"I won't refrain from securing the rights of the Iranian people... because of personal interests and the fear of threats." Such were the wordsof former Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hossein Moussavi, published on the website of his newspaper Kalameh on Thursday. Referring to the "rigged" election and complaining of his complete lack of access to people and the media clampdown ordered in the wake of recent street protests, his stance is being depicted as a direct challenge to the authority of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.
Last Friday, in a speech at Tehran University, Ayatollah Khamenei had absolutely ruled out reversing the verdict of Iran's recent presidential elections, which saw Moussavi lose to incumbent hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by 63% to 34% of the vote. The resulting protests have caused the deaths of at least 20 people. Subsequently, MPs have avoided Ahmadinejad's victory party, with 105 attending when 209 were expected.
In another key development, on Friday the G8 nations were preparingto issue a strong statement "deploring" the violence that has flared up in the wake of the recent elections. It is reported that they will call on the Iranian government to "guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process." This statement is apparently the result of a compromise between countries that want to take a hardline with the Tehran regime and those that don't wish to endanger future diplomatic avenues.
The toD verdict:While most commentators agree that this challenge to the authority of the Iranian state is unprecedented since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, few have any idea what will happen next. It is clear that that the ruling elite have been taken by surprise by the popular backlash against the elections' ostensible verdict. Their decision to back Ahmadinejad may not prove tenable. The United States' position of treading lightly has reaped dividends by denying the incumbent president a credible external bogeyman to consolidate support behind him, despite repeated attempts to do so.
It might be hoped that there will be a peaceful resolution to the controversy of Iran's election. The regime's only hope to maintain credibility at the international level would seem to be to agree to a second election. At the same time, stepping down from his standing rejectionist stance would inevitably lead to the diminishing of Ali Khamenei's authority. At the moment, all eyes are trained on Iran's Supreme Leader. The decisions he makes in the coming days will determine Iran's future for the coming decade.
Russian Supreme Court orders new trial for Politkovskaya murder suspects
On Thursday, the Russian Supreme Court orderedthat two Chechnyan brothers and a former police officer be tried again as accessories in the assassination of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Gunned down in 2006 while carrying groceries to her home in Moscow, Politkovskaya had made a reputation as a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin's regime. Never satisfied with the much pubicised arrest of the alleged culprits, her supporters reacted to the announcement with weariness. "I think the authorities finally came to the conclusion that it looks very improper that nobody ended up behind bars on such a big case," was the verdict of Sergei Sokolov, deputy editor of the Novaya Gazeta, where she worked.
US and China begin high-level defence talks
For the first time in 18 months, the United States and the People's Republic of China beganhigh level military consultations on Wednesday. These discussions, formally entitled the "US-China Defence Consultative Talks" come after a number of confrontations between the naval forces of the respective nations and at a time of mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula. They were previously suspended by China in protest over US arms sales to Taiwan. The respective delegations were headed by US undersecretary of defence, Michele Flournoy, and Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Bomb blasts rock Baghdad
On Friday, a bomb attack on a motorcycle market killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others. This attack is the latest in a string of terrorist incidents that have taken place in the run up to the scheduled withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities next Tuesday. On Wednesday, 70 people were killed in an attack in the heavily Shia neighbourhood Sadr City in Baghdad. Commentators speculate that these attacks are meant to undermine confidence in the ability of Iraqi security forces ahead of the US withdrawal.