During his address to the Iranian people, last night, Iran Supreme Leader did not strike a tone of conciliation despite his call for " peace & tranquility".As matter of fact, he was threatening in part of his speech. He said that the protests should stop immediately, and that the demonstrators would be held responsible for potential chaos and violence.
Despite numerous evidence of the contrary he claimed that the election were completely legitimate.
Mousavi called off any protest yesterday, but asked his supporters to protest again on Saturday.
In the power struggle seizing Iran, right now, the military and the Revolutionary Guard could end up playing the deciding role. As the Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the army commander in chief. His complete support for Ahmadinejad will tie his destiny to the one of Iran's current president.
Another problem facing Khamenei is his current rift with Ayatollah Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani heads the " Assembly of Experts ", the only Iranian legal body able to challenge the authority of the Supreme Leader.
By choosing not to compromise, Khamenei could jeopardize the very foundation of the theocracy.
Before the election, the reformists groups were talking about a velvet revolution.
Let just hope that the regime has the intelligence to compromise despite Khamenei's tone last night, and that the sea of green of Mousavi's supporters does not turn into a river of blood.
To read the coverage of AFP click on the post title.
Last Update: 6/19/2009 @ 11:30 AM ( PST)
PersianKiwi just reported, via Twitter, that the " situation is now critical, and the Revolutionary Guard has been mobilized". Stay tuned.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment