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| Author: | Barbara Slavin |
|---|
June 16, 2009
Conventional wisdom about Iran has long been that the nation's senior Muslim cleric would have the final say on domestic and foreign policies, no matter who won the June 12 presidential election.
But that calculus has been challenged with the explosion of protests in the streets. Iran analysts say Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could well emerge diminished in stature because of his too-quick confirmation of victory of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- an outcome now discredited by allegations of fraud.
"Whatever happens, Khamenei comes out looking bad," said Judith Yaphe, an Iran specialist at the National Defense University.
"It's a turning point," she added. "There has been nothing like this since the [1979] revolution."
She and other analysts sketch three scenarios, none of which is friendly to Ayatollah Khamenei.
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