LETTERS

Re “A familiar, unpredictable rebellion,” Opinion, June 18

Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi is not an outsider. That’s why he was allowed by the Islamist Guardian Council to run for president.

He has been part of the same establishment since the 1979 revolution. He was Iran’s prime minister during the bloody war with Iraq and a staunch supporter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The recent gesturing is nothing more than a power struggle between a bunch of religious fanatics.

In some ways, this is reminiscent of the 1979 revolution, when people with different views joined together and took to the street and fought for freedom by supporting Khomeini. But when Khomeini came to power, the dreams of many of Iranians were shattered when the supreme leader delivered them the repressive Islamic Republic of Iran. These freedom fighters today will once again be disappointed even if Mousavi somehow becomes president.

Iranians will be truly free when these self-appointed fanatics at the top are removed from power.

Ali Shahmiri

San Diego