August 11, 2009

TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tightened his grip on Iran's powerful intelligence services, ousting four senior officials in a widening purge against authorities who challenged the harsh crackdowns after June's disputed elections, lawmakers and media said Monday.

The shake-up at the Intelligence Ministry — the nation's main spy agency — deepened the rifts straining Iran's conservative ranks over Ahmadinejad's strong-arm political tactics and the crushing response to the pro-reform opposition since the June 12 election.

It also sought to bolster Ahmadinejad allies in the Revolutionary Guard, which led the assaults and arrests against protesters who claimed the election was rigged. But now officials from other groups, including the police and judiciary, say abuses occurred and have called for investigations into the deaths and alleged torture.

The latest purge was reportedly linked to the refusal of some top officials to back the government's claims that the wave of protests were part of a "velvet revolution" aimed at overthrowing the Islamic leadership. Some in the ministry also had reportedly opposed broadcasting confessions by detainees that the opposition says were obtained by abuse.

The increasingly public disagreements have shattered the perception of high-level unity in the face of the postelection crisis and suggest Ahmadinejad's political capital is shrinking as he moves to form his second-term government this week.

The Intelligence Ministry sweep came less than two weeks after Ahmadinejad angered conservatives by firing the intelligence minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, in an apparent dispute that reportedly included the handling of the clampdown on the unrest.

It left Ahmadinejad as de facto head of the Intelligence Ministry until the new government is formed as early as next week.

Pro-reform Web sites reported that more than a dozen senior ministry officials were fired or forced to resign in the past few weeks, but the total number remained unclear.

Conservative and pro-reform media identified four deputy ministers who were removed. They include the head of counterespionage and a 25-year veteran, both of whom were "trusted" by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to one conservative Web site Khabaronline.

Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, has repeatedly backed Ahmadinejad since the election. But they differed over Ahmadinejad's selection of a top deputy, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, and the president angered his hard-line supporters by initially refusing to back away from the appointment. He ultimately did.

Ahmadinejad also faced strong backlash from conservatives after dismissing Ejehi, the intelligence minister. Hard-line clerics denounced the removal in sermons, and 210 lawmakers in the conservative-dominated 290-seat parliament thanked Ejehi for his service to the country in an implicit jab at Ahmadinejad.

Khamenei did not immediately react to the latest Intelligence Ministry dismissals, which were ordered by Ahmadinejad.

The firings were supervised by two hard-line clerics, Hossein Taeb and Ahmad Salek, who are strong backers of Ahmadinejad and hold key positions within the Guard, according to Hasan Younesi, son of a former intelligence minister.

"Ahmadinejad has effectively taken command of the country's most important security body and is settling scores," said Younesi, whose father Ali Younesi served as minister during the 1997-2005 pro-reform administration. Both father and son maintain close links with the intelligence community.

Younesi said the dismissals targeted officials who did not support the government's claims of a "velvet revolution" plot.

Ahmad Avai, a conservative lawmaker, said parliament was considering a probe into the firings.

"There is justified concern (that) if this trend continues, irreparable damage will be inflicted on the Intelligence Ministry," Avai was quoted by the hard-line daily Jomhuri-e-Eslami.

An Intelligence Ministry statement said "some incorrect reports" have been made in the media on the dismissals, but did not elaborate. It warned that media publishing the names of ministry officials could be prosecuted.

Hundreds have been arrested in the past two months as security forces crushed the massive protests that erupted following Ahmadinejad's victory in the disputed election. Officials say 30 people died in the unrest, but rights groups believe the toll is higher.

The arrests were largely carried out by the Revolutionary Guard and its paramilitary militia, the Basij. The Guard — which maintains its own intelligence-gathering network — also has a stake in nearly every high-level project in Iran including missile development.

But it appears to be seeking even wider influence and strongly backs using the courts to undercut the leadership of the pro-reform movements.

On Sunday, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander urged the judiciary to seek charges against the most prominent critics of the election, including former President Mohammad Khatami and Mir Hossein Mousavi — who is thought by many to be the rightful winner.

In the biggest political trial in years, some 100 politicians, journalists and activists have been accused of involvement in the alleged revolution. Several top defendants have made televised confessions to the plot during the trial.

But Mousavi and other opposition leaders say the confessions are coerced and call the proceedings a sham.

In Paris, the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he is working to secure the release of Clotilde Reiss, a French academic, and a French-Iranian embassy employee who are among the defendants in the trial.

Meanwhile, Mahdi Karroubi — another pro-reform candidate who was defeated in the election — said on his Web site Sunday that he has received reports from former military commanders and other senior officials that some detainees, male and female, were raped in custody.

"A number of detainees have stated that some female detainees were so brutally raped that their genitals were damaged. Others savagely raped young boys so that they suffer from depression and serious physical and mental damage," Karroubi said in a letter posted on his Web site.

He said such crimes, if proven true, would "disgrace" Iran's Islamic ruling system. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Monday that a committee that had investigated prisoners' conditions would report on rape allegations.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International reported that the number of executions in Iran rose sharply between the June 12 election and Ahmadinejad's inauguration on Aug. 5, reaching 115, an average of two a day. Most of the prisoners are said to have been convicted of drug smuggling or similar offenses.

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