EU-DIGEST

EU ready to enforce travel bans on Iran officials among rumors from Iran that Ahmadinejad is on the way out

The Financial Times Deutschland reported today that the European Union is considering banning some Iranian officials from traveling to Europe in response to the recent political unrest in Iran following the rigged election. The Swedish EU presidency which has just taken over from the Czech Republic has warned that the EU is ready to take serious action if Iran does not free British embassy staff still detained in Tehran. Another plan being circulated around the 27 member EU is to recall ambassadors for a few days as a sign of protest.

Out of Iran come persistent rumors that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is discussing the possibility within the Iran leadership to declare the election null and void and agree to new elections supervised by some international body like the UN. It is said that he understands the cards are presently stacked against Iran, if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power, and that distancing himself from Ahmadinejad would reestablish him as a a credible political broker.

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, EU, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ready to dump Ahmadinejad who is facing diplomatic isolation- by Jeffrey Fleishman and Borzou Daragahi

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can in one instant appear the diplomatic equivalent of damaged goods and in the next a confident leader whose bellicose speeches leave the West wondering how to deal with him and his perplexing nation now that he's won a much-disputed reelection. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev publicly greeted Ahmadinejad at a recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but did not grant him a private meeting as he had the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Belarus, the Iranian leader was met not by President Alexander Lukashenko, but by the speaker of the upper house of parliament.A similar pattern has emerged in the Middle East, where Arab regimes have long been wary of Iran's ambitions. Authorities in Jordan withdrew licenses for two Iranian news organizations this week and the sultan of Oman reportedly canceled a trip to Tehran following the unrest after Iran's June 12 election.

Note EU-Digest:Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could, if he wanted to, change the perception of the Iran leadership immediately, and even qualify himself as an honest broker, by declaring the election null and void and agreeing to new elections supervised by some international body like the UN. It would certainly take the pressure off him. Will he do so? Nobody really knows, but he certainly is clever enough to see how the cards are stacked against Iran if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power, and this charade continues.

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad