On the surface, the turmoil in Iran has been rooted in anger over the disputed election — but a deeper religious struggle is also taking place within Iranian politics.
Former two-term president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who currently heads the Assembly of Experts — which has the authority to oversee the supreme leader — and Ayatollah Khamenei are thought to have a strained relationship.
Throughout the campaign, Rafsanjani was very critical of President Ahmedinejad. Recently, his daughter, Faezed Hashemi, was arrested while speaking to a crowd of hundreds at a rally in support of Ahmedinejad’s main rival, Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Geneive Abdo of The Century Foundation joins Martin Savidge to discus the power structure in the Islamic Republic and how important the clerical struggle really is.
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06/23/2009 :: 04:15:50 PM
J. Lamas Says:
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