15 January 2004	Thursday	22 Ziqa'ad 1424

TEHRAN, Jan 14: Iran's supreme leader moved on Wednesday to haul Iran out of one of its worst ever crises, ordering powerful conservatives to revise their massive blacklisting of reformists ahead of next month's parliamentary elections.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's blunt intervention came hot on the heels of a threat by reformist President Mohammad Khatami to lead a mass resignation of MPs and government ministers unless a hardline political watchdog backed down.

"The Guardians Council has a good opportunity to review the cases with precision and conforming with the law," state media quoted Khamenei as telling members of the body seeking to disqualify thousands of candidates.

Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said in the case of MPs who are currently sitting in parliament - 83 of whom had been barred from re-election - "if their aptitude was proved in the past, the principle is that they are still competent unless it can be proved otherwise."

He also told the Council not to go too far in its screening process and that "together with negative points, positive points should also be taken into account."

The body is a bastion of Iran's religious right and has the power to vet all legislation and candidates for public office. Khamenei directly or indirectly appoints all of its 12 members.

The supreme leader's intervention has been seen as crucial in resolving the bitter stand-off, which kicked-off on Sunday when the electoral vetting arm of the Council blacklisted nearly half of the 8,000 people hoping to stand for parliament on February 20.

Most barred from standing are reformists, among them some of the movement's most prominent figures, and the step immediately sparked accusations of vote-rigging. One top reformist MP, Mohsen Mirdamadi.

Late Tuesday, Khatami threw down the gauntlet with a threat that he and his reformist allies would all quit. A departure of the reformist government, elected with massive majorities in past polls, could plunge Iran and its blend of democracy and theocracy into political chaos and back into international isolation.

"We have to remain firm. If one day we are asked to leave, then we will all leave, together," the usually mild-mannered president warned. "When it comes to the elections and defending people's rights, the president is firm and will not forget his oath," he vowed on Tuesday in an open Majlis session.

Ayatollah Khamenei had said he would only play his hand in the deepening crisis if all legal channels failed, but appeared obliged to step in when negotiations between reformers and conservatives hit deadlock.

And the head of Iran's main reform party and brother of the president, Mohammad Reza Khatami, warned MPs would maintain their four-day-old sit-in at the parliament building and escalate their protests if necessary.

According to the head of the Majlis, Mehdi Karoubi, the Council was left with "no other choice" but to back down. "In one province they even rejected a prayer leader. Most of those rejected for not respecting Islam are well-known people, war veterans or people who have had martyrs in their family. We do not accuse them of not respecting Islam," was his scathing mockery of the screening process.

The Council is due to make a final ruling on the disqualifications at the end of the month, and a definitive list of candidates is due to be released around Feb 12.

US WARNED: Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry on Wednesday bluntly warned the United States not to interfere in Iran's electoral spat, after Washington slammed a move by hardliners to disqualify reformists from next month's polls.

"The statements of the American officials on the elections constitute interference in the internal affairs of Iran, and we warn the United States against stepping into our business," spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told the state news agency IRNA.

The parliamentary elections are "an internal matter for Iran. The supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and the president (Mohammad Khatami) insist that people's rights are not compromised. "The Iranian government is doing everything possible to assure the rights of candidates," Asefi said.-AFP