Rafsanjani: a "big player" or not so much? (1 Viewer)

[Onion Eater]

Rafsanjani reacts to allegations

TEHRAN - In an open letter to the Supreme Leader released on Tuesday Hashmei Rafsanjani has reacted to allegations made against him and his family by President Ahmadinejad.

In his debate with presidential contender Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday night Ahmadinejad accused Rafsanjani and his family of economic corruption. Ahmadinejad also claimed that after his victory in 2005 election, Rafsanjani had written a letter to an Arab country in the Persian Gulf region saying that that the Ahmadinejad government will collapse within six months.

The incumbent president also leveled charges against former Majlis speaker Nateq-Nouri’s family.

In his letter Rafsanjani stated that Ahmadinejad’s “unfounded and irresponsible” remarks during the debate with Mousavi were reminiscent of the bitter actions of the anti-revolutionary groups at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and also charges against him in the 2005 presidential election and parliamentary elections in 2000.

Rafsanjani dismissed as “unacceptable” the view that the accusations were “unplanned” and made under the atmosphere in the televised debate.

The chairman of the Expediency Council said the accusations are illegal and run against Sharia (religious values) and are devoid of ethics.

"In his debate with presidential contender Mir-Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday night Ahmadinejad accused Rafsanjani and his family of economic corruption."

According to an Iranian friend of mine, Ahmadinejad's accusation was a VERY bold move. He says that Rafsanjani is a "big player" and, had someone (even the president) insulted him on national television only a few years ago, they would not have left the TV studio alive.

What I gathered from this conversation is that:

A) The accusation is true.

B) Rafsanjani is behind the protests.

C) The fact that Rafsanjani responded with an ineffective letter to the Supreme Leader and then had to resort to street demonstrations shows that Iran is a MUCH more open society now than it was even a short time ago.

I'm no apologist for Ahmadinejad and neither is my friend. We both agree that he has driven the Iranian economy into the ground and has taken an unnecessarily belligerent stance towards the West.

I would be interested in hearing from people on this forum who are more familiar with Iranian politics than I am about this issue. Perhaps the street protests we are seeing are not entirely a spontanious pro-democracy uprising, but have more sinister elements pulling strings behind the scenes.

BTW My friend is no expert on foreign policy. He came to America 30 years ago and made a small fortune selling used cars and running a taxicab company. He has no "inside" information; he knows no more about events in his homeland than what appears in the news media or his family tells him.

 

[Onion Eater]

Struggle among Iran's clerics bursts into the open

TEHRAN, Iran – A backstage struggle among Iran's ruling clerics burst into the open Sunday when the government said it had arrested the daughter and other relatives of an ayatollah who is one of the country's most powerful men.

State media said the daughter and four other relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani were released later Sunday but their arrests appeared to be a clear warning from the hardline establishment to a cleric who may be aligning himself with the opposition.

 

[tlmorg02]

I can only hope that this is the beginning of the end for the theocratic rule in Iran. Let the wolves feed on eachother.

 

[celticlord]

I suspect the question will be answered definitively in the next few days.