TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's proposed new intelligence minister has pledged to "confront the enemies' soft war" as he outlined his planned policies during a heated debate in parliament.
Iranian officials often accuse the United States and other Western countries of seeking to topple the Islamic republic through a "soft" or "velvet revolution" with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country.
They have portrayed the huge protests that erupted after the June presidential election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine Iran's clerical system of government.
Nominated Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said he would bring a new approach to national security, as he addressed parliament ahead of a confidence vote on Ahmadinejad's new cabinet scheduled for September 2.
One planned strategy would be "to improve the intelligence capacity to confront the enemies' soft war," said Moslehi, a former official in the elite Revolutionary Guards of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not elaborate.
Parliament must approve Ahmadinejad's 21-member cabinet and some deputies have criticized the hard-line president for nominating several ministers without relevant experience in their fields, including Moslehi and others.
Parliament's verdict on the proposed ministers is seen as a test of Ahmadinejad's grip on power after his reelection for a second term in a vote which his moderate foes say was rigged, an accusation authorities deny.
Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, and activists, have been detained since the election, accused of inciting unrest after the poll. Many are still in jail.
Jamshid Ansari, a deputy who criticized Moslehi's nomination, said the Intelligence Ministry should "not be affiliated to one branch of power, just implementing the president's instructions."
"Mr. Moslehi does not have a minimum of experience of intelligence work and therefore his presence in this complicated system would not be fruitful," Ansari told parliament.
Analysts believe parliament will eventually approve the cabinet. But a stormy process, less than three months after the election which plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, could damage Ahmadinejad politically.
Iranian officials often accuse the United States and other Western countries of seeking to topple the Islamic republic through a "soft" or "velvet revolution" with the help of intellectuals and others inside the country.
They have portrayed the huge protests that erupted after the June presidential election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine Iran's clerical system of government.
Nominated Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said he would bring a new approach to national security, as he addressed parliament ahead of a confidence vote on Ahmadinejad's new cabinet scheduled for September 2.
One planned strategy would be "to improve the intelligence capacity to confront the enemies' soft war," said Moslehi, a former official in the elite Revolutionary Guards of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not elaborate.
Parliament must approve Ahmadinejad's 21-member cabinet and some deputies have criticized the hard-line president for nominating several ministers without relevant experience in their fields, including Moslehi and others.
Parliament's verdict on the proposed ministers is seen as a test of Ahmadinejad's grip on power after his reelection for a second term in a vote which his moderate foes say was rigged, an accusation authorities deny.
Rights groups say thousands of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, and activists, have been detained since the election, accused of inciting unrest after the poll. Many are still in jail.
Jamshid Ansari, a deputy who criticized Moslehi's nomination, said the Intelligence Ministry should "not be affiliated to one branch of power, just implementing the president's instructions."
"Mr. Moslehi does not have a minimum of experience of intelligence work and therefore his presence in this complicated system would not be fruitful," Ansari told parliament.
Analysts believe parliament will eventually approve the cabinet. But a stormy process, less than three months after the election which plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, could damage Ahmadinejad politically.