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Sanctions Rattle Iran, Spur Talk of Shake-Up

[Washington Times] Iason Athanasiadis - The unanimous passage of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran in December has shaken that nation's public and ruling elite, prompting talk of a shake-up of top officials and fears of a U.S. attack. "There is a deep concern and uncertainty on behalf of the Iranian leaders about the consequences of the nuclear program of Ahmadinejad's administration," said Hossein Bastani, the former general secretary of the Association of Iranian Journalists. A senior diplomat from the region said Iranians were troubled less by the specific economic sanctions than by the lineup of countries that had supported them, including Russia and China. An alliance of reformists and conservative "realists" has emerged to say the president's actions are leading the country to the brink of war. Reports also say Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is upset at Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's inability to win allies among Iran's Arab neighbors at a time when the U.S. is encouraging moderate Arab states to line up against Iran.
2007-02-02 01:00:00
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