<http://hoder.com/weblog/archives/016063.shtml> May 23, 2007 Khamenei's Assault on Rafsanjani's American Network
One noteworthy observation about the recent arrests in Iran, including that of Haleh Esfandiari [LINK: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleh_Esfandiari>] and Hossein Mousavian, and also reports about Mahmoud Sariolghalam brief detention [LINK: <http://www.sepehrnews.ir/?p,3661>], is that they all have close ties [LINK: <http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3315>] to Rafsanjani and his family.
There has been enough evidence in the past few years that suggests Rafsanjani has been trying to create a network of well-connected Iranians in the U.S., with strong ties with neoliberal Americans, especially among the democrats. This network includes politicians, scholars, and businessmen.
One can speculate that now that Khamanei is convinced it is a good time to establish direct channels between Iran and the United States, he wants to do it through his own trusted group of politicians and diplomats, let's say those close to Ali Larijani. Khamanei knows that Rafsanjani has had extended contacts with the Americans for long and since his trust for Rafsanjani has continually declined in the past decade, he doesn't want him to be involved in the sensitive process.
It's a mistake to assume the recent arrests have anything to do with Ahmadinejad or his problems with Rafsanjani, or to think that Ministry of Intelligence is totally under Ahmadinjead's control.
While I'm not ruling out the possibility of espionage charges against Mousavian substantiated, I think the real motive behind the recent chain of events is that Khamanei wants to dismantle the network that Rafsanjani had created in the U.S. for a day like this.
And to be honest, I personally think busniessman-politicians around Rafsanjani are corrupt enough to easily sell Iran's interest in exchange for personal gains.
Posted by hoder at May 23, 2007 10:58 AM -- Yoshie