0540 GMT: International media eagerly spread President Ahmadinejad's declaration on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic could withdraw sanctions, to the point of surviving even if it did not sell a drop of oil over the next three years.
No one seemed to recognise that this was a diversion. The real story in Iran lay elsewhere --- away from the impending nuclear talks, away from the "West", and even away from the sanctions.
Monday's pressure on Ahmadinejad, including the threats to prosecute his Vice President and two of his top advisors, escalated yesterday. MPs took up Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani's damnation of the Government's subsidy cuts, with 15 legislators calling on Larijani to summon Ahmadinejad for questioning over the programme, problems with domestic production, and inflation. (One of the MPs, former Minister of Health Ali Larijani, had proclaimed only last week that "his entire family had voted for Ahmadinejad" in 2009.)
And in a move which may be symbolic or may be much, Parliament passed an emergency bill which warns of much more to come: the measure says Ahmadinejad can be dismissed if he fails to answer six or more questions satisfactorily.
Posted via email from lissping
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.