Controversial figure in Iran moved from one key post into another

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has appointed Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie as his adviser, a day after the controversial political figure resigned as first vice president, Iran’s state-run news agency reported on Saturday. Ahmadinejad praised Mashaie as a pious, trustworthy, and self-sacrificing human being in his letter of appointment, the IRNA report stated

Share

Report: Senior cleric issues fatwa against VP selection

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent pick for the country’s top vice president continued to draw fire Thursday, with a senior cleric issuing a fatwa against the appointment, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday. According to the newspaper — Etemad-e Melli — Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi’s Islamic edict against the selection of Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie is part of a larger fatwa issued Wednesday — the same day the nation’s supreme leader reportedly called on Ahmadinejad to remove Mashaie from the top vice president post

Share

Arab neighbors watch Iran’s troubles

"Millions voted for President Ahmadinejad and that makes the elections definitive," declared Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Akbar Khamenei during his Friday sermon. With these simple words addressing Muslim worshippers, he ended speculations about his position following a week of pro-opposition demonstrations claiming vote-rigging and denouncing their candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi’s defeat

Share