Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2008

PolicyWatch #1281: Ahmadinezhad's Power Slipping in Iran

Patrick Clawson, Mehdi Khalaji

September 2007

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

Two intriguing developments have unfolded in Iran over the past week: the election of a new Assembly of Experts Speaker on September 4 and the appointment of a new Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander in chief on September 1. Both suggest the growing power of former president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, a powerful politician who is openly critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad and his policies.