Iranian opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have condemned the latest attacks by Ahmadinejad supporters on the Majlis (Islamic Parliament). The latest episode revealing further cracks in the Islamic Republic establishment revolves around an attempt by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to control Iran’s largest university, Islamic Azad University. Mousavi and Karroubi urged everyone to stand up against those who are trying to “escape the law” in order to reach their “illegitimate goals.”
On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad supporters protested outside the Majlis after Ahmadinejad’s bill, which proposed to replace a number of Islamic Azad University board members, was voted down by the MPs. The protesters even threatened to “blast” the Parliament if the MPs did not back down from their resistance against Ahmadinejad’s bill.

Azad University is a private institution with 1.5 million students. It is widely regarded as a centre of support for Iranian reformists. Mousavi and Karroubi claimed that it is surprising how the government refuses to issue a permit for the “Protest of Silence” which the opposition had planned for the anniversary of the controversial presidential elections of 2009 on June 12; however, “an organized group” such as the one which was threatening MPs on Tuesday is allowed to “stage an attack” anywhere they want.