nothing to justify being disqualified. The head of the Cultural Council in the President’s Office also spoke about the Supreme Leader’s objection to the president’s decision to dismiss the intelligence minister, saying it would be worthwhile to examine whether it was an operative instruction or just a recommendation issued by Khamenei. He said that not every stance taken by the Supreme Leader must necessarily be translated into action (Fars, April 22).

Sun, May 08, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Internal power struggles within Iran’s leadership: conservative anti-Ahmadinejad coalition expands

 

The controversy between President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the intelligence minister’s removal affair has brought the president under increasing criticism even from those conservatives formerly considered his staunch supporters. Some criticism went as far as warning Ahmadinejad that he could suffer the same fate as Iran’s former president Abolhassan Banisadr, impeached in 1981.

In his latest sermon, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami implicitly criticized President Ahmadinejad, saying that the three branches of government enjoy legitimacy as long as they follow the principles of “rule of the religious jurisprudent”. According to Khatami, Iran’s senior officials should know that the public support they have is not absolute, and is dependent on their obedience to the Supreme Leader. The public supports those whose actions and words are closer to those of the Supreme Leader. No government branch can operate without the Supreme Leader’s approval, and obeying the “rule of the religious jurisprudent” is a religious and legal duty for the country’s top officials, Khatami said. The senior cleric also noted that the leaders of Iran should avoid any action that can be used by its enemies to claim that Iran has a dual government (various news agencies, April 29).

The president is also increasingly criticized by the Revolutionary Guards for his association with his controversial advisor Rahim Masha’i. Mojtaba Zolnour, the Supreme Leader’s deputy representative in the Revolutionary Guards, said this week that Masha’i has assumed the power of acting president, and that the intelligence minister’s removal affair reflects the depth of his involvement in running government ministries.

In a speech given in the city of Mashhad, Zolnour criticized the president’s continuous relationship with his advisor. He noted that while Ahmadinejad remains true to the values of the regime, he must cut himself off from the influence of people like Masha’i, who deviate from the values of the revolution and the concept of “rule of the religious jurisprudent”. He added that the president does have the power to dismiss government ministers; however, the intelligence minister’s removal was clearly driven by Masha’i’s influence and political considerations (ISNA, April 29).

In addition, the president is facing growing criticism from Iranian bloggers affiliated with radical right-wing conservatives, including those considered to be Ahmadinejad’s supporters. For example, the Khat-e Enghelab (Revolution Line) blog said last week that the president betrayed his voters. Hezbollah is not fooled by Masha’i and the government’s “deviant faction”, the blog says. “Why does Ahmadinejad betray our votes?” the blogger wondered. If Ahmadinejad had obeyed the Supreme Leader and dismissed Masha’i, things would have been different. By keeping Masha’i around, the president has caused frustration and discord among his supporters, and sacrificed national interests for his own stubbornness (http://adihamed.blogfa.com/post-350.aspx, April 28).

An editorial published by the website argues that, in the 2005 presidential race, Ahmadinejad had the support of conservative religious elements (“Hezbollah forces” in Iran) which believed him to be more loyal to the Supreme Leader than the other candidates. These candidates, as well as numerous clerics, believed that the Supreme Leader’s status had deteriorated during former president Mohammad Khatami’s reformist regime, and that Ahmadinejad’s election would allow the Supreme Leader to restore his status and better manage state and government affairs. Until now, these conservative elements have supported President Ahmadinejad thanks to the support he has had from the Supreme Leader for the past six years. Even the president’s conservative critics kept defending him thanks to his backing by Khamenei. The recent events, however, have prompted many of Ahmadinejad’s former supporters to cease supporting him. The political and religious groups that supported the president due to the Supreme Leader’s support have now come to the conclusion that Ahmadinejad has changed and is not as committed to Khamenei as he used to be. Accordingly, their commitment is gone as well (Asr-e Iran, April 30).

The criticism peaked when Ahmadinejad was warned that he could suffer same fate as Abolhassan Banisadr. Alef, a website affiliated with Majles Research Center chairman Ahmad Tavakoli, published an editorial titled “How did Banisadr become Banisadr?” The article, clearly directed at the president without mentioning his name, said that, in his early days, Banisadr too was not a symbol of deviation from the principles of the revolution. Over time, however, he underwent a process that transformed him from an elected president to a symbol of betrayal of the people, the revolution, and the regime.

