Khamenei heads for dynastic rule – his repression and Syrian role unopposed by the West
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 26, 2013/ In the presidential election of June 14, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei aims to grab the whole pot: He has whipped out a dark horse contestant who is both tame – in strong contrast to the outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - and also family.
debkafile’s Iranian sources name him as former Majlis Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, 68, whose daughter is married to the ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei. He would be trusted to comply with his boss’s plan to keep the presidential seat warm for Khamenei Junior to claim unopposed in 2017.The Iranian voter may not approve of the plan to establish a Khamenei dynasty for ruling the country. But the Leader is leaving nothing to chance.
He has placed two faithful henchmen in charge of guaranteeing the desired results at the ballot. They are Heydar Moslehi, Minister of Intelligence since 2009, and Ali Fallahian, a proven undercover expert in eliminating enemies of the regime. The two frontrunners of last week discovered they had been dropped, our Iranian sources disclose. Senior nuclear negotiator and National Security Council head Saeed Jalili was the favorite, trailed closely by Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei’s close adviser, the more experienced of the two in government administration. Now, the supreme leader expects them to muster their fans to bolster Haddad-Adel’s prospects of winning the election.
But first, the ayatollah took care to knock his adversaries out of the race by baldly manipulating the Guardians of the Constitution Council into disqualifying former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandyar Rahim Mashee, Ahmadinejad's own kinsman. The US put up a weak protest over the watchdog’s disqualification of hundreds of candidates. Only eight survived – all Khamenei loyalists, barring one. The ayatollah achieved this unopposed by the simple device of conspicuously posting Revolutionary Guards units in Tehran and other strategic points Tuesday night, May 21, the night before the Council published its final list of approved candidates.
Wednesday, the guardsmen began withdrawing from the streets and by Thursday they were gone, although they kept watch vigilantly from the shadows.
By then, Ahmadinejad understood that his own in-law, Esfandyar Rahim Mashee, whom he had planned to use as the stopgap for his own “Putin exercise” in the 2017 vote, was out of the running. A hint that he could face jail or even “a road accident” helped him to decide to go quietly.
Rafsanjani, for 30 years backbone of the revolutionary Islamic regime of Iran, was also deterred from kicking up a fuss before the Iranian media by the hanging in Tehran on May 19 of two men accused of spying for the CIA and the Israeli Mossad. There were whispers of a similar fate awaiting his son and daughter for alleged financial wrongdoing.
That the new dark horse is destined to be a stopgap president is attested to by the fact that in the conduct of state affairs, he is a virtual nonentity. A political philosopher and poet who as Speaker dealt with academic and cultural matters, he has none of the qualifications required for grappling with Iran’s acute economic ills which demand urgent attention.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the Ayatollah’s son and heir, will no doubt gradually take over the reins of government behind the scenes and prepare for the smooth transfer of the presidency when the 2017 election comes around.
The June 14 election is therefore not expected to change anything in the hard-line policies driving Iran’s aspirations to become a nuclear and regional power, or its massive military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad in beating down the rebellion against his rule. Neither the United States nor Israel - or any Western government - has raised a dissenting voice against the growing repression under Khamenei autocratic rule, just as they turn a blind eye to Tehran’s crude violations of UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions by shipping military units and equipment to Syria.
Before them is a resolution issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, in which the UN Security Council barred Iran from “exporting troops, military equipment or military aid beyond its borders, and pledged to take measures against Iran in the event it is found in breach of those requirements.”

Arab League chief urges Hezbollah to stop fighting in Syria

By REUTERS 05/26/2013/CAIRO - Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby on Sunday urged Lebanon's Shi'ite militant Hezbollah to stop fighting alongside government forces in Syria's civil war, after two rockets hit a Shi'ite Muslim district of Beirut. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared on Saturday that his heavily-armed fighters were committed to the conflict against what he called radical Sunni Islamist rebels in Syria, whatever the cost.
Elaraby strongly condemned Sunday's attacks as well the ongoing clashes in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli between factions supporting opposing sides in Syria, which have left 25 people dead in the last week.
"(Elaraby) urged the leaders of Hezbollah to reconsider their stance and not get involved in the killing in Syria, stressing that the only way to protect Lebanon ... is to protect Lebanon's internal unity," the Arab League said in a statement."This criminal incident, in addition to ongoing armed clashes in the city of Tripoli, are unacceptable destructive acts that aim to stoke the fire of sectarianism, provoke reactions and upset security in Lebanon," added the statement on the league's website, quoting Elaraby. by TaboolaFrom Our Partners

