Iran Regime Accuses Soros, Cheney, Bilderberg of Conspiracy to Subvert System
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Related subjects: Anjika Sridhar, Asia / Pacific, Diplomacy & Politics, Global, Iran, Middle East, Open Government, Rights & Freedoms, Security & Surveillance, The Vote Comments (1)
In an ongoing quest to sideline or incarcerate opposition figures, the leadership of Iran’s government continues to defend the disputed official results of the 12 June election and is now blaming Hungarian-American financier and open society activist George Soros, Liz Cheney —the daughter of the former US vice president— and the secretive Bilderberg group of a conspiracy to overthrow the Iranian government by backing opposition protests.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i has now reportedly put his own son in charge of the paramilitary militia being used to attack, intimidate and round up, those who would participate in opposition rallies. Reports suggest that conservative clerics are increasingly concerned about what appears to be an escalating grab for power by Khamene’i and those close to him.
Mojtaba Khamene’i's role in the crackdown is said to be sowing concern and anger among even conservative clerics, who see the supreme leader’s behavior as deligitimizing clerical rule. Some Revolutionary Guard generals and conservative politicians have also begun to join the dissident clerics in questioning the legitimacy of the methods being used to decide the election and establish the next government.
An unnamed source told the Guardian newspaper that this growing alliance of clerics, conservative politicians and security officials, may not openly challenge the legal legitimacy of Khamene’i or Ahmedinejad, but may be working to formulate a cohesive strategy for making it difficult for either of the two men to exercise real authority through the government.
Khamenei’s political strategy since taking his position in 1989 has been to maintain a consensus among competing factions. But now to preserve power he may have to rely on a far narrower base of hard-line ayatollahs — and more than ever before on the security services, particularly the Revolutionary Guards, the elite protectors of the system.
A major question looking ahead will be whether discontented clerics will aggressively push their criticisms behind the scenes, and whether their followers who look to them for spiritual guidance will rally behind the reformist political opposition.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition candidate with the most votes, and who claims he won the disputed election, has pledged to continue his resistance to the incoming Ahmedinejad government. He calls on supporters to stage peaceful protests and to use non-violence. And there are signs that top clerics are not willing to support either the supreme leader or Pres. Ahmedinejad, given the deep divisions across the nation.
The AP also reports that only one of nine Iranian clerics holding the highest possible rank —”marja’ taqlid,” meaning “model for imitation”— has congratulated Pres. Ahmedinejad for his return to power. Three of the nine have spoken out openly against the election results and the brutal security crackdown.
Grand Ayatollah Youssef Saanei, one of the nine marja’ taqlid, said on Friday that “due to the lack of public support, the government may face legal and civil problems and a lack of competency”. Other clerics have also begun directly questioning the legitimacy of the Khamene’i-Ahmedinejad power bloc: Ayatollah Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi, one of the leaders of the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom, said “The least we can say is that this government’s legitimacy is in doubt. A majority of the people don’t believe that Ahmadinejad was their vote”.
Pres. Ahmedinejad has said on national television that he plans to implement broad changes to the system of government and to the policy goals his administration will pursue. Ahmedinejad praised the election as the “cleanest” in Iran’s history and said he would establish an entirely new team for his second term, oriented toward addressing the concerns of young people, many of whom have been openly hostile to Ahmedinejad throughout the campaign.
- Iran Association of Researchers & Teachers of Qom Declares Vote-count Illegitimate
- Iran’s President Ahmedinejad Orders Probe into Shooting Death of Neda Soltan
- Mir Hossein Mousavi’s official message to Iranians abroad (transcript)
- Kalemeh, Mousavi’s Web Site, Shut Down by Iranian Authorities
- Iran Arrests 8 Employees of UK Embassy, Alleging Subversion
- Detained Reformists Reportedly Tortured to Induce Testimony About ‘Foreign Plot’
- What Happened at Baharestan Square?
- Iran Protesters Reportedly Attacked ‘Like Animals’ by Security Forces
- Iran’s Guardian Council Finds Ballots Cast Exceeded Number of Voters in 50 Cities
- Update on State Violence Against Demonstrators in Iran (video)
- Reports of Shots Fired at Iranian Demonstrators (video, links & updates)
- Khamene’i Demands End to Protests, Says Disputed Results Will Stand
- Open Letter from Iranian Academics to UN Sec. Gen. Ban Ki-moon
- Massive Opposition Rally in Tehran Mourns Slain Demonstrators (video)
- Pro-Mousavi Demonstrations & Iranians’ Constitutional Rights (video)
- Iran Opposition Movement Forces Khamenei to Investigate
- Iran Crackdown: Is it Tacit Admission Vote was Rigged?
- Iran Declares Ahmedinejad Winner, Results Widely Questioned as Fraudulent
- Rivals Ahmedinejad & Mousavi Both Declare Victory in Iran Election
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