Khamenei's son takes control of Iran's anti-protest militia
Guardian / Julian Borger
08-Jul-2009 (one comment)

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source.
The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals.
But these conservatives are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions in the organs of state to make it hard for the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to govern.

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rosie is roxy is roshan

That is really quite something, Ayhab...

by rosie is roxy is roshan on

it starts to sound like a Shakesperian tragedy: this powerful old man knows he is going to die, and all he cares about is living on through transfering power to his son, and to do so he winds up alienating all those around him who actually KEEP him in power. Forget about the clerics. I am sure Jafary is far from delighted... wasn't the tail supposed to wag the dog?

Is it possible that at the core of all this is the by now virtually delusional quest of one old man to survive his own death?

I mean, we talk all the time about a power struggle between Khameini and Rafsanjani,and Khamenei wanting his son to succeed him, but...

this is something different.