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Hidden away for more than 20 years, a mystery letter suddenly reappeared last week.

The letter, supposedly written by a Tehran insider turned opposition leader, was explosive: it alleged that Iran sponsors terrorism abroad.

Like a middle manager ignored by his bosses, the letter writer expressed frustration that he was kept in the dark about Iran's involvement in events that he described as “operations abroad.”

“After an airplane is hijacked, we are informed; After a machine gun opens fire on a street in Lebanon and its sound is heard, we learn about it; After explosives are found on our pilgrims in Jeddah, I am informed of it,” said the letter, allegedly written by Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the leader of the Green Movement that sparked massive protests after last year’s fraudulent election.

The letter is an embarrassment for the Iranian government, which has always denied involvement in terrorist attacks beyond its borders. And no matter the origin of this mysterious letter or why it suddenly reappeared, it quickly set the Iranian blogosphere on fire. And for those outside the country, it became a window on the secretive world of Iranian politics.

Mousavi was prime minister when the letter was first published and some say this was his resignation letter. After it was initially published in 1988, he disappeared from politics for decades, reinventing himself last year as the leader of the strongest opposition movement the Islamic Rep... >>>