Pending Regime Change in Iran
Commentary > The Monitor's View
from the January 13, 2004 edition
As much as American conservatives want the US to push for a regime change in Iran, they should relax. Political turmoil in Tehran is heading that way anyway.
In Iran's awkward mix of democracy and theocracy, the Muslim clerics on the powerful Council of Guardians overplayed their hand this week in a losing battle with elected reformers. The council barred one-third of the current members of parliament from running in the Feb. 20 elections and eliminated more than half of the candidates registered to run.
This was a desperate act, and a clear sign that the self-appointed heirs to the 1979 Islamic Revolution are willing to risk a popular revolt over their clumsy power play.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0113/p08s02-comv.html