DUBAI - More than six months after stepping down as Iran's president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani remains a potent political force, analysts say.

"Rafsanjani still retains a great deal of power. He is certainly one of the top three powerful figures in government," said a Tehran-based analyst.

He now heads the Expediency Council, an influential advisory body that reports directly to Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A conflict between Iran's contentious factions may thrust Rafsanjani, seen as well-connected in both camps, into a mediating role.

So far, the battle lines have been drawn in competing newspapers, sermons of religious leaders, and various power centers in Iran's political structure.

Occasionally, the conflict turns to violence. Last week, a group of conservative students affiliated with the hardline Ansar-e-Hezbollah clashed with students rallying in support of Khatami.

Particularly critical will be Rafsanjani's role in the current debate on the role of the spiritual leader in Iran's political system.

A growing number of voices have expressed opposition to the power vested in Khamenei, who is given absolute authority in Iran's government system.

Rafsanjani stepped into the debate for the first time on February 3.

"He realized how dangerous the continuation of these political disputes would be for the Islamic regime so he stepped in to mediate," said Amirali Nourbaksh, a Tehran-based political and economic consultant.

 
Rival Faction Wants Interior Minister Impeached, Agence France Presse, March 9

Some 2,000 students supporting the conservative clergy staged a demonstration on Monday demanding that parliament impeach Interior Minister Abdollah Nuri.

The minister has angered conservatives by allowing a rival student group to hold a protest rally last week against restrictive electoral laws and by backing the mayor of Tehran, Gholam-Hossein Karbashchi.

The students gathered in front of Tehran University chanted slogans against Nuri and, in a resolution, accused the minister of taking political sides, including the purging of conservatives from government posts under his charge.

"The interior ministry has been reduced to a political party which thoughtlessly issues permits for gatherings which oppose the constitution and disturb public opinion," said the resolution.

"We condemn it and demand the impeachment of the interior minister in the parliament," added the group, which is critical of Mohammad Khatami's government and supports his conservative opponents.

The conservative demonstrators also demanded in their slogans and resolution that liberal activists to be expelled from universities….

 
Khamenei's Faction Prepares to Oust Khatami's Interior Minister, Iran Zamin News Agency, March 10

The power struggle between the regime's rival factions further escalated with the demonstration yesterday of Khamenei's supporters in Tehran. The demonstrators called for the impeachment of Khatami's Interior Minister, Abdollah Noori. They accused Noori of "politically motivated appointments" and dismissal of governors affiliated with the rival factions.

Reports from within the regime indicate that governors ousted by Noori hold meetings to gather every available document and prepare for summoning the Interior Minister to Majlis. This faction has assigned a three-man team of its members in Majlis to prepare for the Impeachment.

 
Non-Oil Exports Drop 3.1 Percent in 11 Months, Agence France Presse, March 9

Iran's non-oil exports dropped by 3.1 percent to 2.8 billion dollars during the 11 months to January compared with the same period the year before, Iran's customs chief said Monday.

The drop in non-oil exports is a major concern to Iran, already hit by a drop in the price of crude oil.

 
Belarus to Fix Iranian Tanks, Warplanes, Reuter, March 10

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was quoted on Tuesday as saying his country would cooperate militarily with Iran despite Western criticism.

The paper said the defense ministries in both countries signed an agreement for Belarus to repair Iran's Soviet-built aircraft and tanks at plants in Belarus and on the training of Iranian servicemen in the former Soviet republic.

A Belarus arms official in Minsk, who declined to be named, told Reuters on Tuesday that Belarus also planned to sell Russian-made arms and military equipment, including spare parts for tanks.
 

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