Long-Term Consequences of Iran's Intra-Elite Struggle

The intra-elite struggle within Iran has entered a new phase in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been attempting to contain President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been increasingly defiant against the Khamenei-led clerical establishment. The supreme leader has succeeded in placing arresters in the path of Ahmadinejad, but the process has led to more fissures within the Islamic republic — fissures with the potential to further weaken the clerics and empower the military in the long run.