From a few days ago, but still an interesting development
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/t … sents.htmlGrand Ayatollah Sanei in Iran has declared Ahmadinejad's presidency illegitimate and cooperating with his government against Islam. There are strong rumors that his house and office are surrounded by the police and his website is filtered. He had previously issued a fatwa, against rigging of the elections in any form or shape, calling it a mortal sin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yousef_SaneiOn nuclear weapons and WMDs
In an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle, Grand Ayatollah Yousef Sanei said:
"There is complete consensus on this issue. It is self-evident in Islam that it is prohibited to have nuclear bombs. It is eternal law, because the basic function of these weapons is to kill innocent people. This cannot be reversed.".
Ayatollah Yousef Sanei said clerical authorities have quietly expressed opposition to the development of weapons of mass destruction for many years, and he described it as the reason that Iran never retaliated with chemical weapons when Saddam Hussein used them to kill Iranian troops and Iran-backed Kurds during the 1980- 88 Iran-Iraq war. "You cannot deliberately kill innocent people," he said.
On the status of women
He has declared that women have equal status in Islam, and they qualify for being a Judge (Qazi), Head of State, or even a Marja.
On non-Muslims
His view about non-Muslims (if they obey a holy religion) is that they are not najis and they equally deserve to go to Paradise if they follow their religion sincerely.
Note that a "Marja" is an Ayatollah/Grand Ayatollah.
It really seems as though there are some real fractures in the Iranian ruling coalition that have existed since the Islamic Revolution, but have been papered over in the face of external pressures ("The West", Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Soviets, etc.). Absent those forces it doesn't seem as though the religious authorities who were initially in favor of a more democratic Iran are willing to "play the game" as it were.