2 rockets slam into Beirut stronghold of Lebanese Hezbollah group, wounding 4
(Hussein Malla/ Associated Press ) - A Lebanese army
BEIRUT — A pair of rockets slammed into a car dealership and a residential building in strongholds of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia in southern Beirut on Sunday, wounding four people and raising fears that Syria’s civil war is increasingly moving to Lebanon.
Lebanon’s sectarian divide mirrors that of Syria, and Lebanese armed factions have taken sides in their neighbor’s civil war.
There was no claim of responsibility for Sunday’s attack. However, a Syrian rebel commander threatened earlier this week to strike against Hezbollah strongholds in retaliation for the militia’s military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group, while most of the rebels are Sunnis.
Street fighting between rival Lebanese groups has been relatively common since the end of the country’s 15-year civil war in 1990, but rocket or artillery attacks on Beirut neighborhoods are rare.
The rockets struck hours after Hezbollah’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, vowed to help propel Assad to victory in Syria’s civil war and warned that the Syrian leader’s overthrow would give rise to extremists.
One rocket struck a car dealership in the Mar Mikhael district on the southern edge of the capital, wounding four Syrian workers and damaging two cars, according to Lebanese security officials and witnesses.
Another rocket hit the second floor of an apartment building in the Chiyah district, about two kilometers (one mile) away. It damaged the facade and a door leading to a living room, but no one was wounded.
A security official said rocket launchers were found in woods in a predominantly Christian and Druse area in suburbs southeast of Beirut. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
An ongoing battle in the Syrian town of Qusair on the Lebanese border has laid bare Hezbollah’s growing role in the Syrian conflict. The Iranian-backed militia and Syrian troops launched an offensive against the town last weekend. After dozens of Hezbollah fighters were killed in Qusair over the past week and buried in large funerals in Lebanon, Hezbollah could no longer play down its involvement.
Col. Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi, commander of the Syrian rebels’ Military Council in Aleppo, appeared in a video this week while apparently en route to Qusair, in which he threatened to strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in retaliation for Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria.
“We used to say before, ‘We are coming Bashar.’ Now we say, ‘We are coming Bashar and we are coming Hassan Nasrallah,’” he said, in reference to Hezbollah’s leader.
“We will strike at your strongholds in Dahiyeh, God willing,” he said, using the Lebanese name for Hezbollah’s power center in southern Beirut. The video was still online on Youtube on Sunday.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar said the incident targeted coexistence between the Lebanese and claimed the U.S. and Israel want to return Lebanon to the years of civil war. “They want to throw Lebanon backward into the traps of civil wars that we left behind,” he told reporters. “We will not go backward.”
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel blamed “saboteurs” and said: “We hope what is happening in Syria does not move to Lebanon.”
Nasrallah’s speech Saturday offered the clearest public confirmation yet that the militia is directly involved in Syria’s war. Nasrallah’s remarks were also the first since Hezbollah fighters have pushed to the front lines of Qusair.
In his televised address, he said Hezbollah members are fighting in Syria against Islamic radicals who pose a danger to Lebanon, and pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas along the Lebanese border. He pledged that Hezbollah will turn the tide of the conflict in Assad’s favor, and stay as long as necessary to do so.
“We will continue this road until the end, we will take the responsibility and we will make all the sacrifices,” he said. “We will be victorious.”
Lebanese Sunnis sympathetic to the Syrian opposition have also been fighting in Syria alongside the rebels. Nasrallah urged both sides to fight for their side in Syria “and leave Lebanon out of it.”
The fighting next door has repeatedly spilled over the border. For the past week, Assad’s opponents and supporters have been clashing in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, using mortars, grenades and machine guns to attack densely populated areas.Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, slammed Nasrallah’s speech as an “an attempt to pit the Lebanese people against their Syrian brothers and sisters who have revolted against the brutal dictator.”In a statement Sunday, it said his speech “has the potential for serious ramifications in the region.”
“It explicitly declares Iranian interests as superior to the basic, inherent rights of people across the region,” the statement said.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Suleiman, Miqati Condemn Mar Mikhael Blasts, Urging All Sides to Avert Strife
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati condemned on Sunday the Mar Mikhael blasts, saying that they are aimed at creating strife in Lebanon. Suleiman urged in a statement “citizens to exercise the highest levels of diligence to avert strife and maintain national and civil peace.”He described the assailants as “terrorist saboteurs who do not want peace or stability for Lebanon or the Lebanese people.”For his part, Miqati said in a statement: “The attacks are aimed at creating security tensions and certain retaliations, given the timing of the incident.” “We call on all sides to act wisely to prevent those seeking strife to achieve their goals,” he stressed. Moreover, he urged all leaderships to ease the tensions “during the critical and dangerous phase that the region is passing through.”Miqati later discussed details of the incident with caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel. He also requested that the army carry out the necessary investigations in the attack. Four people were wounded on Sunday when two rockets were fired at Beirut's southern suburbs of Mar Mikhael. France 'Strongly Condemns' Violence in Lebanon, Warns of Spread of Syrian Unrest  Naharnet/France condemned on Sunday the blasts that targeted Beirut's suburb of Mar Mikhael, warning against the spread of the Syrian unrest to Lebanon. He said that France “strongly condemns” the violence that has taken place in Lebanon. Efforts must be made to prevent the spread of the war in Syria to Lebanon, he added while in Abu Dhabi where he was inaugurating the new French Embassy headquarters in the United Arab Emirates. Fabius stressed France's support for Lebanese citizens and authorities. Four people were wounded on Sunday when two rockets were fired at Beirut's southern suburbs of Mar Mikhael. Investigations are underway to determine the assailants.Source/Agence France Presse.

Kuwaitis Urged to Avoid Lebanon after Attack
Naharnet/Kuwait on Sunday urged its citizens to avoid Lebanon and those already there to leave "as soon as possible" after two rockets hit a stronghold of Hizbullah in Beirut. "Due to the unstable situation in Lebanon and the expected consequences... a foreign ministry official urged citizens to exercise caution and to abandon travel to Lebanon at present," the KUNA news agency cited an official statement as saying. The Foreign Ministry also urged Kuwaitis already in Lebanon to leave "as soon as possible," the statement said. The travel advisory came after two rockets hit Beirut's Shiite southern suburb wounding four people a day after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed to achieve victory in neighboring Syria. Hizbullah forces are battling alongside troops loyal to President Bashar Assad as the regime confronts a more than two-year conflict seeking to topple it.
Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis travel to Lebanon every year, mainly in the summer to escape the scorching heat in the oil-rich desert Gulf emirate where the mercury hits 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
Source/Agence France Presse

Syria Opposition Says Hizbullah Fighters Should Defect
Naharnet/Syria's main opposition group called Sunday on Hizbullah fighters to defect, as members of Lebanon's party led an assault on al-Qusayr in central Syria and a day after its leader vowed victory.
Hizbullah, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, "repeats Assad's grievous mistake of forcing his people to kill innocent Syrians, which will undoubtedly lead the honorable members of Hizbullah to defect and stand by the truth," said a statement from the Syrian National Coalition. "The Syrian Coalition hopes for peace for the people of Lebanon and rejects Hizbullah's call to turn the Syrian revolution into a regional conflict," the opposition group added. On Saturday, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed "victory" in the battles raging in neighboring Syria in a speech to mark the 13th anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. "I say to all the honorable people, to the mujahedeen, to the heroes: I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one" in Syria, he said.
"Syria is the rear guard of the resistance (Hizbullah's fight with Israel), its backbone, and the resistance cannot stay with its arms folded when its rear guard is exposed."
The Syrian opposition said Nasrallah "has used ideological, extremist, and fringe rhetoric in order to push followers of Hizbullah into a war based on deception, false legacies and lies, driving the group to death and destruction."
Hizbullah has joined a Syrian army and paramilitary assault on rebel bastion al-Qusayr, which is strategic because of its proximity to the Lebanese border and because it lies near the route linking Damascus to the coast.
The group has reportedly sent 1,700 men to fight in Syria, sparking outrage among Western states. Syria's conflict has spilled over into Lebanon, which was dominated by Damascus for 30 years until 2005. Through his allies, Assad continues to exert significant influence over the small Mediterranean country. Thirty people have died in six days of battles in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, pitting Sunnis who back the Syrian rebellion against Alawites who back Assad, a Lebanese security source said Saturday. Four people were wounded in Lebanon Sunday when two rockets exploded in the Shiite-majority Hizbullah heartland of south Beirut, a second security source said."This incident is probably related to the conflict in Syria," the source added.Source/Agence France Presse.

Hariri Says Nasrallah Wants Recognition of 'Hizbullah's State': He Announced Resistance's Suicide in al-Qusayr
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal Party leader Saad Hariri stated on Saturday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is demanding the recognition of the “State of Hizbullah," considering that the resistance has announced its “suicide" in the Syrian border town of al-Qusayr. “You have announced yourself the end of the resistance on Liberation's Day,” Hariri addressed Nasrallah in a released statement in which he responded to Hizbullah leader's speech in the commemoration of the liberation of the South earlier on Saturday. “You have announced the resistance's political and military suicide in al-Qusayr.” Hariri accused Nasrallah of releasing a Fatwa that calls on the Lebanese to get involved in a war on Syrian territories. “Your speech has no value to us, to most Lebanese and definitely to the Syrian people in all political, national, ethical, legal, religious and human measures.”
Nasrallah had said earlier on Saturday that the Lebanese rooting for the victory of President Bashar Assad's regime or the opposition's rebels should fight in Syria instead of clashing in the northern city of Tripoli.
“The age of referring to the Palestinian cause, the resistance and national unity for personal interests is over, and the Lebanese as well as Arabs and Islamic nations have come to recognize the truth. Time will reveal more lies,” Hariri told Nasrallah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Thursday that 104 Hizbullah members had been killed in Syria since last autumn.
Nasrallah has said before that his party's involvement in Syria's war aimed at defending 13 Syrian villages along the border where Lebanese Shiites live, and the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine, revered by Shiites around the world.
But on Saturday, however, the Hizbullah chief pointed out that Syria is “the backbone of the resistance, assuring that he will not let this bone break.”
Hariri criticized Nasrallah for "undermining the Lebanese state, the army and the civil society's potentials to face anything."“The state in Nasallah's eyes, is powerless and helpless in politics, security and economic matters and his solution is for Hizbullah to take the state's place and keep its arms for ever,” Hariri stressed. “Nasrallah is telling all the members of the National Dialogue, on top of them President Michel Suleiman, that any talks about a defense strategy is worthless as there is only one party in Lebanon in charge of safeguarding the border and of using weapons whenever and wherever it desires.”“He is asking the president and all Lebanese factions to recognize the state of Hizbullah,” Hariri announced. “Other parties must abide by this in order to avoid internal clashes.”The former premier considered that Liberation's Day is the fruit of the Lebanese people's will “to liberate their land and defend it with all means.” “This truth has been confiscated more than once since the year 2000, and Hizbullah and its followers wanted to consider this achievement an exclusive right for a party.”
Source/Agence France Presse.

Mouawad: Hizbullah's Battle in al-Qusayr Aimed at Fragmenting Syria
Naharnet/Head of the Independence Movement Michel Mouawad slammed on Sunday Hizbullah's fighting Syria, saying that it is aimed at achieving Iranian interests in the region. He said in a press conference: “The battle of al-Qusayr is aimed at linking Hizbullah-controlled Lebanese regions to Syrian Alawite-controlled regions in order to divide Syria in the future.” Moreover, he said that party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah eliminated in his speech on Saturday the role of the Lebanese state, laws, borders, and constitution.
“The battle in al-Qusayr will act as Hizbullah's Vietnam and it will have repercussions on the whole of Lebanon,” he declared. In addition, he refuted Nasrallah's claims that the party is combating takfiris in Syria, saying that extremism cannot be fought with extremism.
“We cannot confront Sunni extremism with Shiite extremism. We can confront these phenomenons through moderation,” Mouawad stressed. “Does toppling the state protect Lebanon from the takfiri threat?” he wondered.
In addition, he said: “Our opposition to Hizbullah's fighting in Syria is not linked to our opposition to the regime or the March 8 camp, but it is linked to our keenness on Lebanon's safety.”He warned that Hizbullah's actions are paving the way for Sunni-Shiite strife in the region.
Turning to Shiites in Lebanon, Mouawad called on them to reject Hizbullah's agenda, “which is aimed at protecting Iranian interests at your expense.”
“We must cooperate together to reach a better future for Lebanon,” he said.
Addressing Christians in March 8 camp, particularly the Free Patriotic Movement of MP Michel Aoun, he said: “The lawmaker has started to realize the dangers Hizbullah is posing on Lebanon.”He urged them to end their political protection of Hizbullah's arms.
“Nasrallah's speech on Saturday destroyed the concept of resistance in Lebanon and turned Hizbullah into a sectarian militia,” Mouawad noted.
Nasrallah had said on Saturday that the Lebanese rooting for the victory of President Bashar Assad's regime or the opposition's rebels should fight in Syria instead of clashing in the northern city of Tripoli.
He considered that what is happening in the neighboring country is very crucial for Lebanon, explaining that through the stand his party is taking, it is defending Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.
The Shiite leader warned against the implementation of an American-lead project in the region through the war in Syria.
“The events in the last couple of years have proved that there is an axis lead by the United States while the rest are working under its orders. Everyone knows this axis is supported by Israel while al-Qaida and other takfiri organizations from around the world were paid to take part in it,” he detailed.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Thursday that 104 Hizbullah members, fighting alongside regime forces, had been killed in Syria since last autumn.
Commenting on the clashes Tripoli, Mouawad said: “The solution to the unrest in the city lies in allowing the army to impose its authority, not simply acting as a separating power between the armed groups.”
“No red lines should be imposed on the army in any area in Tripoli,” he remarked.
The Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh borders the Alawite Jabal Mohsen area, and gunmen in the two areas regularly open fire on each other.
Violence has regularly broken out between the two communities as the conflict in Syria -- pitting a Sunni-led opposition against the Alawite regime -- raises tensions.
Three people were killed and four were injured in Saturday's clashes. At least 23 people have been killed and 200 wounded in the unrest that erupted on May 19.

