Free Republic

KHAMENEH'I RESISTS EXTRADITING OF AL-QA’EDA OFFICIALS TEHRAN 29 June (IPS) Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is locked in serious, if not vital, discussion with Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, the leader of the Islamic Republic over the extradition of some senior members of the al-Qa’eda organisation to their respective countries, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to well informed sources. Iranian official admitted the arrest of at least five hundred al-Qa’eda "terrorists", but said they don’t know if any senior member of the network like the Egyptian Dr. Eyman al Zawaheri, Osama Ben Laden’s right hand man, his son, Sa’d or his spokesman,...

Millionaire Mullahs Paul Klebnikov, 07.21.03 Forbes.com | On The Cover/Top Stories A nuclear threat to the rest of the world, Iran is robbing its own people of prosperity. But the men at the top are getting extremely rich. It's rumble time in Tehran. At dozens of intersections in the capital of Iran thousands of students are protesting on a recent Friday around midnight, as they do nearly every night, chanting pro-democracy slogans and lighting bonfires on street corners. Residents of the surrounding middle-class neighborhoods converge in their cars, honking their horns in raucous support. Suddenly there's thunder in the air....

Below is an Opinion from the Daily Star in Lebanon: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/26_06_03_a.asp The 3-Way Battle for Iran’s Uncertain Future The struggle in Iran is frequently described as one between two camps: reformists gathered around President Mohammad Khatami and hard-liners loyal to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These two groups are certainly at each other’s throats, but no analysis of the situation is complete without an appreciation of the role being played by a third force: former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The latter’s efforts are deployed behind the scenes these days, but whatever happens in the more public contest, he...