The right Scoop
Sunday January 7, 2018
Former President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested for “inciting unrest” according to various reports in the press. Most are based on the reporting of Arabic language newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, based out of London.
The Jewish Press has a summary:
Al Quds Al Arabi on Saturday cited reliable sources in Tehran who said Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to the city of Shiraz and that the arrest was made with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after his remarks had been described as inciting unrest.
The independent pan-Arab daily newspaper, published in London, learned that the authorities intended to impose house arrest on Ahmadinejad.
Two weeks ago, on the Thursday that saw the start of anti-government protests in Iran, the former president, said in a speech to a crowd of residents of the city of Bushehr in southern Iran:
“Some of the current officials live away from the problems of the people and concerns, and do not know anything about the reality of society.” He added that “what Iran suffers today is mismanagement and not lack of economic resources.”
Although that summary states the arrest was “ordered”, the Times of Israel reports that he has been “arrested.”
This is actually a big mess, and it really goes to show how out of control things have gotten for the current regime in Iran. It may seem impossible to sort out the difference between “moderates” and “extremists” and “hard-liners” in the upper echelons of Iran when looking in from outside, but it really is just as murky for those who are living through it.
The protests, if nothing else, have shown how damaged the current government is in Iran. The outcome of that revelation remains, of course, to be seen.