Iran hard-liners warn Ahmadinejad he could be deposed

Iran hard-liners warn Ahmadinejad he could be deposed

www.latimes.com

The warning over the president's defiant actions highlights the rift among Iran's conservatives. Meanwhile, the government denies a request for a rally by Mousavi's supporters.

Political hard-liners warned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday that he could be deposed like past Iranian leaders if he continued to defy the country's supreme religious leader.

The implied threat was the latest evidence of the rift within Iran's conservative camp and could serve to further sap the authority of

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Further evidence that the regime is collapsing. Ahmadinejad is just a puppet, and so the supreme leader can replace him whenever he wants. But that reduces the legitimacy of the regime to the outside world. To Iranian's though, their legitimacy couldn't get much lower.

And Ahmadinejad could be used as an escape goat by the supreme leader, but I don't think the people will buy it. It might buy them a few days or weeks longer, but that's it.

Conservatives are also bothered by Ahmadinejad's push to broadcast the confessions of detainees, local media reported. His supporters see airing the confessions as a way to discredit and silence reformists and protesters, a tactic used extensively by hard-liners in the early 1980s.

But conservatives say televised confessions could prove politically explosive and appear dangerously out of step with the national mood. Several local news outlets said Mohseni-Ejei, along with state television chief Ezatollah Zarghami, clergy and judiciary officials, have been locked in a back-room fight with Ahmadinejad over the airing of such confessions, according to Iranian news websites.

Over the weekend, one lawmaker sternly warned authorities not to broadcast confessions obtained in prison.

"Broadcasting confessions can only add to public awareness if they are made under normal conditions, not if they are extracted under irregular circumstances," Ali Motahari told Press TV, according to an article on the website of the state-owned broadcaster. "The arrests may have been legal, but the important thing is how individuals were treated during interrogation, whether Islamic code was maintained, and whether they suffered any emotional, psychological or physical pressure or not."

Human rights groups and former prisoners say authorities typically extract the videotaped confessions after holding detainees in solitary confinement or following grueling interrogations that sometimes include physical abuse. They are often told what to read. In recent years, many said during the interrogations that they were foreign dupes, only to disavow the remarks later.

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[edit on 28-7-2009 by john124]

[edit on 28-7-2009 by john124]

Ahmadinejad's reelection was even a surprise to Ahmadinejad. He'd hoped his role was over, but his reelection showed that he still has work to do. In this he will continue to fail; he's a man trapped by his own ambition and has nowhere to go and nothing more to offer.

After all the anti-Israeli rhetoric and calls for the return of his Mahdi, he's just an empty shell of Prophet now. He should of just focused on improving the Economy instead of taking his country down a dead end road.

Interesting that Ahmedinijad is the one telling them to air confessions. NPR did a great bit on the forced, pre-scripted, buzzword-laden confessions just recently, it was actually pretty funny.

What I really want to see is the people of Iran overthrowing Ahmedinijad and the Supreme Leader, but they would never know a revolution was occurring. They're plenty angry enough and have already shown the size of the resistance, but without uncensored communication, they could never organize. I think the Iranian TV stations are still showing positive Presidential news, aren't they?

Iran issues confuse me. So many blogs and reports that are in direct opposition to each other. I don't know what to think about it all. Except that, let the Iranians do with Iran as they see fit. Like I said, I am confused. So, when I read articles that Iran wanted to use Euros for sales of oil, I said to myself, well, duh, let's buy Euros now and, gosh, we have the unit of currency they want to use and if we buy that now, it will surely become worth more later on and we will have made a profit.

I don't see Iran as a threat to anyone much. Israel? Yeh, but so what? What does that country contribute to the human race? I've read that Arab nations believe Iran is a threat to them. So what? Let them deal with it.

ATS is conspiracy oriented. Just what the hell is in the middle east that we westerners need to be involved with it? Is it just about the oil? It seems to me the price of oil has skyrocketd so much that we will send off our people to die for it.

Like I said. I am confused. Iran a threat? I don't adhere to this belief at all.

It's all about Israel? I read this stuff a lot. Well, what excactly is Israel a threat to? Some Palestinians who could be taken in by other Arab countries? Heh. On the surface it all seems like, oh, oil,oh, Palestinian persecution. I have a feeling it's much more than that. I just can't put my finger on it. Oh, I hope it doesn't have something to do with the Bible. lol.