Qabbani Warns on Liberation Day: Sharp Disputes are in Favor of Israel
Naharnet/Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani warned on Liberation Day that Israel would take in its advantage the increasing local disputes. “On May 25, 2000 Lebanon registered its first real victory against the Jewish state,” Qabbani said in a statement on Saturday. He pointed out that the “victory proved to the world that our land is precious.”Qabbani congratulated the Lebanese on the occasion and called on the citizens and politicians to remember that Israel is waiting for the right opportunity to target the country. “No matter how sharp our differences were, we should vow to confront Israel together,” he said. Lebanon marks today the anniversary of Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon. This year's anniversary comes at a time when Hizbullah is facing growing criticism in Lebanon for its involvement in the war in Syria.

Al-Rahi Rejects Extension of Parliament's Term without Agreement on Electoral Law
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi lamented on Sunday the state of political affairs in Lebanon after the failure to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law, accusing political powers of obstructing the functioning of constitutional institutions. He said during his Sunday sermon from Bkirki: “We cannot accept the extension of the term of parliament for whatever duration if a new electoral law is not devised.”
The failure to reach an agreement over a new vote law is threatening the extension of parliament's term, which has been met with the support of some powers and the rejection of others. The patriarch wondered: “How can a parliament approve the extension of its term, while failing to agree on a number of electoral draft laws at its disposal?”
“The political class in Lebanon obstructs the lives of the people, forcing them to immigrate from the country,” al-Rahi said. “We cannot accept such practices and the crippling of the country's economy, tourism, and commercial sector,” he declared. He therefore demanded that the political powers reach an agreement over a “fair and just” electoral law and approve the formation of a new government that can tackle the political, economic, security, and social situations in Lebanon. After months of discussions, political powers failed to reach an agreement over a new electoral law, which is threatening to postpone the elections that are scheduled for June 16.
This has not however prevented candidates from submitting their candidacies according to the amended version of the 1960 electoral law that was adopted in the 2009 polls, but which has been nearly unanimously rejected for this year's elections. The political factions argued that they have submitted their candidacies according to this law in order to avoid uncontested victories.
Al-Rahi recently returned to Lebanon from a south American tour that saw him visit Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
He also paid a visit to the Vatican, where he met with Pope Francis I, before returning to Lebanon.

Show us Egypt's Reforms, Kerry Tells Morsi
Naharnet / U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday again pressed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to make concrete progress on economic reforms and rights, warning continued U.S. and global aid was at stake.
The Egyptians vowed that they had taken some steps, but Kerry "said we need to be able to show Congress that you've taken the necessary reforms," a senior State Department official said on the sidelines of an African Union summit. "I have been a strong advocate of support for Egypt. I continue to support aid for Egypt, but we need to see reforms in place that will encourage my former colleagues back at home to act," he told the Egyptian leader, the official said. Last year the IMF reached a deal in principle to provide a $4.8 billion loan to help finance the Egyptian government while it undertakes reforms.
They have been in talks for months over the loan that is contingent on strong support from Egyptian politicians and a commitment to key reforms.
Authorities believe the IMF loan will help restore investor confidence in Egypt, where unrest that accompanied the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak hammered revenue from the once-lucrative tourism industry.
The loan was close to completion in November when political changes in Cairo set it back. After talks earlier this month, the IMF said it was working with Egyptian authorities to devise a plan to address "growing fiscal imbalances".But no new talks have been scheduled. In March, Kerry unveiled the first $190 million in promised aid to Cairo during his first trip to the country as secretary of state, saying the rest of a $250 million pledge would follow once the necessary reforms were in place. On Saturday, he again pressed Morsi to take "action on making reforms happen now to move towards requirements to get the IMF package," the official said.
Source/Agence France Presse.

