TEHRAN, IRAN: Moderate former president appointed to key religious post | September 05, 2007

THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani rose to a key religious post Tuesday in a move that moderates considered a victory at a time Tehran is facing international pressure over its nuclear ambitions and U.S. threats to brand its Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

Rafsanjani, widely regarded as a pragmatist, was appointed to head the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that selects the nation’s supreme religious leader. The new position further enhances his portfolio and was viewed by many analysts as at least a temporary obstacle to the hard-line conservatives running the government.

Los Angeles Times