Iran Special: The Battle Within --- Ahmadinejad v. Rafsanjani in 5 Scenes

A trusted EA source gives us the latest from Tehran, through a series of events this past week:

SCENE 1: Hassan Rohani, an ally of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, hosts a meeting of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council. The topic is the Arab Spring, specifically the role of the Iran-led Islamic Awakening in the movements across North Africa and the Middle East.

All proceeds accordingly to plan until question-and-answer when Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of Rafsanjani, makes a statement. Hashemi, a women's right activist who has been detained on at least two occasions and still faces charges, declares --- to audible gasps from the audience --- that the Arab Spring has not been influenced by the Iranian regime but by the Green Movement. She continues with a challenge to the Republic's officials, to the Government, and even to the Supreme Leader.

SCENE 2: A programme on State broadcaster IRIB criticises Rafsanjani over his leading role on the board of the Islamic Azad University, which he founded during his Presidency in the 1990s. Rahani responds, "What is the reason for destroying this pillar of the Revoution?"

SCENE 3: A mourning ceremony is held for Ayatollah Hashemian, the Friday Prayer Leader of Rafsanjan and a relative of Rafsanjani. Majid Ansari, a member of the Assembly of Experts, uses the eulogy to criticise those who would exclude figures of authority from the affairs of the Islamic Republic.

SCENE 4: Ansari asserts that there is a "new Forqan group" to finish off the work of its predecessor, an Islamic leftist organisation which carried out a series of assassinations in 1979 and attempted to kill Rafsanjani. Ansari's warning is taken by many to refer to supporters of President Ahmadinejad.

SCENE 5: President Ahmadinejad uses a speech not only to challenge  "some groups who disagree with us" but also to ask why others remain silent "because you destory our service when you do so". Observers speculate that Ahmadinejad's outburst is prompted by the speech at the Hashemian ceremony and by Rohani's allegation.