Dean
27th August 2009, 14:18
Ayatollah Khomeni conceded today that there was "no foreign plot" to steal the chaos emeralds.
AJE: Khamenei: 'No proof' of chaos plot (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/200982784942708215.html)
Iran's supreme leader has said that he has no proof the leaders of the post-election violence in June were backed by foreign states.
In a statement read on state television by a news reader on Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said claims that the US and Britain backed the protesters had not been "proven".
"I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," Khamenei said in the statement.
On August 3, Khamenei hailed the "unprecedented" vote that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, to power.
Khamenei confirmed Ahmadinejad in office as the government moved to put on trial people accused of staging protests that followed the disputed June 12 presidential election.
Iran accusations
Iranian officials, accusing the US, Britain and other Western powers of stoking the unrest, had previously portrayed the protests as a foreign-supported attempt to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
This is significant because it internalizes the conflict, inidcates a cynical attmept at reconciliation with the protestors, and legitimizes the criticism of the government (in addition to contradicting earlier claims).
What do people think of this?
AJE: Khamenei: 'No proof' of chaos plot (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/08/200982784942708215.html)
Iran's supreme leader has said that he has no proof the leaders of the post-election violence in June were backed by foreign states.
In a statement read on state television by a news reader on Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said claims that the US and Britain backed the protesters had not been "proven".
"I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," Khamenei said in the statement.
On August 3, Khamenei hailed the "unprecedented" vote that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, to power.
Khamenei confirmed Ahmadinejad in office as the government moved to put on trial people accused of staging protests that followed the disputed June 12 presidential election.
Iran accusations
Iranian officials, accusing the US, Britain and other Western powers of stoking the unrest, had previously portrayed the protests as a foreign-supported attempt to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
This is significant because it internalizes the conflict, inidcates a cynical attmept at reconciliation with the protestors, and legitimizes the criticism of the government (in addition to contradicting earlier claims).
What do people think of this?