Tehran: Conservative rivals handed a
new snub to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday,
appointing the man he fired from the post of intelligence
minister as the country`s state prosecutor.
The appointment was made by the head of the
judiciary, Sadeq Larijani, who is the brother of Parliament
speaker Ali Larijani. The two brothers are emerging as rivals
of the hard-line President within Iran`s conservative camp in
what could shape up to be a power struggle during
Ahmadinejad`s second term.
The wrangling among conservatives comes as the
pro-reform opposition has stepped up its campaign against
Ahmadinejad, who it says won the June 12 presidential election
by fraud. The opposition, led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, who
claims to be the election`s rightful winner, says
Ahmadinejad`s government is illegitimate.
State television announced that the judiciary chief
named Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi as state prosecutor.
Ahmadinejad dismissed Ejehi last month in a dispute
that reportedly included the authorities` handling of the
crackdown on pro-opposition street protesters following the
disputed June 12 presidential election. Ahmadinejad publicly
criticised Ejehi, saying "if he would have carried out his
tasks properly, we would not have these problems on the
streets" after the election.
Bureau Report
