There is a heirarchy of Ayatollahs, and Montazeri is senior, but that does not necessarily mean he’s all that influential.
Montazeri may be senior, but he has been sidelined by the government for two decades at least. He is a perennial dissident and this statement is perfectly in character. It is also unfortunately just like his many other statements over the years that the government has successfully ignored. He is one of the “usual suspects”; if one or more of the OTHER Senior Ayatollahs were to make such a statement, it would be more significant.
Thanks for the info!
Very interesting point. My question is has Sistani uttered an opinion regarding this “election”? Although based in iraq hee is after all the highest authority of Shiite islam and an iranian as well. Can his authority in any way have the desired effect?