Clerics’ discontent challenges Iran leader

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Message for the opposition
On Wednesday, hard-line Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi issued a message directed implicitly at the opposition, reminding them that the supreme leader alone has the right to govern.

"The administration of power has been transferred from the imams to the supreme jurisconsult," he told students in Qom in a speech carried by the semiofficial Fars news agency. "The jurisconsult has guardianship to administer the Islamic system according to Islamic rulings and not on the basis of his personal opinions."

During the height of the crisis, one of the most ultra-conservative ayatollahs drilled that message directly to the Revolutionary Guards, urging them to put aside any doubt and follow the supreme leader. Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi — believed to be Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor — addressed a gathering of Guards commanders on June 22, only days after security forces broke up one of the biggest protests.

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"Do not be worried about the events and earthquakes that have occurred. Know that God created this world as a test," he told them. "The supreme leader holds a great many of the blessings God has given us and at a time of such uncertainties our eyes must turn to him."

An increased reliance on the Revolutionary Guards to maintain power would be a dramatic change for the clerical leadership. In the past, Khamenei has been able to maintain at least the quiet acceptance of most clerics by taking occasional steps to rein in hard-liners. In the past, that has been enough to maintain popular support among Iran's largely religious population, even if a liberal fringe demanded greater reform.