Iran: Verdict a setback for Ahmadinejad?

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Iran: Verdict a setback for Ahmadinejad?

Updated: November 27, 2007 - 8:33 PM

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The latest: A former Iranian nuclear negotiator was acquitted Tuesday of spying charges but convicted of acting against the Islamic government in a case that has become a centerpiece in the feud between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his top political rival.

What it means: The verdict for Hossein Mousavian appeared to be a setback for hard-line Ahmadinejad, who had branded the diplomat a spy and made a veiled reference to him and other critics of his nuclear policies as traitors.

The backstory: Mousavian is a close ally of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful figure in Iran's clerical leadership who is seen as a pragmatist. Allies of Rafsanjani have been increasingly public in their criticism of Ahmadinejad, accusing him of mismanaging the nuclear standoff with the West and of lashing out against his rivals.

In context: The case against Mousavian from the start was seen as a part of the rivalry. Ahmadinejad implicitly accused Rafsanjani's camp of trying to influence the judiciary to acquit the negotiator. He vowed to stop them and expose his opponents as traitors, suggesting Mousavian had urged the West to toughen their stance on Iran in the nuclear dispute. After the verdict, several dozen hard-line students protested.

ASSOCIATED PRESS