A Jad has now demanded the prosecution of top opposition leaders joining The Rev Guard and Basij who have previously taken that position.
Iran's hard-line president Friday demanded the prosecution of top opposition leaders, raising the political temperature anew just a day and a half after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sought to cool tensions in a conciliatory speech
The most important task for the judiciary and security bodies is to deal seriously with the leaders and masterminds" of the unrest, he said, undermining the conciliatory tone set by Khamenei this week. "All of those who organized and instigated [the riots] and followed the enemy line have to be seriously confronted. The masterminds of the riots should by no means enjoy any immunity."
During a pre-sermon speech at weekly prayers in Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not name his reformist rivals, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and former parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, but left little doubt that he was speaking about them in calling for the punishment of the "masterminds" of weeks of public unrest that followed the disputed June 12 election.
The crowd inside the Tehran University venue chanted, "Execution for the ringleaders!"
http://www.latimes.com/...
You'll note that Madman Mahmoud is off on his own on this one. That is, he is defying the latest so called concilliatory speech by Ayatollah Khamenei. But hey look, if Khamenei was serious about reconciliation he would immediately end the ghastly show trial currently underway which has humiliated 100 opposition leaders in front of the Iranian people, he would release them from prison and absolve them of any so called wrong doing. I wait for such a _real_ gesture till I grant him any props for a "conciliatory speech".
On Wednesday, Khamenei made a conciliatory speech welcoming the opposition back into the nation's political fold and rejecting the assertion that the dissent has been orchestrated by foreign interests.
Khamenei appears to have softened his tone on the opposition in recent days and said on Wednesday he was not convinced those who led the protests were backed by foreigners.
He also indicated on Wednesday that members of the security forces who took part in the post-election crackdown were not immune from prosecution.
"I appreciate the work of the police and basij (Islamic militia) in dealing with the riots, but this does not mean that some of the crimes which occurred will not be dealt with and anyone who is a member of those two who committed a fault should be dealt with," Khamenei said.
http://www.google.com/...
But interestingly again is the fact that A Jad is openly defying this conciliatory notion. In fact he is ramping up his hard line position, calling for the prosecution of top reform leaders. What might this tell you? That A Jad has consolidated his position as the most powerful leader in Iran, at least as powerful as Khamenei. A Jad has the backing of the Rev Guard, the uber powerful movement charged with protecting the Islamic revolution from all dissidents and threats, both internal and external. The Rev Guard now wields massive power in Iran.
But almost three decades after the 1979 revolution, the Revolutionary Guard has also become a leading political and economic force in Iran. One of its veterans, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, became Iran's president in 2005. The force and a network of current and former commanders have also moved into Iran's oil and gas business, won bids on major government construction contracts, and even gained lucrative franchises such as Mercedes-Benz dealerships, the sources say.
It controls the deadliest arms, including adapted Scud missiles with ranges up to 1,200 miles, along with a chemical and biological weapons program and missile production. The Revolutionary Guard remains "the center of Iran's hard-line security forces," he said.
The Revolutionary Guards are quickly emerging as the most prominent actor in Iran said Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They're playing an increasingly active role on the domestic political scene, have enormous economic assets and interests, are a key player in the nuclear program, and are essentially running Iranian activities in Iraq and Lebanon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
A Jad and Khamenei butiing heads. Who's gonna prevail?
moon