'22 Hizbullah Fighters Killed' in Qusayr on Saturday
Naharnet/Twenty-two Hizbullah members were killed in fighting alongside Syrian government forces against rebels for control of the town of Qusayr, a source close to the Lebanese group said on Sunday.
"There were 22 killed on Saturday. Nine bodies were repatriated the same day and the rest on Sunday," the source said, declining to be named. The source also said regime forces backed by fighters of Hizbullah control 80 percent of the strategic town of Qusayr.
"We still have to take another 20 percent of Qusayr, since we took 10 percent on Sunday and the rest was already in our hands," the source said, declining to be named.
In addition, "the main road between (Lebanon's) Baalbek and (Syria's) Homs has been secured," he said, referring to a vital artery through which the Lebanese group sends men and equipment to Syria. The Syrian army announced that on Saturday its forces had infiltrated Dabaa military airport, a rebel post north of Qusayr, a week into a Hizbullah-backed offensive to recapture the strategic central town near the Lebanese border. "Fighting is taking place inside the airport after they broke the rebel defense lines," an army source said.
The source close to Hizbullah said the armed group has now lost a total of almost 110 fighters since it joined the battle in Syria several months ago, with most of the deaths in and around Qusayr. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Hizbullah lost 10 fighters in Qusayr on Saturday, out of a total of 147 people killed in violence across Syria, including 79 rebels, 32 soldiers and 26 civilians.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Slams Nasrallah as 'Terrorist'
Naharnet /Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is a "terrorist" who must be stopped, Bahrain's foreign minister said on Sunday. "Terrorist Nasrallah has declared war on his nation," said Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa on his Twitter account. "Stopping him and rescuing Lebanon from his grip is a national and religious duty for all of us," he said. The minister's remarks come a day after Nasrallah vowed that he will bring victory in the fight against Syrian rebels in the town of Qusayr. Nasrallah had previously justified the organization’s involvement in Syria by saying they were defending border villages inhabited by Lebanese residents and holy sites in Damascus province. But the offensive on the mostly-Sunni town of Qusayr forced the movement to change its argument. "Syria is the rear guard of the resistance (Hizbullah's fight with Israel), its backbone, and the resistance cannot stay with its arms folded when its rear guard is exposed," Nasrallah said on Saturday."We are idiots if we do not act," he added. Sunni-ruled Bahrain with a Shiite majority has repeatedly described Hizbullah as a “terrorist organization” and called for blacklisting it. Bahrain has been battling a Shiite-led uprising that began in February 2011 and Hizbullah has voiced support for the protest movement. A total of 80 people have been killed since the protests erupted, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Hizbullah Asks State to Identify Backers of Dahiyeh Attack
Culprits: We'll Continue Our Path despite All Intimidation
Naharnet /Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, head of Hizbullah's Executive Council, on Sunday commented on the rocket attack that targeted the Shiyyah area, urging state authorities to identify the supporters of the culprits and stressing that the party will not be daunted by “all the intimidation.” “The attack's modus operandi reveals one thing, that the attackers are cowards,” Safieddine said, calling on the Lebanese state to “uncover the sides that are financing, supporting and equipping” the perpetrators.“It is the state's duty … and they must be punished because this is a coward, cheap act,” the Hizbullah official added.
But he stressed that Hizbullah “will continue its path despite all the intimidation, through which they want us to retreat and back down.”“Based on our experience and realistic calculations, when we voice a stance, we shoulder the responsibility and create the equation and the change, drawing the strength, resolve, determination and steadfastness from the path of our martyrs, until we achieve all the goals and remain strong and honorable in out country and regions,” Safieddine added. Meanwhile, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, deputy head of Hizbullah's Executive Council, said “those who bombed Beirut's southern suburbs were trying to achieve an objective that is Israeli par excellence.” “But they have failed if they wanted to terrorize us or intimidate us or to pressure the resistance, because the resistance cannot be blackmailed and will not allow anyone to blackmail it. It does not practice terrorism against anyone and will not allow anyone to terrorize it,” Qaouq added."We will cut off any domestic or foreign hand that tries to stab the resistance in its back," he vowed. He noted that "it is the same chain of terrorism, from Baghdad to Damascus and from Qusayr to Dahiyeh.”
“It is the same side, the same objective and the same scheme while the interests are Israeli, the administration is American and Arabs are behind the financing and arming,” Qaouq added. But he pledged that Hizbullah "will not be dragged into strife" and "will not allow any force in Lebanon or outside to harm the capabilities or equations of the resistance's weapons."Four people were wounded on Sunday morning in a rocket attack on Beirut's southern suburbs. The Lebanese army said in a statement that a rocket was fired at a car dealership near the Mar Mikhael church and another landed in the Maroun Misk neighborhood.
The incident comes just hours after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed "victory" in Syria, where Hizbullah fighters are engaged in fierce battles against Syrian rebels in Qusayr. Nasrallah had previously justified the organization’s involvement in Syria by saying they were defending border villages inhabited by Lebanese residents and holy sites in Damascus province.
But the offensive on the mostly-Sunni town of Qusayr forced the movement to change its argument. "Syria is the rear guard of the resistance (Hizbullah's fight with Israel), its backbone, and the resistance cannot stay with its arms folded when its rear guard is exposed," Nasrallah said on Saturday. "We are idiots if we do not act," he added.

Aoun from Bkirki: Parliament Vote on Electoral Proposals Only Alternative to 1960 Law
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Sunday noted that the only alternative to the 1960 electoral law is a vote in parliament on the draft electoral proposals. “We put the patriarch in the picture of important developments regarding the ongoing dispute over the electoral law,” Aoun said after meeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki. “We are before three solutions: the 1960 law, extension and the disaster of political vacuum,” Aoun noted.But he added that "we can rescue the situation by voting on the electoral laws, as we're not obliged to accept the 1960 law, extension or vacuum." Slamming those voicing stances against the 1960 electoral law, Aoun said: "Those launching theories do not have a solution, although they're claiming to be against the 1960 law." "All laws must be put to a vote and those criticizing the 1960 law must give us an alternative," Aoun added. Speaker Nabih Berri could call for a parliamentary session next week to vote on the extension of the legislature's mandate, parliamentary sources said Saturday.
The sources told several local dailies that the session would likely be held on Thursday, before the end of the ordinary session on May 31.Parliament convenes twice a year in two ordinary sessions -- the first starts mid-march until the end of May and the second from the middle of October through the end of December. Thursday's session will include discussions on the annulment of an article in the 1960 law that is linked to the participation of expatriates in the elections. The session could witness a vote on a short extension of parliament's four-year mandate, which expires on June 20, to pave way for holding the polls by July 7, two days before the holy month of Ramadan. The rival parties have failed to agree on a new electoral law despite the rejection of the majority of them of the 1960 law that was used in the 2009 polls.
But most parties have filed their candidacies under the 1960 law.

Egypt’s Jihadists call for fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon
Salama Abdellatif ?Now Lebanon/The leaders of Jihadist movements in Egypt called on the Sunnis in Lebanon and the Mujahedeen around the world to fight Hezbollah on Lebanese territory because of the latter’s military role in the battles in Syria’s Al-Qusayr. “Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has admitted to participating in the war against the Mujahedeen in Syria, and for this reason he and his party must be fought on their land,” Toufic al-Afny, an official in the Jihadist Salafism movement, told NOW on Sunday. “The call aims to target Hezbollah’s military wing and its fighters, not all Lebanese,” he clarified. “What is happening in Al-Qusayr is graver than an ethnical cleansing… it is committing killing and genocide in the most brutal and bloodiest of methods,” the Jihadist statement read. This statement, a copy of which NOW received, was issued by 20 of Egypt’s Jihadist Movement leaders and was signed by a number of extremists, including Mohammad al-Zawahiri, the brother of Al-Qaeda terrorist group leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. What is going on in Al-Qusayr aims to prepare for the segmentation of the region into small Alawite, Shiite, Jewish and Druze states that will besiege the Sunnis,” the statement added. “It is a legitimate obligation and an imposed duty on all Muslims to… carry out Jihad in the name of God by carrying weapons and [fighting].” “We call on the Sunnis in the countries governed by Shiites to target these countries and transfer the battle into their countries,” the Jihadists added.
Shiite Hezbollah is a close ally of the Damascus regime, and its fighters have been battling alongside the army in the Al-Qusayr area, a strategic rebel stronghold linking Damascus to the Mediterranean coast. A handful of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria have been brought back for burial in Lebanon, with senior officials from the group occasionally paying condolences in person to the families of those killed.
The group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has acknowledged that members of his movement are fighting alongside Syrian troops against the rebels.

