Supreme Leader

The winner of Iran's June 12 presidential election will enjoy only limited power in the nation's complex system. How does the Islamic Republic's political system work? It combines elements of democracy with unelected religious leadership. The elected president is technically subordinate to the appointed supreme leader.

Iran's supreme leader has replaced the head of the feared militia at the center of the postelection crackdown with a senior military officer under U.N. sanctions for links to the country's ballistic missile program, state media reported. The Basiji militia, whose members operate in plain clothes and often wield crude weapons, was blamed for much of the violence against crowds protesting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 reelection. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced commander Hossein Taeb on Sunday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Muslims gathered in mosques throughout drought-stricken Afghanistan to pray for rain on the orders of the ruling Taliban militia. In a Radio Shariat broadcast, the supreme leader of the ruling Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, ordered the faithful to the mosques for three days of prayer aimed at ending the worst drought in 30 years. The United Nations says drought and fighting have pushed more than 100,000 Afghans to flee to Pakistan in the last five months.

Hundreds of protesters called for the death of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as thousands watched the third day of demonstrations in Tehran. Witnesses said the marchers also called for the deaths of mullahs and freedom for student prisoners. The demonstrators concentrated in two areas, around Tehran University and near the Intercontinental Hotel. Near the hotel, about 500 hard-liners on motorcycles beat protesters with cattle prods, witnesses said. Riot police later dispersed the crowd.

The release of two American hikers convicted of spying in Iran ended an international drama involving longtime foes, but was also emblematic of the infighting among Tehran's ruling elite that has led to questions about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's grip on power. Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, both 29-year-old graduates of UC Berkeley, were released Wednesday from Tehran's Evin Prison on a combined bail of $1 million. The Americans were handed over to the Swiss ambassador, who represents U.S. interests in Iran, and were flown to the Persian Gulf nation of Oman, a Washington ally that posted the bail and helped negotiate their release.

The Iranian Embassy announced Thursday that it is sponsoring a children's drawing and writing contest on the theme, "Israel must be erased from the Earth." The quote, attributed to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader, was carried in a large front-page advertisement placed by the Iranian Embassy in the national Pakistani newspaper, The Muslim.

President Mohammad Khatami promised to heed his supporters' demands for "freedom and justice" after his landslide reelection victory, as his legions of backers awaited his next move to challenge Iran's ruling hard-line Muslim clerics. There were high expectations that Khatami was planning major shake-ups among his top economic and political advisors. The goal would be a more competent team that is less under the influence of the conservatives.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named a new head for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, an organization Washington is considering designating a terrorist group, state media reported. No reason was given for the change and it was not clear whether the reshuffle would affect the possible U.S. move, which would pressure businesses the Guard controls or has interests in, from construction to oil sectors.