Source: Reuters
TEHRAN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Veteran politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key figure in Iran's ruling elite, expressed support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday over turmoil following a disputed election last year.
In recent months, followers of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have criticised former president Rafsanjani for failing to give Khamenei unswerving(Not veering or turning aside: "a path . . . so straight and unswerving" (Mary Wilkins Freeman).) support in the struggle to crush opposition protesters who say presidential vote last June was rigged.
Addressing the powerful Assembly of Experts, which he heads, Rafsanjani defended the system of Shi'ite Muslim religious rule that gives Khamenei ultimate authority in Iran as its supreme religious jurist.
"Our focal point is clear and that is the constitution, Islam, the principle of the office of the jurisprudent and supreme leadership," he said.
"There are those who do not recognise these, but that is not the case with the majority of people in our society. It is very important for us to try to safeguard these."
Rafsanjani said Khamenei had tried to ease the political unrest following the vote, which plunged the Islamic republic into its worst domestic crisis since its inception in 1979.
He pointed to Khamenei's order to close the Kahrizak detention centre in June after prisoners died there amid reports that people held in post-election street clashes had been mistreated.
"The events that took place at Kahrizak and the consoling of those who were hurt in these events, or the release of those who were arrested, have been along this axis. (The leader) is vigilant that there should be no turmoil," he said.
The 86-member Assembly of Experts, which meets twice a year, supervises, appoints and in theory can sack the Supreme Leader -- a never-tested prerogative, which hardliners contest.
The two-day closed session coincides with renewed pressure by the United States and its allies for new U.N. sanctions to deter Tehran from pursuing nuclear work that they fear is aimed at making atomic weapons, not just fuel for power plants.
Rafsanjani last week criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for a report that said Iran may now be working to develop a nuclear-armed missile.
"Western governments welcomed the report and showed what lies behind this matter," he said on Tuesday. "The intensity of the propaganda atmosphere has never been of this magnitude ... we cannot be sure this is not the calm before storm."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Monday for an immediate embargo on Iran's energy sector. Analysts have speculated that Israel, Iran's arch enemy, could be tempted to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
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