Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The president can't even visit (and other fights)

It seems to be a sign of how little power the Iranian president has these days and how much conflict there is in the hierarchy. Stress caused by sanctions?

Iran President Ahmadinejad barred from visiting prison
Iranian judicial officials have blocked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from visiting Evin prison in the capital, Tehran.

Mr Ahmadinejad had asked to visit soon after a close aide of his was imprisoned there while the president was in New York last month.

But a judicial official said the visit was not appropriate at a time when Iran faced pressing economic problems.

The refusal is seen as an indication of Mr Ahmadinejad's waning authority…

Iran's judiciary is controlled by conservative hard-liners close to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…

Iran’s Political Infighting Erupts in Full View
A long and bitter rivalry between Iran’s president and an influential band of brothers in the political hierarchy exploded into the open on Monday, signaling new fractures in the facade of unity as the country confronts worsening economic conditions and isolation over the disputed Iranian nuclear program.

In a letter published by Iranian news sites, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the head of the powerful judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, of protecting “certain individuals” from prosecution for economic corruption who are widely understood to be high officials, including Ayatollah Larijani’s oldest brother.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also demanded access to Tehran’s Evin prison, to visit one of his aides who has been held for nearly a month. In order to build his case, Mr. Ahmadinejad referred to a range of articles in the Iranian Constitution that explain the powers of the president...

Both Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government and his opponents have been trying to cast each other as responsible for double-digit inflation, high unemployment and a devaluation of the national currency. These economic indicators have worsened in recent months with the bite of antinuclear sanctions, which have constricted Iran’s ability to sell oil and do routine banking transactions.

The hostility expressed between the country’s highest leaders, at a time of increasing Western pressure, comes despite repeated calls for political unity by Ayatollah Khamenei...

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