MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - As political tensions increase in Iran, following the recent controversial reelection of the president, a Russian political expert said on Monday that the Iranian opposition had never got any further.
Tehran has seen mass demonstrations over alleged ballot fraud in the landslide reelection of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12. Official results gave the incumbent 63% of the vote, with reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi getting 34%.
With political tensions rising in Iran, senior figures in the Islamic Republic are reported to be considering whether to depose Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"For the first time, the opposition has defied his [Khamenei's] request to cancel all demonstrations, and has been continuing, if not escalating, the discontent," Professor Sergei Druzhilovsky from the international relations university MGIMO told RIA Novosti.
Commenting on whether Khamenei could be deposed, the Russian analyst said everything depended on the opposition's political resolve "to change the situation fundamentally enough."
He also wondered whether the Iranian ruling authorities would actively use the "rural" factor, since "the bulk of those who voted for Ahmadinejad come from rural areas."
Though "rural people have never had an active say in Iranian politics," Druzhilovsky described contemporary villagers as being "more organized."
According to the Russian expert, the major battle would be fought between rural people and young Mousavi supporters in Tehran.
Speaking about Mousavi, the Russian expert said the reformist leader was "obviously playing the all-or-nothing game."
"The question now is how many people could support him," Druzhilovsky said.
At least 457 people are reported to have been arrested during rioting in Iran's capital on Saturday with some 13 people being killed.
