Rifts in Iran’s Leadership. Plus: Secret Meetings with Obama Admin?
News of an open confrontation between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come to light, revealing infighting over the dismissal of the minister of Intelligence by Ahmadinejad. Khamenei opposed the firing.
According to reports, last month Heydar Moslehi — the former minister of Intelligence — presented an extensive report on Ahmadinejad’s political and economic activities to Khamenei. In addition, the report is said to have contained information on a number of serious violations.
In late January/early February, a group calling itself “a trade association” — all of its members belong to security forces close to Ahmadinejad — traveled to Dubai. The group’s announced intentions were to cozy up to a trade association of Iranians in Dubai, and to reveal a plan to open a special office for their economic activities. However, reports claim that they also held clandestine meetings with two American officials with political and military connections.
The report the minister of Intelligence provided — which cautioned of an especially dangerous outcome to these undertakings — is said to have disturbed Khamenei.
Other reports from inside Iran point to the Obama administration’s continuation of privately approaching the Iranian officials, hoping to get them to return to negotiations on the nuclear issues. Clearly, sanctions have not achieved the goal of stopping Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. This may explain why President Obama kept silent when Green leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi were arrested in February, leading to mass protests across Iran on February 14, February 20, and March 1. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested.
While the Iranians ignore the Americans, they are strengthening ties with China in secret oil deals.
The Ministry of Industries delivered a classified report to the Iranian parliament and an official memo to the Ministry of Intelligence, both of which stated their inability to explain or justify oil contracts with China and Malaysia. They admitted they had no information on any of the details of the contracts, and declared they had no involvement with these deals.
Then, during the last week of February, a classified report from the Ministry of Petroleum tipped off the Energy Commission within the Iranian parliament: a substantial amount of fuel had been exported by the Revolutionary Guards to the Chinese via underwater pipelines in the Persian Gulf (Kish Island). The Ministry of Petroleum acknowledged a $3 billion oil sale discrepancy, which could not be accounted for.
The entire philosophy of the Iranian regime is centered around the idea of maintaining control of their own country in a way where they are not subject to manipulation or control by the U.S. accompanied by the idea that the U.S. is determined to exert such control.
Iran has accomplished this goal by using their oil money to finance their own military as best their technological and manufacturing base can supplemented with tech acquired from countries like Russia and China who are provisionally opposed to U.S. interests.
Iran puts on an Islamic face but no culture is immune to materialism and power – they just say they are. The reason Islamists like Iran are opposed to the West is not so much because of our value system like they claim but because of the superiority of the West – if we had the exact same values as Islamists they would adopt a different philosophy because all this low self-esteem and suspicion on which their philosophy is based is about trying to explain away their own inferiority and so they adopt a different value system because by our value system and that of reality they are failures. In that sense it is no different from the liberal Left in America in trying to say that all games should have a final score which is a tie and in so doing always seeking, like Islam, to explain away the failures of the groups they shepherd.
One need only take a cursory look at Iran’s internal policies to see how much they have compromised their new value system for the sake of reality and expediency – they are doing so now. The President of Iran was originally meant to be a mere figurehead but he has apparently found his own power base and the ambition to go with it. The holy mullahs love oil, money and power and China and their growing nation that is now 1.3 billion people are the perfect partners because they are seen to have never humiliated Islam and also oppose the West for the way the West stands in the way of their imperial ambitions.
Adventurous policy very often hide the inner problems of the regime and it is more dangerous in this case.The Islam bomb of the Pakistan, Al Kaida`s supposed bomb and future Iranian one are extremely dangerous in the situation of the inner conflicts in Iran.The naive hopes that Iranian “revolution” or the leader`s change will eliminate the bomb danger is ridiculouse.
“For over 30 years, the Iranians have obfuscated, misled, deluded, and refused to cooperate in any way. Over and over, these same leaders have called for the demise of America and the destruction of Israel.”
But wait, I though Obama’s “Smart Power” was going to fix all of that? We would extend our open hand of friendship to the Iranians and they would simply “adore” us. What happened to all of that? You mean, the Iranians are actually lying, duplicitous, religious fanatics bent on plunging the Middle East into a nuclear war? Say it ain’t so. And it took Obama only just shy of three years to figure that out? Now THAT is “smart power” for you. This guy really needs to be voted out of office in 2012. Really.
If the Iranian parliament is opposed to the secret contracts (and lost revenue) can they do anything about them?
Where does STUXNET fit in all this if at all?
Obama is hoping to import STUXNET and sabotage American reactors.
Somebody’s building a nest egg overseas for when Ahmadenijad decides to hasten the appearance of the Twelfth Imam.
It’s nice to see rifts in Iran, in the weapons development program as well as between the old man and Ahmadinejhad.
It would seem the little agitator A’jad has gotten a little too big for his britches.
While the Iranians ignore the Americans, they are strengthening ties with China in secret oil deals.
Which in turn influences how China votes on the UN security council while, for a long time, Russia has been servicing and selling in support of Iran’s nuclear program.
How could any cohesive international policy possibly emerge from these tangled webs ?
The Obama administration is moronic (but you knew that) if they think Iran will come around, or even believes that there is some single representative faction in Iran to deal with.
The current Iranian regime is on the ropes. Its Syrian surrogates otherwise occupied. Iranian expansion in Lebanon endangered. Israeli worms busy tunneling away at Iranian infrastructure. The Saudis getting tough. Now Obama wants to cut a deal? How does that speak to freedom for Iranians?
As Sept.11th approaches Americans need no reminder of the threat posed by radicals and terrorists. Concessions made to terrorists anywhere are concessions made to terrorists everywhere. The Middle East is in flames because that part of the world that treasures religious freedom has turned its back on the one country in the Middle East that is religiously free.
Despite this lack of support Israel has re-emerged as the preeminent strategic power in the Middle East. Regimes that are hostile to Israel are in turmoil. Chains-of-Command corrupted, equipment and supplies plundered, political decision making unreliable. In the MIddle East only Israel has maintained both its civilian and military integrity. This comes at a time when Israel’s technological superiority and battlefield expertise have never been higher.
Israel has thwarted the nuclear ambitions of Iran, Iraq and Syria. Three of the most radical and unstable regimes in the world.
For Americans the central question should be – Are we as Americans safer with a strong Israel in the Middle East? If your answer is yes, as mine is, then you realize anything done to undermine that strength is counter-productive to American interests.
Now that Hamas and the P.A. have officially joined forces we must demand the halt of the U.S. training and equipping of P.A. forces. Otherwise we will find the assault rifles and bullets we are providing will wind up being turned on American soldiers.
The title should read, “Rift in the Ayatollahs’ leadership ..”.
I am a huge fan of your courage.
Did you know Jimmy Carter and company thought Khomeni would be the “Gandhi” of the West?
http://wwwtwosetsofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/carter-administration-on-overthrowing.html
First you never step into a domestic problem, ask any police officer about that. Would Obama be your choice for a leader when the real troubles start? I know I do not want Obama to do anything but collect his pension and go back to Chicago. Let the Israelis take care of Iran they will at least do the job right!
The question is:Can Ahmadinejad made a coup d’etat.