The Qom-Tehran Schism

by Chris Bodenner

In the Friday prayer sermon in Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati - the head of the Guardian Council and a strong Ahmadinejad supporter - implied that the top leaders of the reform movement should be arrested. Meanwhile, in the conservative holy city of Qom, the popular Ayatollah Ali Amini condemned the government’s use of violence and called for the release of prisoners. NIAC notes the significance:

The striking differences between the sermons in Iran’s political capital (Tehran) and its religious capital (Qom) provide further evidence of a deep rift between religious and political sectors in Iran that has developed since the June 12 election.