(Newsweek) - In Washington, even moderate Bush advisers question whether Iranian ministers and clerics who agreed to the deal to "suspend" a suspected uranium-enrichment program have the power to deliver Tehran's end of the bargain. Some U.S. officials fear the Iranian government has now splintered into three major factions: a reformist or "moderate" faction, personified by the president, Mohammed Khatami; a hard-line faction, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme religious leader; and an ultra-hard-line faction of no-name spooks and extremist clerics who secretly pursue radical policies, such as the clandestine support of terrorists, in a way that gives public hard-liners "deniability."
2003-10-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive