Iranian Court Indicts Ally of President

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —  Threatened by presidential reforms, Iranian hard-liners have made an ambitious bid at preserving their power by indicting a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami.

A special clerical court indicted Abdollah Nouri on Monday on some of the most serious charges ever brought against a senior politician in Iran’s Islamic government.

Nouri, a leading figure in the reformist camp and Khatami’s advisor, was ordered to appear before the court Wednesday.

The charges include publishing lies that divide public opinion, insulting individuals in the Islamic system and Islamic sanctities and advocating better ties with the U.S. and Israel, Iran’s archenemies.

The hard-liners seek to sideline Nouri--a middle-ranking cleric and a former interior minister whom they forced out of office last year--before parliamentary elections in February. Allies of Khatami, a moderate cleric, are expected to sweep the polls.

At the heart of the power struggle are different visions of Islam. The hard-liners believe that political and social freedoms cannot exist under an Islamic system. Khatami and his reformist allies say that religion cannot be an excuse to deny political and social freedoms.

The hard-liners have been clinging to power despite growing public opposition underscored by large student protests in July. The hard-liners fear losing their slight majority in the parliament, or Majlis, in the upcoming elections.

Although concerned about Nouri for some time, the hard-liners focused on him after hearing word that all of the reformist groups were unanimously behind him.

The hard-liners targeted Nouri because reformists want the popular ex-official to contest the position of Majlis speaker, held by hard-liner Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri.