Iran Feature: Revolutionary Guards Speak Out Against Ahmadinejad (Theodoulou)

Michael Theodoulou writes in The National:

The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has come under harsh and unprecedented criticism from his usually close supporters, the Revolutionary Guards, in a move that suggests rifts among the Islamic Republic's power centres are widening.

An article in the most recent issue of the Guards' monthly magazine took the polarising president to task for declaring recently that, after the supreme leader, it is his government and not parliament that is the country's highest authority.

"Does being on top justify whatever action the government thinks right, disregarding the law?" asked the magazine, Payam-e Enghelab (Message of the Revolution), in a story entitled: "Is parliament at the centre of affairs or not?"

Conservative parliamentarians, judiciary officials and some clerics previously have accused Mr Ahmadinejad of trying to amass power in the office of the presidency at the expense of parliament. But this was the first time the Revolutionary Guards have spoken against him publicly.

The elite military force has grown in power and influence since Mr Ahmadinejad - a former Revolutionary Guard - came to office in 2005, and is usually considered his staunch supporter.

The Guards played a key role in quelling last year's unrest that was ignited by Mr Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. But some of the force's leaders are said to be unhappy that he has not rewarded them with more of a say in decision-making.

Analysts suspect the magazine was encouraged to publish the article by the office of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. If so, however, this does not mean there is a major rift between the ayatollah and the president: it is more likely to be a warning shot aimed at reining in Mr Ahmadinejad, analysts said.

"It [the article] should not be turned into a narrative of withdrawal of support for Ahmadinejad and a sign of his imminent downfall," said Farideh Farhi, an Iran expert at the University of Hawaii. "But it should give pause to those who keep explaining Ahmadinejad's success in maintaining power in terms of his base of support in the Guards."

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