Banisadr failed to realize that the people of Iran would only support him if he followed the wishes of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution. He surrounded himself with harmful advisors who gave him the false impression that he was supported by the public and that he could stand up to the Majles, the law, the judiciary, and the Revolutionary Guards. He believed that the Supreme Leader’s support of him reflected personal support. He would not accept criticism, thinking there was no one better or more talented than him. At some point, he would not even listen to the Supreme Leader and thought he could fulfill his desires at any price, even if they contradicted the interests of the regime and the revolution. He humiliated the clerics and ignored their criticism, with the result being that his pride, stubbornness, brash self-confidence, and submissive advisors turned him into what he became (Alef, April 30).

Last week, conservative cleric Hojjat-ol-Eslam Ja’far Shojouni, member of the conservative Combatant Clergy Association, warned that Ahmadinejad may suffer the same fate as Banisadr. In an interview to the reformist website Rooz Online, Shojouni said that while he has a great deal of respect for the president, he does not like his stubbornness with regard to Masha’i, and that unless he obeys the Supreme Leader’s instructions on the removal of the intelligence minister, he may suffer the same fate as the impeached president (Rooz Online, April 25). Shojouni later denied giving the interview to the reformist website.

The conservative daily Qods also hinted at the fate awaiting President Ahmadinejad if he does not obey the Supreme Leader. An editorial published earlier this week says that the history of the Islamic revolution shows that those who claimed to have the support of millions and distanced themselves from the Supreme Leader eventually lost the support of the public opinion, and were consigned to history by those who had voted for them and considered the “rule of the religious jurisprudent” a religious and political duty (Qods, April 30).

Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad returned to work after his absence from office, during which he had missed two government meetings. Fars News Agency reported that, at a meeting Ahmadinejad held with Iran Broadcasting director Ezatollah Zarghami, the president said he has a father-and-son relationship with the Supreme Leader. He noted that he intends to take part in the weekly government meeting to foil the schemes of Iran’s enemies and prove that they are unable to comprehend the depth of his connection with the Supreme Leader. Speaking at the Sunday government meeting, the president declared his loyalty to the Supreme Leader and to the principle of “rule of the religious jurisprudent”, and thanked him for supporting the government (Fars, May 1).

Following the president’s return to work, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Keyhan, said that the president once again proved his loyalty to and support for the Supreme Leader. However, Shariatmadari criticized his long demonstrative absence, wondering why he had acted in a way that furthered the schemes of Iran’s internal and external enemies. According to the editor-in-chief of Keyhan, the president’s absence was received favorably by the enemies of Iran, who suddenly became his supporters, praised him, and claimed he was ignoring the Supreme Leader’s instructions (Keyhan, May 2).

Sun, May 15, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Top conservative clerics put pressure on Ahmadinejad to fully obey Khamenei amidst political conflict between president, Supreme Leader

 

As the political conflict between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad over Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi’s removal affair continues, this week top conservative clerics have voiced criticism of the president’s conduct in the affair, demanding that he comply with the Supreme Leader’s instructions.

In his latest sermon, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Kazem Sediqi stressed that obedience to the Supreme Leader is imperative, saying that weakening the “rule of the religious jurisprudent” (Velayat-e Faqih) is the same as weakening the people and the government, and that without the Supreme Leader’s support the government could lose the support of the people and become just like the government of Bahrain, which kills its citizens and insists on ruling them.

According to Sediqi, the Supreme Leader is not only a “religious jurisprudent” who commands absolute authority, but also a role model for millions of believers in Iran and elsewhere. He expressed his confidence that the government, the president, and the people understand the meaning of obedience to the Supreme Leader, stating that when the Supreme Leader issues a decree, it must be executed without a moment’s hesitation.

