[Los Angeles Times] Borzou Daragahi - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday named a hard-line loyalist with strong ties to the Revolutionary Guard and the pro-government Basiji militia to oversee the country's vast intelligence infrastructure. Ahmadinejad has already taken de facto control of Iran's Intelligence Ministry after purging it of officials deemed insufficiently loyal. On Sunday, he nominated Heydar Moslehi, a mid-ranking cleric, to lead the ministry, which controls a vast trove of data on Iranians as well as an extensive human and electronic surveillance infrastructure. Moslehi served as an advisor to Ahmadinejad on clerical affairs and is close to Supreme Leader Khamenei.
2009-08-17 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive