Now this is a potential game changer in Iran.
Members of the assembly are reportedly considering forming a collective ruling body and scrapping the model of Ayatollah Khomeini as a way out of the civil crisis that has engulfed Tehran in a series of protests,
The discussions have taken place in a series of secret meetings convened in the holy city of Qom and included Jawad al-Shahristani, the supreme representative of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is the foremost Shiite leader in Iraq.
An option being considered is the resignation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran's president following condemnation by the United States and other European nations for violence and human rights violations against unarmed protestors.
This could be huge since according to this article Ayatollah Sistani is supposed to have all kinds of sway in the Shiite world. This new, proposed, ruling body kind of sounds like an Islamic Senate but instead of being voted in they are appointed by their fellow clerics.
Also according to the article Ayatollah Sistani seems to be quite a pragmatist from his statements. If this man is brought into the fold to offer legitimacy we might see the rise of a pragmatic government in Iran.
Why? Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in 2007 made two very critical statements: that "I am a servant of all Iraqis, there is no difference between a Sunni, a Shiite or a Kurd or a Christian," and that Islam can exist within a democracy without theological conflict. You will never hear such words slip past the lips of Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei. Ever.
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