khamenei – Page 2 – 4VF News

Iran: A Showdown at Friday Prayers?

Friday’s weekly Friday prayer service at Tehran University will do a lot more than honor the onset of the Muslim sabbath. The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, plans to lead the service himself — and he has publicly requested the attendance of all the main players in the political drama that has roiled Iran since last Friday’s disputed election. Reports on Thursday suggested that opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi encouraged his supporters to attend the event, but overnight word circulated that he and reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi had urged their followers to stay away, although the authenticity of those claims could not be verified.

Analysis: Iran’s conservative leadership divided amid unrest

There are signs that the ongoing protests against last week’s presidential election results may be starting to divide Iran’s conservative leadership. Iran’s influential parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani on Thursday blamed the Interior Ministry for a bloody crackdown on civilians, including students at Tehran University, after Monday’s protests

The End Game in Iran: Four Ways the Crisis May Resolve

Some observers see Iran’s courageous protests against a stolen election as a replay of the 1979 revolution that ended the tyranny of the Shah — or of the “velvet revolutions” that ended communism in Eastern Europe.

In Iran, Rival Regime Factions Play a High-Stakes Game of Chicken

As the sun set on the fourth day of turmoil over Iran’s disputed election result, the political conflict looked less like a “Tehran spring” challenge to the Islamic regime than a high-stakes game of chicken among its rival factions.

Commentary: Iran’s hardliners are the real losers

With an apparent political coup in Iran by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters over the weekend, the ruling mullahs have dispensed with all democratic pretense and joined the ranks of traditional dictators in the Middle East. (CNN) — With an apparent political coup in Iran by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters over the weekend, the ruling mullahs have dispensed with all democratic pretense and joined the ranks of traditional dictators in the Middle East. The hardliners in Tehran, led by the Revolutionary Guards and ultra-conservatives, have won the first round against reformist conservatives but at an extravagant cost — loss of public support.

Pirates hijack two chemical tankers off Somalia

Pirates have hijacked two European-owned chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia in the past 24 hours, the European Union Maritime Security Center said Thursday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will represent the United States at the United Nations meeting Tuesday in The Hague, the State Department said earlier. It is not clear who Iran will send to the conference.