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Wounded But Alive: Could Ahmadinejad Become More Dangerous?

[Asharq Alawsat-UK] Amir Taheri - The elections in Iran last week dealt Ahmadinejad his first significant political defeat. It is clear that the electorate wanted to serve notice on Ahmadinejad about its concerns over his populist domestic policy and poker-like foreign strategy. The politically more important election concerned the choice of 86 mullahs to form the new Assembly of Experts (AOE) who elect the "Supreme Guide," the true powerhouse of the Khomeinist system. The incumbent, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is said to be in declining health that might force him to step down. Before the election, there was a feeling that Ahmadinejad was planning to seize control of the AOE and use it to replace Khamenei with his own religious guru, Ayatollah Muhammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi. However, Ahmadinejad has failed to secure the extra 17 seats he reportedly needed to win control of the AOE. The real winner of the AOE election is Khamenei who can count on a solid bloc of 40 seats held by his own allies, while the two rival factions, respectively led by Ahmadinejad and former President Rafsanjani, would be in no position to muster a majority against him.
2006-12-26 01:00:00
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