Rallies Fade, Behind the Scenes Struggle Endures in Iran

Mousavi Aide Barred From Leaving Country

by | Jun 25, 2009

While the massive protests seen last week in Iran have subsided, the enduring split among the nation’s clergy appears to be playing out in behind the scenes struggles for power punctuated by the occasional public proclamation.

Mir-Hossein MousaviOpposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, whose claims of election fraud sparked the massive demonstrations on the streets of Tehran, claims he is under pressure to drop his challenge to the vote, as conservative opposition candidate Mohsen Rezaei did yesterday.

The government has cracked down harshly against Mousavi’s campaign as the demonstrations turned violent, and Iran’s state media is reporting that one of his top aides has been denied permission to leave the country for Britain.

The unrest in Iran has strained ties with the British government, as the two sides have expelled one anothers’ diplomats to express dissatisfaction at their respective stances on the post-election violence.

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.

Join the Discussion!

We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.

For more details, please see our Comment Policy.