FSA Strongly Condemns Dahiyeh Rocket Attack, Disavows Its Secretary's Threats
Naharnet /.The rebel Free Syrian Army on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms” the morning rocket attack on Beirut's southern suburbs, distancing itself from a threat by an FSA official that the “fire raging in Syria will spread into Lebanon.” “We condemn in the strongest terms the act of sabotage and terrorism that targeted Dahiyeh and reiterate our commitment to Lebanon's security, sovereignty and stability,” Fahd al-Masri, head of FSA's Central Media Department, said in an interview with MTV. In another interview with Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), Masri strongly denied any role for the FSA in the rocket attack, describing remarks voiced by FSA secretary Ammar al-Wawi as “irresponsible.” “I will telephone Captain Wawi and rebuke him for his remarks and I will ask him to withdraw his statement, because we have nothing to do at all with the launching of the rockets,” Masri added. He described the incident as “deeply worrisome,” noting that “it confirms what we had revealed about an Iranian plot to make bombings in Shiite areas to cover up for Hizbullah's failure in (the Syrian town of) Qusayr.” Earlier on Sunday, FSA secretary Wawi called on President Michel Suleiman and the Lebanese government to “put an end to what Hizbullah is committing in Syria or else the fire raging in Syria will spread into Lebanon.” The Syrian people will not stand idly by regarding what Hizbullah is doing in Syria,” Wawi said in an interview with LBCI television.
“Should the Lebanese government fail to stop Hizbullah, there will be repercussions against Beirut, Tripoli and the Rafik Hariri International Airport,” Wawi said, claiming that the airport “has become a corridor for Iranian planes that are shipping weapons to Syria.” He added: “Our honorable people in Lebanon from all sects will not stand idly by regarding what Hizbullah is doing in Syria, and therefore there will be repercussions, such as what happened today in the rocket attack on the southern suburbs.”He warned that “in the coming days, we will do more than that, and this is a warning for Hizbullah and the Lebanese government.” Four people were wounded on Sunday morning in a rocket attack on Beirut's southern suburbs. The Lebanese army said in a statement that a rocket was fired at a car dealership near the Mar Mikhael church and another landed in the Maroun Misk neighborhood.
The incident comes just hours after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed "victory" in Syria, where Hizbullah fighters are engaged in fierce battles against Syrian rebels in Qusayr.

Tawhid party accuses PSP of ambushing one of its officials
Now Lebanon/The Arab Tawhid Party on Sunday accused members of the Progressive Socialist Party of setting an ambush for one of the party’s officials in the Aley district. “[On Sunday] afternoon, and while he was passing with his family through the town of Al-Ghaboun in the district of Aley, Karim al-Zeitouni was subject to an armed ambush set by four members affiliated with the PSP and led by Alaa Gharizi, who fired gunshots at his car,” a statement issued by the Tawhid party read. “Zeitouni and his family miraculously survived, while the gunmen fled to an unknown destination,” the statement added.
The Tawhid Party went on to urge PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt to “hand in the perpetrators to the judiciary,” and warned that the recurrence of such incidents would “push us to carry out a painful response restricted to those who tamper with Mount Lebanon’s security.”

Army Deploys in Some Tripoli Flashpoints, Fighting Frontiers Leaders Still Reluctant
Naharnet/Army units on Sunday started implementing a security plan in Tripoli by deploying in Jabal Mohsen and Syria Street, the frontier that separates the neighborhood from the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh district, state-run National News Agency reported.Meanwhile, LBCI television said the army also deployed in the al-Qobbeh and al-Riva areas. The cautious calm that engulfed the city during the day was interrupted by intermittent gunfire and sniper activity. According to LBCI, sniper fire killed Mohammed Hourani and wounded Zahia Wannous in Jabal Mohsen while a man was injured in the Barrad al-Bisar area.
MTV reported that the leaders of the fighting frontiers in Bab al-Tabbaneh and al-Qobbeh have failed so far to agree on a proposed ceasefire.
LBCI said fighters loyal to prominent gunman Saad al-Masri are obstructing the process. Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) reported that some of the leaders of the fighting frontiers have demanded the arrest of Rifaat Eid, secretary-general of the Arab Democratic Party, the main armed and political force in Jabal Mohsen. Later on Sunday, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said a meeting was underway at Aisha Mosque in al-Qobbeh in a bid to convince the leaders of the fighting frontiers to allow the army to continue its deployment. Meanwhile, the Arab Democratic Party held a meeting and issued a statement confirming its "commitment to the decisions of the Lebanese army." "We are with the deployment of the Lebanese army in all areas and we demand the deployment of the Lebanese army in Bab al-Tabbaneh and we ask it to shoot back at the sources of gunfire, even if these sources were in Jabal Mohsen, in line with all the statements we issued in the past," the party added. It reassured "our people in Tripoli that Jabal Mohsen cannot attack the city of which it is a main component." The party also voiced surprise over "the absence of the president of the republic" Michel Suleiman, "who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and who is supposed to play a key role in addressing the deteriorating situations” in Tripoli. Thirty-one people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in clashes that erupted last Sunday between Jabal Mohsen and the neighboring districts.

