Conservative and reformist legislators scuffled in Iran's parliament yesterday after a reformist deputies called on a panel of clerics to examine the performance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The brief bout of pushing and shouting involving around a dozen deputies reflected simmering political tension following parliamentary elections last month which reformists allege were rigged in advance to ensure a conservative victory.
| Oooh! I'll bet they're seething! |
Conservative candidates secured a comfortable majority at the polls, reversing a reformist win in 2000 elections, after more than 2,000 mainly reformist aspirants were barred from standing for election by a watchdog run by religious hard-liners. Outspoken reformist deputy Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoeini, one of several dozen reformist legislators barred from standing for re-election, called on Iran's Assembly of Experts to decide whether Khamenei had acted properly over the election dispute. Reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami have questioned whether Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters, tacitly supported the hardline Guardian Council's decision to ban hundreds of reformists from the election race. The assembly should examine if the leader and the council's moves were based on justice and expedience," he told a parliament session, broadcast live by state radio. The Assembly of Experts, a body of around 86 senior clerics which began an annual meeting in Tehran yesterday, appoints Iran's supreme leader and is empowered to dismiss him if he is deemed to be performing badly or is unfit to hold the office.
| But figger the odds on that happening... |
But criticism of the supreme leader is considered anathema by conservatives. As Mousavi Khoeini addressed parliament several conservative deputies stormed the lectern and pulled away his microphone. A melee ensued during which deputies traded shoves, kicks and insults. There were no injuries, witnesses said. Doomed to lose their tribune in parliament when the assembly convenes in June, reformist lawmakers have spoken out more openly in recent weeks. |