Iran's rulers 'should call referendum'

[democratic]

The grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, has made a stinging attack on the country's current Islamic system and rulers.

In an interview with the BBC Persian Service, Hossein Khomeini, a hojatoleslam - or middle ranking clergyman - accused the current rulers of oppressing the Iranian people and committing human rights abuses.

Strong rejection

Hojatoleslam Khomeini maintained that those who voted for an Islamic Republic in Iran more than 20 years ago were now in a minority.

The vast majority of today's Iranians were either under voting age or not yet born when that decision was taken.

What was needed now, he said, was a referendum on Iran's Islamic system of government.

One way or another, he said, that could resolve the current situation without a drop of blood being spilled.

His comments mark one of the clearest and strongest rejections of the Islamic system of government by an Iranian cleric.

They will be seen as particularly significant because they have been made by the grandson of the man whose name has become synonymous with Iran's Islamic Revolution.

[Maple]

1. Look for this gentleman

to have a sudden fatal accident.