AHMADINEJAD PICKS ELECTION THEFT COHORT FOR CABINET AND PURGES THE FOREIGN SERVICE

PENINSULA: REUTERS

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faced criticism from some lawmakers yesterday for nominating as his new science minister an official who helped organise June’s disputed election.

Kamran Daneshjou, who ran the Interior Ministry’s election headquarters during the presidential poll, will be in charge of universities and other higher education issues if the assembly approves him as new science, research and technology minister.

Parliament, which must approve each of the 21 ministers in the hardline president’s next cabinet, had been expected to vote on the nominees on Wednesday but it was delayed until Thursday after four days of at times heated debate.

“We need to vote on the proposed ministers by noon tomorrow,” Speaker Ali Larijani told the assembly.

The election, which was followed by huge opposition protests, plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The moderate opposition says it was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad’s re-election. Officials deny it.

“Considering the heat in the society after the presidential election, there are doubts whether the nomination of Mr Daneshjou will help to cool down the society or whether it increases the heat,” said MP Mohammad-Qassim Osmani.

Another MP critical of Daneshjou’s nomination, Amin Shabani, told the assembly: “The question is whether the university environment will accept a renowned political and security figure like you as a scientific figure?”

GULF TIMES:

Iran is replacing 40 of its ambassadors, including some who voiced support for “rioters” during the unrest that erupted after June’s disputed election, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Commenting on the report, foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran had more than 130 diplomatic missions abroad and that replacing about 45 envoys each year was normal, state broadcaster IRIB said on its website.

He said such replacements usually happened during the summer. IRIB’s report made no mention of any of the ambassadors allegedly backing post-election protesters.

Citing informed sources, Fars said late on Tuesday that the envoys were given notification that their diplomatic postings had been terminated.

It did not give details on which ambassadors were affected.

“Some of these people officially took positions during the recent riots in Iran in support of rioters,” Fars said. “It is supposed that the new ambassadors will be selected from committed experts loyal to the basis of the (1979 Islamic) revolution,” it said.

AND OBAMA IS SENDING THEM LOVE NOTES, ASKING FOR A TRYST!

I ACTUALLY HOPE OBAMA GETS TO MEET WITH AHAMDINEJAD AND KHAMENI: THESE LEFT-WING THUGS DESERVE EACH OTHER.