Leftists Eliminate Dorri Najafabadi - February 1999
FarsiNet News - News related to Iran, Iranians and Persians - February 1999: "Iran Security Minister ResignsTEHRAN,(Reuters) - Iran's conservative intelligence chief, under attack for his agency's role in recent dissident murders, has resigned, the newspaper of the official Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.
"Informed sources said...that (Intelligence) Minister Qorbanali Dorri Najafabadi has presented his letter of resignation to President Mohammad Khatami," the newspaper Iran Daily said.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the report.
But the daily Tehran Times carried a similar report and quoted what it called a reliable source as saying Khatami had accepted the resignation of Dorri Najafabadi, who was widely believed to have been imposed by conservatives on the moderate Khatami when he formed his cabinet in August 1997.
Iran Daily, published by the official news agency IRNA, said: "The same sources said...Ali Yunesi will replace Dorri Najafabadi."
Moderates close to Khatami have been demanding Dorri Najafabadi's ouster since the Intelligence Ministry admitted last month that some of its "rogue agents" were involved in the murders last year of four dissidents and intellectuals.
Press reports have repeatedly mentioned Yunesi, a Shi'ite Moslem cleric who heads Iran's military tribunals, as a possible replacement for Dorri Najafabadi. Yunesi heads a presidential commission probing the murders.
Tehran Times said Yunesi had been appointed by Khatami to replace Dorri Najafabadi and was "busy preparing his future agenda as (the) country's intelligence chief."
The murders and ensuing scandal strengthened the hands of Khatami and other moderates, tempting the president to try to extend his limited authority over the security forces.
Another daily, with good sources in the intelligence apparatus, said conservative MPs were prepared to abandon the minister in order to protect the security services.
The conservatives had been resisting Dorri Najafabadi's removal, accusing their moderate rivals of trying to make political gains from the murders.
Sobh-e Emrouz, a daily run by a former intelligence official turned leading reformer, said on Monday that Yunesi enjoyed the support of all factions and was likely to be confirmed by parliament should the president nominate him."
posted by JBOC @ 7:25 PM
<< Home