Five groups directly opposed to the rule of the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are inside Iran, a senior cleric has admitted.
Ahmad Khatami, a close ally of Khamenei and a Tehran’s Friday Prayer Leader, told the state-run IRNA news agency on Friday: “Inside Iran, five groups of people are opposed to the Supreme Leader. Some oppose the principle of Velayat-e faqih (absolute rule of the clergy), some oppose Ali Khamenei himself, and some are calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
“The opposition to Ali Khamenei started during the 2009 protests to the election results.”
The 2009 anti-government protests saw demonstrators rip down and burn posters of Khamenei, while chanting, ‘Death to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih’.
Khatami admitted that some high ranking clerics in Iran are also opposed to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih, while others oppose him personally but believe in Velayat-e Faqih.