Sediqi went on to say that the prayers of those who do not accept the principle of “rule of the religious jurisprudent” are not accepted by God, even if they spent their entire lives in the mosque. God’s will is for all believers to fully obey the Supreme Leader, His representative on earth, and express it through their actions. He further added that the government ministers are first and foremost God’s creations and Shi’ites owing absolute allegiance to the Supreme Leader, and that being government ministers comes second. Also according to Sediqi, one government minister gave an example of the obligation to obey the Supreme Leader by saying that Khamenei even has the authority to decree a divorce between Ahmadinejad and his wife, in which case the president will be prohibited from touching her (Fars, May 6).

Speaking at a religious conference held on Saturday, May 7, to commemorate the death of Fatima, Prophet Muhammad’s daughter and the wife of first Shi’ite Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, Sediqi once again stressed the president’s duty to obey the Supreme Leader. Addressing Ahmadinejad directly, Sediqi said that words are not enough and that actions are needed to prove his loyalty to the Supreme Leader. A war cannot have two commanders, Sediqi said. There is only one, while the rest are soldiers required to follow his commands. The president is a soldier of the religious jurisprudent, and has a religious obligation to obey his instructions.

The Tehran Friday prayer leader also added that the citizens had voted for the president thanks to his commitment to the Supreme Leader, a commitment which he now has to fulfill. Referring to the claim made by the president last week of having a father-and-son relationship with Khamenei, Sediqi noted that the Supreme Leader’s relationship with the president is nothing like that between a father and a son, since the president is a soldier of the Supreme Leader and owes him total obedience (Fars, May 7).

Senior conservative cleric Abolqassem Khazali also discussed the president’s duty to obey the Supreme Leader. According to Khazali, it is a duty that even applies to senior clerics. The Assembly of Experts member noted that winning 20 million or even 40 million votes in the elections is meaningless without the Supreme Leader’s approval (Fars, May 7).

Top cleric Ahmad Khatami has also joined the ranks of the top conservative clerics criticizing the president. In an interview granted to Shoma, a periodical released by the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, Khatami said that if it wasn’t for the Supreme Leader’s support, Ahmadinejad would not have won so many votes in the last presidential elections. Most of the people who had voted for the president, Khatami said, had done so because he had Khamenei’s support. While the Supreme Leader had not privately or publicly suggested who to vote for, the public voted for Ahmadinejad assuming it was him Khamenei would rather see in power, as Ahmadinejad did have the Supreme Leader’s support in the first four years of his term.

Speaking about the intelligence minister’s sacking affair, Khatami said that while the president has the authority to remove government ministers, it is the Supreme Leader’s role to intervene in sensitive issues when he senses a threat. Khatami criticized Ahmadinejad’s demonstrative ten-day absence from work, saying that people expected him to immediately implement the Supreme Leader’s instructions, convene the government, and promptly announce the intelligence minister’s reinstatement in accordance with the decree issued by the Supreme Leader.

Khatami further noted that the president has to be willing to take criticism. When senior clerics who support the president and look after his interests warn him to be wary of the “deviant faction” (referring to his advisor Rahim Masha’i’s supporters), he has to consider their opinion. Khatami added that one cannot ignore that the president is a man of values and courage who has done a great deal for the country. He must, however, avoid repeating the kind of mistakes he has been making recently (Asr-e Iran, May 6).

The political crisis in Iran’s leadership is also evident in a remark made this week by Assembly of Experts deputy chairman Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi. At a meeting with Basij commanders, the senior conservative cleric said that the Supreme Leader’s instructions have divine authority and are universally binding. The Supreme Leader’s view encompasses state interests, global conditions, and regional developments, and his instructions therefore reflect the overall interest of Islamic society. Yazdi also discussed the necessity of fighting against the “deviant faction” that acts among some of Iran’s leaders and containing its influence (Fars, May 8).

Lean government: government decides to merge 8 economic ministries and reduce number of ministers from 21 to 17

This week the government has decided to merge eight economic ministries, bringing the number of ministers down from 21 to 17. The following have been merged on the government’s decision: the Petroleum Ministry and the Energy Ministry; the Labor Ministry and the Welfare and Social Services Ministry; the Housing Ministry and the Transportation Ministry; and the Commerce Ministry and the Industry and Mines Ministry.

Welfare and Social Services Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Industry and Mines Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, and Petroleum Minister Seyyed Mas’oud Mir-Kazemi are expected to leave the government following the merger.

