BEIRUT — - A senior Iranian cleric called Friday for a revision of election laws to fix "shortcomings" that he said contributed to the nation's worst political crisis since the first years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, a conservative considered part of the old school of clerical establishment, told worshippers gathered for weekly prayers in Tehran that "the law should all look into the administration [of the June 12 presidential election], campaigns and possible debates" to spell out rules. "If those issues are mentioned in the law, many of these tensions will be removed," he said, in the first Friday prayer sermon since last month that was not led by an avowed hard-liner.

Thousands took to the streets of the capital Thursday in the latest act of civil disobedience against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. The vote was marred by opposition allegations of vote fraud and followed by a sweeping crackdown on dissidents and protesters supporting opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Tehran Police Chief Azizollah Rajabzadeh on Friday dismissed the latest swell of protest as minor. "The previous night, the police arrested a number of individuals who had provoked people to destroy public property and chant slogans," he said, according to the Mehr news agency. "The number of these individuals is quite low."

Rajabzadeh cited one instance of tear gas being fired, even though witnesses and video footage uploaded to the Internet suggested it was used extensively to quell crowds that they said numbered in the thousands. The election issue continues to divide Iran's political and religious establishment. "An atmosphere of mistrust dominates the society, and nobody can deny this reality," said Ayatollah Hashem Hashemzadeh Harisi, a reformist member of Assembly of Experts, which oversees the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top spiritual and political authority. "It is up to the system's highest officials to restore this lost confidence," he said in a statement that surfaced on Web sites Friday. "They have to show transparency so that people would feel their leaders are honest. ... When people lose confidence in their leaders, the world would in turn become mistrustful of the country's leaders." Still both Harisi and Kashani spoke out in support of Khamenei.

khaye hashoon joft shodeh shoroo kardan be gerye o zaari.

I personally think EVERYONE in the cleric get up should be executed. After all what is the punishment for high treason ?

I'm really starting to think this is all for show K1 jaan. I think it's good to stick with the old mentality of akhunds shouldn't to be trusted under any circumstances.

I'm really starting to think this is all for show K1 jaan. I think it's good to stick with the old mentality of akhunds shouldn't to be trusted under any circumstances.

Aziz jaan, IMO, to go into the channel of hozeh, abaa, naleyn is high treason. They are the representatives of Shit-e in Iran so in simple terms they are the soldiers of Omar, Sad Ibn Vaghaas, Motasem who over centuries did their utmost to destroy us and our country and OUR CULTURE.

You can smash through the lies and kesaafat with an incredibly large hammer called Nationalism.

When you truly, I mean Truly, believe in yourself you would feel that rejecting any creature in form an akhound or an affiliate of an akhound such as AN, Kir hossein, etc etc is AN ESSENTIAL TRAIT OF BEING A TRUE IRAN LOVER.

The same goes for any kings or leaders who in any sort of way involved themselves in this EVIL, DECADENT religion and its representatives.

K.P,
That is great and rather honorable stance but I'm afraid it is not practical.
The deep roots of religion in our society can not be yanked out over night.
I think the institution needs to be sifted through and let those who agree with the separation of religion and state get more room to maneuver which will eventually facilitate the demise of the hardliners. JMHO

K.P,
That is great and rather honorable stance but I'm afraid it is not practical.
The deep roots of religion in our society can not be yanked out over night.
I think the institution needs to be sifted through and let those who agree with the separation of religion and state get more room to maneuver which will eventually facilitate the demise of the hardliners. JMHO

You are completely logical.
Not overnight maybe not even in a year or two but given the correct instruments and circumstances it could achieve significant goals in a couple of decades.

The hardliners though must be dealth with with extreme brutality. It will cause some havoc in Arab countries but i do believe we will not cause such a big stir in most of europe, australia and the US. Canada and Sweden might bitch and complain a little bit but then again they do that anyway.

What needs to be concentrated on would be the marginal segment of the population who are hungry for information and knowledge and are being fed bullshit rather than the truth about their parentage and culture, or rather iranian culture.

Hardliners, bassidji leaders and active members must be disposed of as soon as possible. This is a natural reaction of an ultra nationalist movement in a country that is hungry for it.

To be frank with you I would not give value of life of one demonstrator to 1000 bassidjis. I know it is heartless statement to make but there it is. IMO, they are not deserving of life, at least not on Iranian soil. they are more suited for Sudan, Saudi or Souther Iraq.

Iranian borders with sothern shit-e Iraq should be mined and closed for at least a good five years also. If by some strange turn of events the demonstrators start to get the upper hand the NEXT STEP FOR FARSI SPEAKING MUSLIMS who run the government of occupation in Iran is to call on the Badr division stationed in Iran and get the mahdi militia to annex PERSIAN KHUZESTAAN.

we need to have at least two mechanised army divisions with navy and air support in the southern borders of Iran and on full emergency patrol in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

Yeah, I agree with the long term goal. Education goes a long way.

Iranian borders with sothern shit-e Iraq should be mined and closed for at least a good five years also. If by some strange turn of events the demonstrators start to get the upper hand the NEXT STEP FOR FARSI SPEAKING MUSLIMS who run the government of occupation in Iran is to call on the Badr division stationed in Iran and get the mahdi militia to annex PERSIAN KHUZESTAAN.

we need to have at least two mechanized army divisions with navy and air support in the southern borders of Iran and on full emergency patrol in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

That is valid and quite serious concern.
We already have 2 mechanized army divisions in Khuzestan and Also Dezfoul and Bousher tactical Air Force bases near by + Army Aviation division in Masjed Solayman.

Another deterrent would be the funding of these groups, apparently there will not be any budget allocated to them by new government and apart from Kuwait and KSA I don't think any other nation will support them and without outside support they will be phased out very quick.

One more positive note I like to bring to your attention. Iranians are ultra-sensitive to the word "Annexation". They have not forgotten Turkman Chai and Golestan treaties and still look at Bahrain with extreme grudge, if any one or any force takes on integrity of Iranian territory they will have to face an Army of 20 million fighters.