Excerpts: Iranian Guardian Council power. Iranians join Hizbullah in Syria
battle May 22, 2013

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 22 May ’13:”U.S. Slams Iran’s Disqualification
of Candidates”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Iran’s unelected Guardian Council okays presidential candidates
QUOTE: “The United States on Tuesday(21 May). . . accusing the
‘unaccountable’ clerical leadership of seeking to tighten its grip on power”
FULL TEXT:The United States on Tuesday[21 May] condemned Iran's
disqualification of hundreds of would-be presidential candidates, accusing
the "unaccountable" clerical leadership of seeking to tighten its grip on
power.

"It appears that Iran's unelected Guardian Council, which is unaccountable
to the Iranian people, has disqualified hundreds of potential candidates
based on vague criteria," State Department deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell
said.

"The Council narrowed the list of almost 700 potential candidates down to
eight officials based solely on who the regime believes will represent its
interests, rather than those of the Iranian people," he told Agence France
Presse in an email.

"The lack of transparency makes it unlikely that the slate of candidates
represents the will of the Iranian people, who should be given every
opportunity to choose a president who best embodies their views."

Ventrell also said there were "troubling signs" that the government was
moving to slow down or cut off Internet access in a bid to stifle free
expression ahead of the June 14 election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The conservative-dominated Guardian Council, which claims to vet candidates
based on their devotion to the Islamic Revolution, winnowed the candidate
field from 686 down to eight, all close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.

Rejected candidates include Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate who served
as president from 1989 to 1997, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a controversial
aid to Ahmadinejad, who is constitutionally banned from seeking a third
term.

The disqualifications appeared to leave lead nuclear negotiator Saeed
Jalili, a figure close to top decision-maker Khamenei, as the frontrunner.

Washington has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979
revolution and the seizure of the U.S. embassy by Islamist students, who
held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

The United States has led the way in imposing international sanctions on
Iran over its controversial nuclear program, which the West believes is
aimed at developing a nuclear weapon but which Tehran insists is entirely
peaceful.

The United States also accuses Iran of being a "state sponsor of terrorism"
because of its support for Hizbullah, Hamas and other regional militant
groups

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 22 May ’13:”U.S.Official:Iranians Joining
Hizbullah in Key Syria Battle”,Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Iranians join Hizbullah in Syria battle
QUOTE:”Iranians are working alongside Hizbullah fighters to back Syrian
troops”
FULL TEXT: Iranians are working alongside Hizbullah fighters to back Syrian
troops battling to retake the rebel stronghold of Qusayr amid fears of a
civilian massacre, a U.S. official said Tuesday[21 May].

"It is the most visible effort we have seen by Hizbullah to engage directly
in the fighting in Syria as a foreign force, and we understand there are
also Iranians up there," a senior State Department official told reporters.

His information was based on reports from commanders of the rebel Free
Syrian Army, but he was unable to give any estimates of how many Hizbullah
fighters or Iranians were involved, and what exact role the Iranians were
playing.

"I don't know that they are directly involved in the fighting, but I don't
think the people that I'm talking to know that themselves," the official
told reporters travelling with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

"This is an important thing to note -- the direct implication of foreigners
on Syrian soil for the regime," he cautioned on a conference call in Muscat.

Many opposition commanders had reported that forces from Hizbullah "are
directly engaged in fighting literally on the streets. They say that their
men... are directly fighting against Hizbullah commanders."

"Iran's role and Hizbullah's role have grown substantially over the last
couple of months," he warned ahead of a Friends of Syria meeting to be held
in Jordan on Wednesday[22 May].

Observers have alleged that Hizbullah fighters were leading the battle for
Qusayr in Homs province, three days after the Syrian regime began an assault
to regain control of the town.

The town is a key strategic prize as it sits on the main highway between
Damascus and the Mediterranean coast, and also controls rebel supply routes
from the northern city of Tripoli.

"The world is watching this and we are watching this and we will know if
they commit massacres.. and we will hold them accountable," the U.S.
official warned the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Syrian opposition had voiced concerns that "when regime forces do go
into Qusayr, if they do capture it, that there will be retaliation against
the civilian population," he added, stressing "there are still thousands of
civilians in the city."

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA