Iran's biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown.
"It's a clerical mutiny," said one Iranian analyst. "This is the first time ever you have all these big clerics openly challenging the leader's decision." Another, in Tehran, said: "We are seeing the birth of a new political front."
Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Mousavi-Tabrizi --no relations to Mir-Hossien Mousavi--, who heads the Association of Researchers and Tutors of the Qom Seminary, said today that establishing a party by Mousavi would be a worthy step, ILNA news agency reported. "Having (political) parties in any country is a prelude to establishing and strengthening democracy," said the cleric. "If people such as Mousavi want to set up strong political parties, this will be a good and worthy step, and must be welcomed, for naturally these parties will operate within the framework of the law," Mousavi-Tabrizi elaborated. Another political grouping that backed Mousavi in his presidential bid is the Islamic Revolution's Mujahedin Organization (IRMO) which is based in Iran. Mohammad Salamati, the IRMO General Secretary, also called on Mousavi to set up a political party, saying that Mousavi "has many supporters whose organization requires a party."
"Having (political) parties in any country is a prelude to establishing and strengthening democracy," said the cleric.
"If people such as Mousavi want to set up strong political parties, this will be a good and worthy step, and must be welcomed, for naturally these parties will operate within the framework of the law," Mousavi-Tabrizi elaborated.
Another political grouping that backed Mousavi in his presidential bid is the Islamic Revolution's Mujahedin Organization (IRMO) which is based in Iran. Mohammad Salamati, the IRMO General Secretary, also called on Mousavi to set up a political party, saying that Mousavi "has many supporters whose organization requires a party."
