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| Axis of Evil |
| Iran faces 'social explosion' |
| 2002-05-17 |
| Iran is on the verge of a social explosion, according to a leading conservative cleric. The cleric, Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini, is the deputy head of the influential and conservative Assembly of Experts - the body that has the authority to appoint or dismiss the country's supreme leader. He told a meeting in Qom, south-west of the Capital Tehran, that ordinary Iranians were extremely unhappy with the current situation, and that officials should not disregard their views. "If popular discontent increases, as is the case, society and the regime will be threatened," the ayatollah warned. He had a vision of his head on a stake... BBC Teheran correspondent Jim Muir says such dire warnings are common among reformists - including President Mohammed Khatami. However Ayatollah Amini is a pillar of the conservative and religious establishment which still controls most of the powerful institutions of state. The objective of the Islamic revolution, he said, was not to replace one government with another without altering the behaviour of the state. The ayatollah said the Iranian revolution occurred "because the people were discontented with the injustice and discrimination of the imperial regime". No regime "can maintain itself in power by force," he warned. Wonder how soon events are going to come to a head there? I suspect that when they do, it'll be pretty bloody. I just hope they have all the Islamocrap out of their system when they're done. Iran used to be a civilized country. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |