Not so fast say the theocratic heads of Iran...
The Iranian judiciary on Wednesday contradicted an assurance by Iran‘s president that two Americans arrested two years ago while hiking the Iran-Iraq frontier and imprisoned on espionage charges would be freed within two days as a humanitarian gesture, state media reported.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disclosed the plan on Tuesday in a move that seemed timed to portray him more favorably before he attends the United Nations General Assembly meeting next week. But the subsequent announcement by the judiciary could prove deeply embarrassing, showing the limits of his power and, given the swirling factional politics within the Iranian elite. highlighting frictions between Mr. Ahmadinejad and the conservatives who control the judiciary.
Specifically, the apparent conflict over the Americans’ legal status could reflect a worsening rift between Mr. Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation’s spiritual leader and highest authority, who is closely allied to the court.
On Wednesday, state media reported that, in the words of the English-language Press TV satellite broadcaster, “Iran’s judiciary has refuted recent media reports on the imminent release of two American nationals that were convicted of committing espionage against the Islamic Republic for the U.S. government.”
(cont'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/wo..._r=1&ref=world
And so it goes...
Richard 
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
|