(Jerusalem Post) - Amir Taheri Iran's decision-making elite, consisting of some 100 mullahs and their non-clerical proteges, is divided into two camps with regard to Iraq. One camp, led by former prime minister Mir-Hussein Mussavi, with President Muhammad Khatami as figurehead, argues that Iran's best interest lies in a partnership with the U.S. in toppling the Iraqi regime. However, the faction led by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Council, the Islamic Republic's highest decision-making organ, subscribes to the position spelled out by former foreign minister Ali-Akbar Velayati: "The American Great Satan will never accept an Islamic system. It is coming to Iraq to complete its encirclement of our Islamic Republic before it moves against us. To help the Americans conquer Iraq easily would be suicidal for our revolution."
2003-03-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive