In the short history of the Islamic Republic of Iran two men have occupied the position of Rahbar, or "Leader;" a post that gets sloppily translated into "Supreme Leader." Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the Iranian revolution occupied this position first from 1979 to 1989. Upon his death, the position passed to Ayatollah Khamenei after some internal maneuvers by many powerful insiders. The 30+ years of the Islamic Republic never witnessed such a public disagreement between the Rahbar and the President like the current public confrontation. President Ahmadinejad fired the Intelligence minister only to have him re-instated by Khamenei. The resolution of this feud has been reached, somewhat, as Ahmadinejad backed down. For a concise and accurate description of events see Scott Peterson's article in the Christian Science Monitor.
What does this mean? What are the possibilities from here?
As I have said, many times, anyone who tells you that they know what will happen in Iranian politics with certainty is a fool or is lying. However, there remain some points that can be illuminated in this recent controversy. In some ways, the current developments show perhaps the best way to allow an authoritarian regime to dismantle itself.
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