"Nowadays one thing only
dominates the politics of Iran, and that is the endemic, unresolved power struggle between
moderates and extremists, between a very popular reformist president, Mohamed Khatami, and
a deeply unpopular, arch-conservative, unelected clerical oligarchy, headed by
"spiritual leader" Ayatollah Khamenei ... ."
"The accused come from the southern towns of Shiraz and Isfahan, where substantial
numbers of Iran's 27,000 Jews live. They were arrested in March. .... according to one
report, the whole affair grew out of an alcohol related offense. Iran's religious
minorities are permitted to make alcoholic beverages for their own use, but are forbidden
to sell them to the Muslim majority."
"Whatever the origins of the case, the extreme improbability of the espionage
charge has led many Iranians to conclude that, for the regime's hard-liners, the case has
come as just another opportunity in their relentless "war of attrition" against
Khatami and the reformist camp. From his Paris exile, former President Abolhasan Bani-Sadr
called it 'a manoevre by those close to Ayatollah Khamenei' "
EXCERPTS: Friday prayers in Tehran are a central ritual of the Islamic Republic. The
faithful, bussed there in their thousands, assemble to hear a sermon by one of the
regime's top clerics. Often highly political rather than religious, this sets the tone of
official thinking on topics of the moment.
Nowadays one thing only dominates the politics of Iran, and that is the endemic,
unresolved power struggle between moderates and extremists, between a very popular,
reformist president, Mohamed Khatami, and a deeply unpopular, arch-conservative, unelected
clerical oligarchy, headed by "spiritual leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
clinging desperately to its threatened ascendancy.
So when, on successive Fridays, two heavyweights of the conservative camp address
themselves, at vehement length, to the recent arrest and impending trial of thirteen
Iranian Jews on charges of spying for Israel, it is a clear signal that they intend to
exploit it as a new, and highly charged, weapon in the power struggle.
The Friday before last Ayatollah Mohamed Yazdi, the chief of the Judiciary, told
worshippers that "the world" should pay him heed as the "highest justice
official in Iran".
The thirteen accused, he said, would be "tried under Islamic law for treason, and
they could be sentenced to death not just once but many times." Denouncing US and
Israeli "interference", he asked, "Of what human rights do they talk? Must
we violate the rights of sixty million Iranians for the sake of Zionism? Their
dissatisfaction with us, their anxiety, is proof of our wisdom."
Ayatollah Ali Jannati ... said that the thirteen were not being charged because of
their religion, but because they had been "transmitting information to Israel via
Turkey". They should be hanged.
The accused come from the southern towns of Shiraz and Isfahan, where substantial
numbers of Iran's estimated 27,000 Jews live. They were arrested in March. Nothing
official was said about it. But, according to one report, the whole affair grew out of an
alcohol-related offence. Iran's religious minorities are permitted to make alcoholic
beverages for their own use, but are forbidden to sell them to the Muslim majority.
Whatever the origins of the case, the extreme improbability of the espionage charge has
led many Iranians to conclude that, for the regime's hard-liners, the case has come as
just another opportunity in their relentless "war of attrition" against Khatami
and the reformist camp. From his Paris exile, former President Abolhasan Bani-Sadr called
it "a manoeuvre by those close to Ayatollah Khamenei".
Western diplomats in Tehran agree that the purpose is to weaken Khatami. It is
certainly consistent with the whole pattern of the conservatives' behaviour since -- to
their immense consternation -- Khatami trounced their own candidate, parliamentary speaker
Ayatollah Nateq Nouri, in the presidential elections two years ago.
In their newspapers, the conservatives make no secret about the underlying political
advantages that such a cause célèbre could furnish them. Thus Jumhur Islami, which is
close to "spiritual leader" Khamenei, wrote last week that "Washington's
obdurate attitude in connection with these spies shows that the US is still the enemy
number one of the Iranian people. This should be an eloquent lesson for all those in Iran
who advocate a normalisation of relations with the US administration."
Khatami, of course, is chief among those. There is confusion and embarrassment in his
camp, which, unlike the conservatives, has said almost nothing about the case -- though a
spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, generally a stronghold of moderation, felt moved to
complain of the US and Israel's "ill-informed and irresponsible comments".
Khatami has done no more than hint at his exasperation: clearly, he still doesn't feel
strong enough for that open showdown with his adversaries that many of his supporters
would welcome.
"Observers", reported the well-informed pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat from
Tehran last week, "expect the death sentence to be handed down, but it is not sure
whether it will be carried out."
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