By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL
|
Former Iranian President Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
In recent weeks, Rafsanjani
has been very vocally criticizing the government and the powerful
revolutionary guards for their handling the post-election events and for
intolerance for the opposing views. This has resulted in sharp attacks
against him and his family, most recently by the Intelligence Minister. |
"Fararu," an Iranian news website, has posted a
directive that is said to be from the deputy news director of Iran's official
news agency IRNA.
A directive from the deputy news director of Iran's official news agency IRNA reportedly calls on the agency's news sections to refer to Iran's
former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an ayatollah and a rival of Iran's
current president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, as hojatoleslam, which is a lower
religious title.The directive also notes
that Rafsanjani's job title is the head of Iran's Expediency Council and says
the move is aimed at unifying the reporting of Rafsanjani's titles by the new
agency. (Rafsanjani also heads the Assembly of Experts, which is in charge of
selecting and dismissing Iran's supreme leader.)
But some analysts believe the IRNA directive is part of a government campaign
against Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani has backed the opposition, criticized the
crackdown against opposition members, and said publicly that the Islamic
republic is facing a crisis.
At least one of Rafsanjani's children -- his daughter, Faezeh Hashemi -- has
participated in several opposition rallies, including a protest last week on the
occasion of National Student Day.
On December 9, Iran's Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi issued a warning,
suggesting that Rafsanjani is among those standing against the Islamic
establishment. Moslehi also said the government is preparing a lawsuit against
Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi, on corruption charges.
Mehdi Hashemi is currently out of the country.
Copyright (c) 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
... Payvand News - 12/14/09 ... --
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