IRAN: Iran's largest political party, the progressive Islamic Participation Front, dropped a bombshell on Saturday by threatening to withdraw from the cabinet and parliament unless "power-hungry" conservatives stopped blocking reforms. Six cabinet members and 88 deputies out of 290 belong to the Front.
The party's chairman, Mr Muhammad Reza Khatami, said the actions of the conservatives threatened the stability of the country.
Mr Khatami, younger brother of the reformist President Muhammad Khatami said Iran faced three alternatives: reform within the system put in place by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, its overthrow, or dictatorship by the conservatives. If the Front acts on its threat, its allies, who constitute a majority in parliament, could be expected to follow suit, depriving the regime of legitimacy.
On Saturday a hardline court banned another leading opposition party, the Freedom Movement, and fined and sentenced 33 of its members to prison terms of four months to 10 years. The men were charged with "acting against national security".
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