Surprise resignation of Ari Larijani, continued
Primary season in Persia in the '05 cycle began (for me) with Eric's Guide to Garbage, and going over the candidates (some of whom later dropped out to advance others, e.g., Ali Akbar Velayati (and others) to advance Rafsanjani (and others)) [November 15th, 2004]. Later in the cycle Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf tossed his considerable hat into the ring, and INRA polling data had a three-way tie for third place (Rafsanjani being first, Mehdi Karroubi second), between Ali Akbar Velayati, Mostafa Moin and Ali Larijani [March 17th, 2005]. Still later Velayati did drop out, specifically to advance former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [April 11th, 2005], prior to the blow-up that lead Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei to direct the Guardian Council to reconsider the disqualification of former minister of science, research and technology Mostafa Moeen and Vice-President Mohsen Mehralizadeh [May 23rd, 2005].
Reading and re-reading Robert Tait's piece in today's Gruniad, that Velayati criticised Larijani's resignation, and a letter signed by 200 members of the 7th Majlis in support of Larijani, and a separate (or perhaps the same specified differently) letter from the Majlis' foreign and national security committee to Ahmadi-Nejad, that Larijani's resignation "put the country in danger", it still seems like politics rather than substantive policy.
I'm still of the ignorant opinion that its 8th Majlis electioneering, since all of the participants have a stake in the outcome of next March's election.
