Iran's New Top Mullah May Be Even Crazier Than Kholmeinhi

Also a must-read at Hot Air is this: Ahmadinejad's mentor, considered an extremist even in Iran, may replace the "moderate" chief mullah of Iran.

n a move that would push Iran even further into the diplomatic wilderness, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, 71, who publicly backs the use of suicide bombers against Israel, is campaigning to succeed Grand Ayatollah Ali Khameini, 67, as the head of the Islamic state.

Considered an extremist even by fellow mullahs, he was a fringe figure in Iran’s theocracy until last year’s election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a fellow fundamentalist who views him as his ideological mentor…

Appointing Mr Mesbah-Yazdi as supreme leader would be a massive blow to Western efforts to get Iran to cease its nuclear programme and backing of militants in Lebanon, Iraq and among the Palestinians. Although he has never spoken publicly on the issue, Mr Mesbah-Yazdi is thought to support the idea of an Iranian nuclear bomb.

This is extraodinarily important, because it has been claimed by some -- like Christopher Hitchens -- that Ahmadinejad wasn't the scary figure we imagined, because the mullahs had only allowed him to win his office to placate the young, thuggish male crazies of Iran, among whom he was popular. The claim goes that it's the clerical revolutionary council that holds the real power, and Ahmadinejad may bluster a lot, but the mullahs would restrain him.

Well -- if the top theofascist is now to be the guy who gives Ahmadinejad all his crazy ideas, that changes the equation, doesn't it?

Remember: Ahmadinejad belongs to a cult that even the Ayatollah Kholmeinhi considered extremist and insane.

And now his cult-leader may seize the top position in Iran.

posted by Ace at 05:47 PM

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