The government is required to bring down the number of ministers from 21 to 17 by 2012 under the five-year economic program. The government structure reform is designed to streamline the performance of the executive branch.

The government structure reform brought more tension to the already strained relations between the government and the Majles. Speaking at a Majles session held on Tuesday, May 10, Majles speaker Ali Larijani said that the merger of the government ministries was illegal since it was not approved by the Majles. According to Larijani, the government should have presented the merger plan to the Majles and submit the names of the appointed ministers of the merged ministries to the approval of the Majles (Mehr, May 10).

Other Majles members also argued that the government’s decision required an approval from the Majles, protesting the fact that the government had not consulted with the Majles on the implementation of the reform. In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Majles member Hossein Sobhani-Niya said that according to the five-year economic program, the government is required to submit to the approval of the Majles a plan detailing the areas of responsibility of the merged ministries as well as the new ministers. Extending the term of office of a minister in charge of two merged ministries without a vote of confidence from the Majles is against the law, Sobhani-Niya said (Mehr, May 9). Hossein Nejabat, deputy chairman of the Majles Research Center, also said that the merger of government ministries without the Majles’ approval was illegal (Jaras, May 9).

Earlier this week, the Majles speaker sent the president a memo demanding that he promptly submit the name of his candidate for transportation and housing minister to the approval of the Majles. Larijani said that as it has been three months since the Majles impeached former transportation minister Hamid Behbahani in a vote of no confidence, the government must present the new minister to the Majles. Government representatives claimed, however, that since the transportation and housing ministries have been merged and placed under the authority of Reza Nikzad, the current housing minister, the government is under no obligation to submit the minister’s name to the Majles’ approval.

Government opponents also criticized the implementation of the government structure reform. In an interview to the conservative daily Sharq, Majles Energy Committee spokesman Seyyed Emad Hosseini said that the decision to merge the petroleum and energy ministries was wrong considering the complexity and size of the Petroleum Ministry. It is a ministry responsible for oil, gas, and petrochemical companies, and is, according to Hosseini, a small government in its own right. He argued that the government’s considerations in deciding which ministries should be merged were political rather than strictly professional (Sharq, May 5).

Asr-e Iran, a website affiliated with the conservative pragmatic faction, also claimed that the decision on the government ministries to be merged was made on the basis of political considerations, and that one of the main reasons for merging the ministries was the president’s desire to remove ministers Mehrabian, Mahsouli, and Mir-Kazemi from office (Asr-e Iran, May 10). The website further stated that strategic mistakes had been made in the merger decision. For example, no single ministry can be put in charge of the oil and gas industries, the world oil market, the refineries, and the relations with OPEC, as well as electricity production, dams, and the sewer system. In a country with an oil-based economy, the website argued, the Petroleum Ministry must remain independent. A commentary article published by the website also said that the merger decision will not reduce the size of the government but only bring down the number of ministers, as the merger has no provisions for trimming the government structures and bodies under the merged ministries (Asr-e Iran, May 9).

Sun, May 22, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Majles, government still at odds over ministry merger

 

Last weekend President Ahmadinejad announced the dismissal of Mas’oud Mir-Kazemi, the petroleum minister; Sadeq Mahsouli, the welfare minister; and Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, the industry minister. The announcement was made as part of the implementation of the government’s decision to merge these ministries with the energy, labor, and commerce ministries, respectively. Mehdi Ghazanfari, the commerce minister, was put in charge of the Industry Ministry, while Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, the labor minister, was put in charge of the Welfare Ministry. The Petroleum Ministry was left without an appointed minister, and the president announced he will take charge of the ministry himself.

The president’s announcement on the three ministers’ dismissal came several hours after some Iranian media reported that the government and the Majles had resolved their major differences on the merger of the government ministries. The disagreement reached a new peak last weekend when Majles speaker Ali Larijani accused the president of violating the law, while the president said Larijani considered himself the sole representative of the law and accused him of working against the government. At the height of the controversy, the Majles speaker claimed that merging the ministries without the Majles’ approval was illegal and that the ministers should retain their posts as long as the Majles has not approved the ministry merger and the ministers in charge of the ministries the government has decided to merge have not obtained a vote of confidence.

