World: Iran’s vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, resigns amid criticism
- He apparently wasn’t hard-line enough for leadership. Just days after getting into office, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei has decided to step down from his post. Mashaei, a top aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, found himself under a lot of political pressure due to his moderate stance on Israel. When Ahmadinejad named him as his vice president, the furor could be heard from miles away. Now we could be wrong about this – and let us know if we are – but is someone who isn’t hard-line enough really the problem that Iran has right now? (Oh, FYI, expect more protests this week.) source