Attacks on the former Iranian president and his family are the latest measure of how deeply Iran's establishment has split over the Green Movement.
Mahmud Ahmadinejad is busily piecing together his new cabinet, promising "major changes" and the addition of fresh faces to his team for his second term in office. But below the surface, the Iranian president continues to face considerable challenges both from his reformist rivals and his fellow conservatives.
Iran has been in deep political crisis for two months since the June 12 presidential elections. But the nature of the crisis seems to be changing with time. The first phase pitted hard-line conservatives against reformers who say Mahmud Ahmadinejad stole the election. But that fight is increasingly being overshadowed by a second one: a public battle between Ahmadinejad’s camp and other powerful members of the conservative establishment over how powerful he will be in his second term.
As Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad prepares to present his new cabinet to parliament next week, experts say there are new signs of growing rift between the hard-line president and the conservative camp that traditionally supported him. Some conservative Iranian lawmakers have criticized Ahmadinejad for refusing to consult the parliament about his candidates and are hinting his actions could have an impact on the confidence vote.
The president’s first term was largely about completing the hard-line backlash, approved by the Supreme Leader, against the reformist camp led by former President Mohammad Khatami. And Ahmadinejad did the job thoroughly. But now Ahmadinejad begins his second term immediately after feuding with the supreme leader. At issue was Khamenei’s backing of conservative demands that the president dismiss a top aide.
The most-feared force that keeps protestors off the streets of Tehran is a shadowy group of men who wear street clothes and carry clubs and pistols. When they swoop down on a demonstration in cars without license plates, the police stand back and so does the Basij militia. The men literally get away with murder. Who are they?
A fresh challenge of Iran's disputed election by a key group of religious leaders comes just as hard-liners step up their attacks on the opposition. Is it part of a growing rift in the establishment brought on by hidden efforts to pick the next supreme leader and snuff out republican institutions?
The hard-line camp of Iran's ruling establishment has so far quashed a major challenge by reformists. But a much greater test may lie ahead. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is ill and a succession battle looms. The hard-liners are unlikely to leave the choice to chance.
Iran's supreme leader is nominally above factional politics. But Ali Khamenei has backed hard-liners in key battles with reformists, and conservative methods and determination to win the recent election might hint that a battle for succession has already begun.