Jumblat Says Agreed with Hizbullah, AMAL on 'Principle of Extension' of Parliament Term
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday announced that he has agreed with Hizbullah and AMAL Movement on “the principle of extension” of parliament's term, revealing that he has also discussed the issue with al-Mustaqbal movement. In an interview on al-Jadeed television following a meeting that gathered him with Speaker Nabih Berri's aide Ali Hasan Khalil and Hizbullah secretary-general's assistant Hussein Khalil, Jumblat said the talks tackled means to “preserve stability in the country and the process of extension.” And as he stressed that “the parliamentary elections cannot be held amid the security unrest in Tripoli,” he added: “We agreed on the principle of extension.” Asked about his meeting with former premier Saad Hariri's advisors Nader Hariri and Mohammed Shatah, Jumblat revealed that he discussed with them “how to find an acceptable timeframe for extension.”
“A six-month extension is meaningless and we need more than that to avoid vacuum, preserve stability and protect the army,” Jumblat added. “Who is the madman who wants to stage elections while Lebanese parties are rejecting the entry of the army to Tripoli,” he said. Jumblat revealed that the PSP will not boycott Monday's cabinet session that will discuss forming the electoral supervisory commission and the polls' financial expenses.
“We will voice our opinion and say we're with extension and against the 1960 and Orthodox (Gathering) laws,” he added. Asked about the rocket attack on Beirut's southern suburbs, Jumblat said: “I'm not afraid of what happened today because it was an attempt to disrupt security and the state will uncover the perpetrators.”
“Let's try to return to the dialogue table or any form of communication in order to organize the dispute over the Syrian crisis and dispel the ghost of civil war in Lebanon,” he said. “My remarks over (Hizbullah chief) Sayyed (Hassan) Nasrallah's speech will be sent soon to him in a direct manner,” Jumblat added. “Some people are acting as if Lebanon is safe from dangers, but let us pay attention to the entire region and protect Lebanon and let us restore security and hope,” he went on to say. He stressed that “despite the disputes, we cannot but resort to dialogue,” lauding Hariri's phone talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in the wake of the rocket attack.Jumblat added that the issue of extending parliament's term is “a priority and after that we will calmly discuss the issue of cabinet.”“Protecting the army is my first concern and I'm seeking stability,” he stressed.

Syria to Attend Geneva Peace Conference, Says Muallem
Naharnet/..Syria's foreign minister said on Sunday that his government will take part in a peace conference in Geneva, terming it a "good opportunity for a political solution" to the civil war in Syria. Walid Muallem also praised an Iraqi army operation against Sunni militants near the border with Syria, during a surprise visit to Baghdad that came as Iraqi authorities searched a Syria-bound aircraft.
He said during a news conference in Baghdad that he had told his counterpart Hoshyar Zebari and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of the decision to attend the planned Geneva talks in June.
President Bashar Assad's regime had agreed "in principle to participate in the international conference which is supposed to be convened in Geneva," Muallem said.
"We think... that the international conference represents a good opportunity for a political solution to the crisis in Syria."
Muallem also took a swipe at countries supporting rebels who are locked in a bloody civil war with Assad's regime, saying that "the regional countries that conspire against Syria are the same that support terrorism in Iraq."
And he praised a massive Iraqi army operation against Sunni militants in the country's west.
"We are (pleased) with the steps taken by the Iraqi army in fighting Al-Qaida members. This is an Iraqi-Syrian issue, because those (militants) who are in Syria are connected to those who are in Iraq," Muallem said.
He added that both Iraq and Syria agreed that "Iraq cannot be in the camp of enemies of Syria."
Iraq on Saturday launched an operation to better secure its western desert, amid concerns it is being used by militants heading to fight against Assad's regime.
Among the mostly-Sunni rebels fighting Assad's forces are groups allied to Al-Qaida. That has fueled fears in Baghdad of a spillover from war-torn Syria increasing tensions and violence in Iraq. The more than two-year conflict in Syria has reportedly left more than 94,000 people dead.
Muallem's visit came on the same day Iraqi authorities searched a Syria-bound aircraft that had flown from Moscow through Iranian airspace into Iraq, Nasser Bandar, the head of Iraq's civil aviation authority, told AFP.
No prohibited items were found, Bandar said.Iraq has sought to publicly avoid siding either with Assad or rebel forces, but Baghdad has been accused by Western governments of turning a blind eye to Iranian flights allegedly carrying military equipment to regime forces.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Pro-Assad forces control 80% of Syria's Al-Qusayr , source says
AFP/Syrian regime forces backed by fighters of Hezbollah control 80 percent of the strategic town of Al-Qusayr , a source close to the Lebanese Shiite movement said on Sunday.
"We still have to take another 20 percent of Al-Qusayr , since we took 10 percent on Sunday and the rest was already in our hands," the source said, declining to be named.
In addition, "the main road between Baalbek and Homs has been secured," he said, referring to a vital artery through which the powerful Shiite movement sends men and equipment to Syria.
Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad supported by Hezbollah fighters launched an assault on Al-Qusayr a week ago but are still being fiercely resisted by rebels.
Twenty-two Hezbollah fighters were killed in the Al-Qusayr battle on Saturday alone, the source close to the Lebanese group said. "There were 22 killed on Saturday. Nine bodies were repatriated the same day and the rest on Sunday," the source said. The Syrian army said Saturday its forces had infiltrated Dabaa military airport, a rebel post north of Al-Qusayr , a week into the offensive to recapture the town near the Lebanese border.
"Fighting is taking place inside the airport after they broke the rebel defense lines," an army source said.
The source close to Hezbollah said the militant group has now lost a total of almost 110 fighters since it joined the battle in Syria several months ago, with most of the deaths in and around Al-Qusayr .The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hezbollah lost 10 fighters in Al-Qusayr on Saturday, out of a total of 147 people killed in violence across Syria, including 79 rebels, 32 soldiers and 26 civilians
 

