Iran's Hardliners Hold Fast

I reported here earlier about how Iran's hardline Guardian Council, a group of 12 unelected religious figures, has vetoed almost half of the 8,200 candidates who wanted to run in the February 20 elections. The parliament, dominated by reformist politicians, passed a bill to reverse this decision - but the Guardian Council has rejected that as well.

The Taipei Times reports:

"This indicates that the level of confrontation between the MPs and the Guardian Council continues and they [the council] don't want to accept any solution," lawmaker Reza Yousefian said. ... The Guardian Council has been a key weapon in the armory of Iran's conservatives who fear that Khatami's efforts at reform could undermine the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Designed as a counterweight to the elected parliament, the council can veto legislation it deems unconstitutional or incompatible with Islamic Sharia law... It can also bar election candidates it considers unfit for office for reasons such as lack of commitment to the Constitution or to the clerical establishment headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Reformists seem to think that they will be able to get the Guardian Council to back down, but I don't see how that is possible. Only the current Ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, can overrule them. If he doesn't, the only other option will be taking action to remove power from the Council. That might be achieved peacefully or it might require violence - either way, it seems likely that Iran is headed for serious changes because I don't think that the Iranian population will tolerate what the Guardian Council is doing here.

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