The controversy between the two branches called for the intervention of the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council, which took the side of the Majles and ruled that the president must submit his ministry merger plan to the Majles’ approval. Council chairman Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati ruled that according to Article 133 of Iran’s constitution, any change in the ministers’ authorities as well as any merger of government ministries requires the approval of the Majles, and that the ministers in charge of merged ministries are considered new ministers and are therefore required to obtain a vote of confidence from the Majles members.

Following the president’s announcement on the dismissal of the ministers, the Majles speaker said he was not interested in discussing the values lying behind the decision, adding that the controversy over the ministry merger issue had been resolved following a meeting he had held with the president, which was also attended by the Supreme Leader (Fars, May 14).

Despite Larijani’s remarks, several Majles members strongly criticized the president’s decision to lay off the three ministers before the Majles has approved the merger of the government ministries. The president’s critics claimed that the president’s decision was a manipulation designed to allow him to continue the ministry merger process despite the objections of the Majles and the Guardian Council. Critics also claimed that leaving three important economic ministries, particularly the Petroleum Ministry, without a permanent minister severely compromises Iran’s national interests.

Majles Research Center chairman Ahmad Tavakoli said that the ministers’ dismissal is inconsistent with the constitution and with national interests. According to Tavakoli, the simultaneous impeachment of the three ministers sends a message of instability to Iran’s society and to the international community. Tavakoli, considered one of the president’s strongest political opponents in the conservative bloc, claimed that the government should have submitted to the approval of the Majles a bill specifying the government ministries to be merged and the authorities of the new ministries, during which time the three government ministers should have retained their posts. He added that leaving ministries without ministers before the Majles had approved the merger was uncalled for, and that the dismissal will have an adverse effect on Iran’s national economy and internal politics (Mehr, May 14).

Majles member Ali-Asghar Zare’i also criticized the ministers’ dismissal, saying that even though it was in the president’s power to lay off government ministries, his decision ran counter to national interests. It is inappropriate, Zare’i claimed, for three main economic ministries to function without full-time ministers, let alone in a year declared by the Supreme Leader as the “year of economic jihad” (Fars, May 14).

At the same time, Majles deputy speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar sent a letter to the president claiming that the decision to lay off three ministers before the Majles had confirmed the authorities of the new ministries merged by the government was legally problematic (Fars, May 15).

Most media also criticized the president’s decision to lay off the three ministers in the merger. The economic daily Jahan-e San’at (World of Industry) argued that, on top of the legal aspect of the decision, there are many questions about the ministers’ dismissal that the government needs to answer. An editorial published by the daily states that the president should have waited to obtain the Majles’ approval for the merger before laying off the ministers, and that the ministers’ dismissal does not benefit the country under the current political and economic conditions (Jahan-e San’at, May 15).

Farda, a website affiliated with the pragmatic conservative bloc, expressed concerns that following the dismissal of Mir-Kazemi, the petroleum minister, Iran may lose its status as the president of OPEC, the organization of petroleum exporting countries, since only a minister or acting minister may serve as the organization’s president (Farda, May 15). Mehr News Agency reported this week that, having taken on himself the role of petroleum minister, Ahmadinejad himself may be appointed as the president of OPEC.

The economic daily Donya-ye Eqtesad (World of Economy) argued that the president’s decision could have severe repercussions for the oil industry. The decision to merge the petroleum and energy ministries was taken without first consulting with experts, according to an editorial published by the daily. The oil industry has no room for experimentation. It is an industry that requires organizational and executive stability, and does not tolerate new organizational changes. Reckless decisions may endanger the development of the oil industry and the oil fields, and may pose a threat to Iran’s status in the global oil industry (Donya-ye Eqtesad, May 16).

The government daily Iran was among the few to express support for the president’s decision. An article by Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, the president’s media advisor, strongly criticized Majles Research Center chairman Ahmad Tavakoli for the remarks he had made with regard to the affair. The dismissal of the three ministers and the Majles speaker’s statement that the merger issue had been resolved show that Tavakoli’s claims are groundless and that the government had acted appropriately and in accordance with the law. Javanfekr called on Tavakoli to put an end to the extremist statements against the president and the government, since his views and remarks compromise the position of Majles members (Iran, May 15).

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