Khamenei accuses West of plotting against Iran

Despite tensions, Prospects of military conflict ‘very low’

Hossein Jaseb

Reuters

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the West on Thursday of plotting against the Islamic Republic, but he also said the possibility of military conflict was very small, state television reported. Iran’s highest authority was speaking a day after the United States and other major powers told Tehran to prepare a “serious response” by October 1 to demands it halt its nuclear program or risk the consequences.

Khamenei made no mention of Iran’s nuclear dispute with the West, but focused on what Tehran sees as Western involvement in the unrest that erupted after its disputed election in June.

“The enemy has come to confront the Islamic establishment with a psychological war,” he was quoted as telling a meeting of a powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts. “One should not ignore the enemy’s plan to plot and sow discord.”

State television said Khamenei referred to the possibility of an outbreak of war, under the present conditions, as “very low.”

Neither Israel nor the United States, Iran’s arch foes, have ruled out possible military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The UN Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment program, which Western powers suspect has military aims. Iran has refused, but has agreed to hold broad talks with six big powers on October 1.

Iran says it is working on a civilian nuclear energy program and is committed to non-proliferation safeguards.

The June 12 presidential election plunged Iran into a deep internal crisis and exposed deepening establishment rifts. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shored up his position this month when Parliament approved most of his new government ministers.

The pro-reform opposition says the poll was rigged in the president’s favor. The authorities deny charges of vote fraud and Khamenei swiftly endorsed Ahmadinejad’s victory.

Clearly referring to opposition figures, Khamenei said divisive statements and measures by some people stemmed from “ignorance and negligence” and called for unity.

The authorities have portrayed the huge opposition protests that followed the election as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic state’s clerical leadership.

“As much effort as possible must be made in the direction of preservation and strengthening of religious and national unity,” Khamenei said. “When the enemy openly … took part in the post-election unrest how could one ignore this clear presence?”

Rights groups say thousands of people were detained after the vote. Most of them have since been freed, but more than 100 remain in jail, including senior reformist figures who have been put on trial charged with orchestrating post-election unrest.



Powerful clerical body backs supreme leader



TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has received firm support from a powerful clerical body which in theory can dismiss him, Iranian media reported on Thursday.

The 86-seat clerical Assembly of Experts is chaired by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who backed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in Iran’s disputed June election.

Rafsanjani, a rival of re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in July challenged Khamenei’s authority by declaring the Islamic Republic in crisis and demanding an end to arrests of moderates after the presidential poll.

But Rafsanjani subsequently has appeared to back down in his statements, urging Iranians last month to follow Khamenei’s guidelines and calling for national unity.

The pro-reform opposition says the June 12 election was rigged in Ahmadinejad’s favor. The authorities deny charges of vote fraud and Khamenei swiftly endorsed Ahmadinejad’s victory.

The election plunged Iran into a deep internal crisis and exposed deepening divisions within its ruling establishment, although Ahmadinejad shored up his position early this month when Parliament approved most of his new government ministers.

The Assembly of Experts issued a statement pledging “firm support” for Khamenei on Wednesday evening, coinciding with Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly.

“We consider him [Khamenei] as the only one who is qualified for the leadership,” the assembly’s statement said.