By other Iranian leaders. Will they remove their little Hitler before he realizes his dreams? By Ali Akbar Dareini for AP, with thanks to Aunt Bea:
Conservatives and reformists are openly challenging President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hard-line nuclear diplomacy _ an unusual agreement across Iran’s political spectrum, with many saying his provocative remarks have increasingly isolated their country.
The criticism comes after the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously last month to impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. Some critics view the sanctions as an indication that Iran must change its policy.
After a year of silence, reformists are demanding that Iran dispel fears that it is seeking to build atomic weapons, pressing for a return to former President Mohammad Khatami’s policy of suspending enrichment, a process that can produce the material for either nuclear reactors or bombs.
“Resisting the U.N. Security Council resolution will put us in a more isolated position,” said the Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party.
Ahmadinejad’s popularity already was weakened after his close conservative allies were defeated last month in local elections, which were widely seen as a referendum on his 18 months in power.