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| Rafsanjani: losing position |
The defeat for one of the great survivors of Iranian politics since the 1979 Islamic revolution highlighted how even establishment opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are being isolated and sidelined.
It follows reports by relatives of reformist opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, denied by the government, that they have been placed in detention at a secret location to stop them orchestrating pro-reform protests. There was a heavy presence of security forces at Tehran’s main squares to prevent anti-government rallies called by opposition groups to mark International Women’s Day, witnesses said.
An ambush challenge by arch hardliner Ayatollah Mohamed Reza Mahdavi-Kani forced Rafsanjani to withdraw from running for re-election as chairman of the Assembly of Experts.
The 86-member clerical body has the authority to dismiss Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 71, but it has never exercised that power since it was established in 1983.
“In the short-term Ahmadinejad has scored a victory in terms of his immediate authority within the establishment, but it raises questions for those beyond Rafsanjani who may have questions about that authority,” said Professor Scott Lucas, academic and editor of the online journal EA WorldView.