The Financial Times
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
September 9 2008
Amid mounting domestic pressure on his government at least 40 members of Iran's parliament have called for President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to be summoned over pro-Israel comments made by one of his closest aides.
No parliament has used this constitutional right against the head of the government since 1981. But local newspapers yesterday reported that the parliamentarians, most of whom remain anonymous, had signed a petition demanding that he answer questions in parliament after last month's comments by Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, vice-president for tourism affairs, who said Iran was a "friend of the Israeli people".
Iran sees Israel as an illegitimate regime and advocates a referendum in which all Palestinians, including Muslims, Jews and Christians as well as refugees in neighbouring countries, could participate to decide their future.
The surprising comments by Mr Mashaei, who is one of the few close allies of the president, were at odds with Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's controversial call for the destruction of Israel and denial of the Holocaust.
According to the constitution at least 75 names are needed for a petition of this kind to be successful and any petition could still be withdrawn on national security grounds.
But analysts believe Mr Mashaei's comments are part of a new approach by the government to improve its image at home and abroad before presidential elections scheduled for June 12 next year.
"Mr Ahmadi-Nejad in his last year is trying to behave more like a politician, which is a shift from three years of trying to establish himself through radical anti-US and anti-Israel speeches," said one political analyst.
However Mr Mashaei, in a meeting with some parliamentarians yesterday, tried to repair the damage and said: "I say 'death to Israel' a thousand times." He reiterated the president's policy on Israel had not changed.
The government is already under pressure over its economic policies, blamed for problems including an inflation rate of 27.6 per cent. Many observers see the move against Mr Ahmadi-Nejad in parliament as evidence that his opponents are exploiting the opportunity given to them by Mr Mashaei's comments.
Analysts also speculate that the president's more moderate allies, such as Mr Mashaei, have managed to push back radical advisers.
Kargozaran, a reformist newspaper, yesterday re-ported that Mr Mashaei in a closed meeting in the parliament had claimed that his comments were "co-ordinated with the president and you can go and ask him".
Calls by a majority of parliamentarians, two grand ayatollahs based in the holy city of Qom, and conservative, fundamentalist and reformist politicians to dismiss Mr Mashaei have been ignored by the president.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has not reacted to the dispute. Rather, he gave strong support to the government's domestic and international policies last month and even gave his indirect support for Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's reelection next year. "Do not think this is the last year of the government, No! Work as if you have to work five more years," he told cabinet members.
Mr Ahmadi-Nejad relies on about a dozen advisers, including Mr Mashaei, but none of them is in a vulnerable position with ministerial jobs that could expose them to impeachment by parliament.
Meanwhile, a supporter of the president, Mohammad Nourizad, a film-maker and journalist, lashed out at the senior clergy for their "interference" in politics and "unilateral protests" in issues he said were not their business.
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
September 9 2008
Amid mounting domestic pressure on his government at least 40 members of Iran's parliament have called for President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to be summoned over pro-Israel comments made by one of his closest aides.
No parliament has used this constitutional right against the head of the government since 1981. But local newspapers yesterday reported that the parliamentarians, most of whom remain anonymous, had signed a petition demanding that he answer questions in parliament after last month's comments by Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, vice-president for tourism affairs, who said Iran was a "friend of the Israeli people".
Iran sees Israel as an illegitimate regime and advocates a referendum in which all Palestinians, including Muslims, Jews and Christians as well as refugees in neighbouring countries, could participate to decide their future.
The surprising comments by Mr Mashaei, who is one of the few close allies of the president, were at odds with Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's controversial call for the destruction of Israel and denial of the Holocaust.
According to the constitution at least 75 names are needed for a petition of this kind to be successful and any petition could still be withdrawn on national security grounds.
But analysts believe Mr Mashaei's comments are part of a new approach by the government to improve its image at home and abroad before presidential elections scheduled for June 12 next year.
"Mr Ahmadi-Nejad in his last year is trying to behave more like a politician, which is a shift from three years of trying to establish himself through radical anti-US and anti-Israel speeches," said one political analyst.
However Mr Mashaei, in a meeting with some parliamentarians yesterday, tried to repair the damage and said: "I say 'death to Israel' a thousand times." He reiterated the president's policy on Israel had not changed.
The government is already under pressure over its economic policies, blamed for problems including an inflation rate of 27.6 per cent. Many observers see the move against Mr Ahmadi-Nejad in parliament as evidence that his opponents are exploiting the opportunity given to them by Mr Mashaei's comments.
Analysts also speculate that the president's more moderate allies, such as Mr Mashaei, have managed to push back radical advisers.
Kargozaran, a reformist newspaper, yesterday re-ported that Mr Mashaei in a closed meeting in the parliament had claimed that his comments were "co-ordinated with the president and you can go and ask him".
Calls by a majority of parliamentarians, two grand ayatollahs based in the holy city of Qom, and conservative, fundamentalist and reformist politicians to dismiss Mr Mashaei have been ignored by the president.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has not reacted to the dispute. Rather, he gave strong support to the government's domestic and international policies last month and even gave his indirect support for Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's reelection next year. "Do not think this is the last year of the government, No! Work as if you have to work five more years," he told cabinet members.
Mr Ahmadi-Nejad relies on about a dozen advisers, including Mr Mashaei, but none of them is in a vulnerable position with ministerial jobs that could expose them to impeachment by parliament.
Meanwhile, a supporter of the president, Mohammad Nourizad, a film-maker and journalist, lashed out at the senior clergy for their "interference" in politics and "unilateral protests" in issues he said were not their business.
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