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Article: Ayatomfoolery. (Hussein Ali Montazeri withdraws as designated successor to Ayatollah Khomeini)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 1, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ayatomfoolery
The heir-apparent has left the stage. Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who is only 66, has withdrawn as the designated successor to Ayatollah Ruhollab Khomeini, supreme guide of Iran's Islamic revolution, who may be 86. So what?
Not much, perhaps. The old Ayatollah is unpredictable even when he is comprehensible. The people most fed up with the old man's whims are those who have to try to explain them to foreigners. Last weekend Iran's ambassador to the United Nations resigned. There is talk of the resignation of the foreign minister, Mr Ali Akbar Velayari. Ayatollah Montazeri, during the celebrations last month of the tenth anniversary of ...