Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued...

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a veiled warning he might have to call on "the forces of the people" to step in if the main pillars of Iran's power structure were unable to solve major problems, the BBC reported. The Ayatollah's warning came amidst a mounting furore over the sentencing to death of a liberal university lecturer, Hashem Aghajari, for blasphemy, and a looming crisis over the blocking of the reform process. "On the day when the three powers are unable, or unwilling, to solve major problems, if the leader feels it necessary, he will bring the forces of the people into the arena," Khamenei told a gathering of public officials. He didn't spell out exactly what he meant, but "the forces of the people" would normally be taken in Iran as a reference to the Revolutionary Guards and their ancillary basij, or volunteer, forces. Both are ideologically-committed guardians of the Islamic revolution. The message appeared to be a veiled, but nonetheless blunt, warning to the three powers - the government, the parliament, and the judiciary - that if they cannot get their act together, they may be swept aside. The fact that Ayatollah Khamenei felt moved to issue such a warning was a clear indication of how critical the situation is becoming, as tensions mount between reformists, who control the government and the parliament, and hard-liners, who control the judiciary. Ayatollah Khamenei had harsh words for all three branches. The government, he said, had weaknesses and shortcomings; parliament should pay more attention to the real needs of the people; and the judiciary should avoid issuing verdicts which laid it open to criticism. In the meantime, many people - especially on the right wing - were looking to the leader himself to step in rapidly and end the crisis over Hashem Aghajari's death sentence. It caused so much outrage that many believe it was playing heavily to the advantage of the reformists.