Iran’s Internal Power Struggle Heats Up

James Phillips / July 19, 2010

The power struggle inside Iran is intensifying, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s ultra-radical camp continues to clash with the traditional hardline camp that has dominated most of the previous Iranian presidencies. Ahmadinejad, backed by cronies from the increasingly influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has sought to marginalize members of the older generation with links to Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution.

One of the latest disputes involves Ahmadinejad’s effort to seize control of one of the largest Iranian academic institutions as part of the regime’s cultural purge of the university system. Azad University, which was founded by former President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, a bitter critic of Ahmadinejad, has a wealthy endowment and campuses in cities throughout Iran. (more…)