Email This to a Friend
Tehran Mayor Resigns In Protest of Ahmadinejad — Then Changes His Mind
The Iranian president's rivals up the ante.
All news takes time to get out of Iran — particularly when it comes to internal strife in the upper political echelons. But eventually, major clashes leak out. This week the news emerged that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran and Ahmadinejad’s main rival in the Osulgarayn (Principalist) movement, resigned from his post just before the end of the previous Persian calendar year — approximately March 18 or 19.
A number of days later, he was reinstated to his job after his resignation was rejected by senior officials, most likely the supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei.
The news was first published in the Tehran-based Jahan News, which is affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Information and Security, known by its Farsi acronym as VAVAK.
According to the report, the main reason for Ghalibaf’s resignation was the termination of supply of cement, primary materials, and tools required by the Tehran municipality for its subway project for the city of Tehran. This follows another controversial decision by the government to cut subsidized gasoline provided to the municipality’s cars. This decision forced the organization to purchase gas at market prices — six or seven times the price. These decisions first caused a number of senior municipality managers to resign, followed by the mayor himself.
The very fact that he took a step as extreme as resigning from his post is an indication of the intensity of the rivalry between him and Ahmadinejad. As mayor of Tehran, Ghalibaf depends on the national government, and Ministry of Interior in particular, to supply him with material and subsidized goods for city projects. He can’t just simply go out and buy them himself.
Page 1 of 2 Next ->
Meir Javedanfar is the co-author with Yossi Melman of The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran. He runs Middle East Economic and Political Analysis (MEEPAS).
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
3 Comments
1. j green:You treat the Iranian political system as though it is truly a bona fide political system. It is ally a sham with mullahs pulling all the strings.
Also you give credence to this notion of negotiating after Iran’s election instead of before as some sort of incredibly important nuance when, in reality, negotiation at ant time gives credibility to the fraudulent regime.
You should reconsider your analysis.
Mar 29, 2009 - 2:56 am 2. j green:You also give Ahmadinejad a lot of undue credit. He is nobody. Most of the subjects he talks about are none of his business. Obama cannot speak for India and Ahmadinejad cannot speak for Iraniam foreign policy, nuclear program, Israel erasure, etc. Yet he has you analyzing their irrational politics as though natural political forces sway it. Mullah whims sway it so your analysis can’t make sense either. Its a waste of to pretend their presidency is a political institution and to analyze their phoney candidates.
Mar 29, 2009 - 3:10 am 3. meir javedanfar:The system is not as muddled as some people believe.
Mar 29, 2009 - 3:36 amAlso with regards to Ahmadinejad, he does not have much power in the nuclear program and defense, but he does have much sway in the economy. More importantly, until now he has had Khamenei’s support, which is very important.