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Iran’s hard-liners take aim at conservative former judiciary chief

Under fire from hard-line foes, Expediency Council chairman Sadegh Amoli Larijani appears to be gearing further to the right — but such maneuvering appears bound to fail.
EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani arrives at Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for being too close to the reformist opposition.  REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Ta

In Iran, hard-liners have recently intensified their attacks on former judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani.

An unpopular figure among almost all of the political currents, Larijani was in December appointed chairman of the Expediency Council, which is tasked with resolving disputes between the parliament and the Guardian Council. During his tenure as judiciary chief, Larijani tolerated little criticism — even from hard-liners and conservative figures — leading to the judicial branch’s lodging of constant lawsuits against political activists.

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