Iran Cleric Ratchets Up Rhetoric Against Leaders

Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF version Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the senior dissident cleric in Iran's religious establishment, has issued his harshest condemnation of the Islamic Republic's leadership since the disputed June 12 election. Mondtazeri (at left) never names Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei directly in his remarks, but he has long been an outspoken opponent of both Khamenei and the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Montazeri says "those who have lost, religiously and reasonably, the credibility for serving the public, are automatically dismissed, and the continuation of their work has no legitimacy." The Grand Ayatollah also says Iranians have a religious right and duty to protest their leaders, if those leaders violate the tenets of Islam by usurping power. "People must express their opinion about the illegitimacy and lack of their approval of their performance, and seek their dismissal through the best and least harmful way. It is clear that this is a societal duty of everyone, and all the people, regardless of their social positions and according to their knowledge and capability, must participate in this endeavor, and cannot shirk their responsibility." Montazeri's comments, which came in the form of answers to questions posed by one of his former pupils, were reported by the new, independent, Web-based news outlet Tehran Bureau. He issued the statements as Islamic "fatwas," or religious decrees. Dr. Majid Tafreshi, a historian and expert on Iran's post-revolutionary cleric-led government, tells CBSNews.com that Montazeri's comments were "not unexpected, but they were his harshest comments" yet on the election results, which opposition leaders claim were manipulated to give Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. Khamenei was quick to endorse Ahmadinejad as the winner of the vote and is widely seen as a firm backer of the hard-line president.  Read More