A precarious balance

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica describes the closure of the Kahrizak prison in Iran and the calls for the arrest of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi as a dangerous combination: "It is no mere coincidence that on the very same day that the use of torture in Kahrizak … was admitted publicly even by chief of police Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, the [elite unit] Pasadaran threatened to arrest the opposition leaders [Mohammad] Khatami, Mousavi and [Mehdi] Karroubi, put them on trial and punish them because they tried to carry out a 'velvet coup'. … The mutual attacks of the warring factions are also a sign of the precarious balance between the [political] forces. And it is not yet clear who has won and who has lost. In other words, [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad no longer has the situation under control and has failed to restrain his opponents."

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