Winners and Losers in Iran's Presidential Election
Mehdi Khalaji /Washington Institute
Ayatollah Khamenei is determined to push for a completely loyal president, but the decision to dismiss Rafsanjani could undermine the regime in the long run.
Although Iran will not hold its presidential election until June 14, the winners and losers are already clear. The biggest losers are Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; the biggest winner is former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
RAFSANJANI WINNING BEFORE THE VOTE
Earlier this week, the Guardian Council -- with Khamenei's consent, and perhaps even at his request -- disqualified Rafsanjani from running in the election. However difficult the decision may have been, it was also essential for Khamenei's plans. Since 2009, Rafsanjani has become known as a vocal critic of the Supreme Leader and Ahmadinejad. In recent months, reformists began to support his candidacy because they knew that the Guardian Council would prevent their own prominent candidates from running. Rafsanjani rapidly became a symbol for change among his former critics, who concluded that only he could alter the power equation to limit the Supreme Leader's authority and keep the military and intelligence forces from further expanding their control over nonmilitary life. He also received wide support from technocrats and other figures who want a more competent leadership in Tehran -- two traits sorely lacking in the current government. Had Rafsanjani been permitted to run, he could have converted the election into a referendum on Khamenei's leadership, so the Supreme Leader decided to stop the tsunami before it began.
Yet the disqualification has put Rafsanjani in an excellent situation. He can now present himself as a leader who was ready to shoulder a heavy burden in order to save the system, without actually having to face the problems of governing. He can also portray himself as a populist figure despite a public image that has gone through ups and downs over the years (e.g., he could not even win election to the parliament in 2000). In addition, he made Khamenei look petty and dictatorial for rejecting his offer to help the Islamic Republic in an hour of need.
As a wily politician, Rafsanjani is already hitting these notes. On May 23, in his first speech after the Guardian Council announced his disqualification, he stated:
"I knew that I should not have come, and I said in private gatherings that I know these people better than anyone else...I do not want to enter the campaign environment, but their ignorance bothers me. Don't they know what they are doing? Even if they were my enemies, wisdom entails that they would let me enter, then scandalize me. You should have let people vote with hope, and if after six months they see prices go up [then they would blame me]. They don't know that there was one who was ready to sacrifice and pave the way for others...I ask people not to replace hope with despair, and to maintain their calmness. No solution [to the country's problems] has been given yet. [Those who disqualified me] do not need to talk of foreign enemies, because the problems come from within."
Rafsanjani went on to describe how difficult it would be to serve as president under the current circumstances because of ongoing mismanagement and corruption, along with increasing international sanctions. He seems happy to be excused from that responsibility while retaining a public pulpit from which to curb Khamenei's bid for absolute power.
Indeed, disqualifying Rafsanjani will likely impose a heavy cost on both Khamenei and the regime, comparable to the 1989 dismissal of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, deputy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Both Montazeri and Rafsanjani became critics of the Supreme Leader despite being considered founding fathers of the Islamic Republic. Khamenei's circle could have handled the matter in a much smoother way, perhaps praising Rafsanjani for offering to run while claiming that the nation could not ask so much of a seventy-nine-year-old man who had already sacrificed a great deal for the country. As usual, however, they opted for brute force instead.
For example, after Rafsanjani registered as a candidate earlier this month, Hossein Shariatmadari -- a close Khamenei confidant whose writings often lay "the foundations for state decisions," as the New York Times accurately put it -- ripped into him. In an editorial in the May 21 edition of Kayhan, Iran's largest-circulation newspaper, he called Rafsanjani a representative of the "American-Israeli sedition" of 2009, referring to the protests that erupted after that year's fraudulent presidential election.
Meanwhile, members of Ruhollah Khomeini's family, who have long played a significant role in bolstering the regime's legitimacy, are now separating themselves from Khamenei. On May 22, Zahra Mostafavi, Khomeini's daughter and the most conservative member of the family, wrote an open letter to the Supreme Leader asking him to veto the Guardian Council's decision, saying, "I urge you to intervene and prove that the ruling ayatollah wants to prevent dictatorship." She also claimed for the first time that her father viewed both Khamenei and Rafsanjani as qualified to be Supreme Leader. Similarly, Hasan Khomeini, the ayatollah's grandson and custodian of his shrine, called the decision "unbelievable." In a May 22 letter to Rafsanjani, he wrote "from now on, the name of Hashemi Rafsanjani will find a distinct place in the memory of the Iranian people, tied with hope for the future. This will make your name eternal. Hope is the essential capital of any nation."
DECLINE OF APOCALYPTIC POLITICS
The Guardian Council also barred members of Ahmadinejad's circle from running for office, including chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashai. This was in contrast to its approval of minor figures close to the two previous presidents: Muhammad Reza Aref, former vice president under Muhammad Khatami, and Hasan Rouhani, former chief nuclear negotiator and a Rafsanjani confidant. The snubbing of Ahmadinejad's followers shows that Khamenei is determined to prevent them from having any significant role in future government.
Khamenei also appears to have come down firmly against apocalyptic clerics -- a faction that has used messianic discourse to mobilize public support for its radical ideology and revitalize revolutionary fervor, in apparent revolt against the Islamic Republic's traditional political elite. A few months ago, Muhammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi -- an apocalyptic cleric who supported Ahmadinejad eight years ago but eventually turned against him -- started a presidential campaign on behalf of Kamran Baqeri Lankarani. Yet Lankarani pulled out of the race right before the Guardian Council announced the list of qualified candidates; rumors indicate that the council privately asked him to step down so they would not have to disqualify him publicly. His withdrawal means that the election will not include a candidate sympathetic to the apocalyptic fundamentalists.
PREDICTABLE ELECTION, UNPREDICTABLE POLITICS
None of the remaining candidates appears capable of exciting the public, so voter turnout will likely plummet. The regime will no doubt ignore this, however, given its traditional sensitivity about turnout as a measure of its legitimacy and popularity. Instead, Khamenei will focus on manipulating the election to his benefit.
For their part, the clerical establishment fears the growing power of Khamenei's military and intelligence forces -- a power that will only increase under a weak president elected in a discredited manner. The dominant role of security actors not only threatens the clergy's ability to influence current decisionmaking, it also raises doubts about the future of the Islamic Republic after Khamenei. So far, he has indicated that he mistrusts reformists, technocrats, clerics, and bazaaris (merchants) -- in other words, all of the Islamic Republic's traditional political and social forces. In their place, Khamenei tends to run the country by using low-profile figures with security and military connections.
Now that the list of candidates is final, members of Khamenei's military/intelligence circle are working closely to identify the one who would be most loyal to the Supreme Leader. For now, they are focusing on four men: Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei's advisor on international affairs; Saeed Jalili, Khamenei's representative on the Supreme Council for National Security; Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf, mayor of Tehran; and Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Khamenei's relative and former speaker of parliament. The Supreme Leader's priority is obedience more than qualifications and competence -- regardless of who becomes president, Khamenei is intent on avoiding the tensions he experienced with previous presidents.
*Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.

Canada Strongly Condemns Terrorist Attack in India
May 26, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Canada strongly condemns yesterday’s attack on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India’s ruling Congress party in the country’s east, killing at least 28 people and wounding many others.
“This violent extremism is despicable and is a stark reminder of the grave threat that terrorism poses to the people of India and the region. We expect that the perpetrators of this horrendous attack will be brought to justice.
“Canada stands with the people of India as they work tirelessly to defend and advance the cause of democracy in South Asia and around the world.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and friends, and I wish a swift recovery to the injured.”