Respected University Group in Iran: The Iranian Election was a fraud

Now this is a very interesting twist to this story:

An important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult.

“This crack in the clerical establishment, and the fact they are siding with the people and Moussavi, in my view is the most historic crack in the 30 years of the Islamic republic,” said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. “Remember, they are going against an election verified and sanctified by Khamenei.”

via Leading Clerics Defy Ayatollah on Disputed Iran Election – NYTimes.com.

My Friend Ed Morrissey says:

This puts Khamenei in a corner.  He has repeatedly claimed that the election results were divinely authored, putting his religious credibility on the line to silence opposition.  Khamenei has, through surrogates, accused Mousavi and other protesters of being foreign agents, enemies of the Islamic Republic that he claims authority from Allah to run.  If the religious clerics that support that divine authority suddenly switch sides and accuse Khamenei and his Guardian Council of imposing illegitimate results on the nation, what does that do to his authority?

I would assume that the Government of Iran will do, what they’ve been doing ever since this story broke. Continue to kill those who rise up against them. Although, I highly doubt; at this point, that the Government will be able to quell the whole entire situation.

Andrew Sullivan, who provided, I felt, the best coverage of the entire Iran election says this:

This is not over. It is just beginning.

Indeed, and I look forward to covering it.