TEHRAN, Oct 18: Reformist allies of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami turned up the heat on conservatives on Friday, threatening to quit parliament en-masse if their rivals blocked two bills aimed at boosting Khatami’s authority.

The bills are the moderate Khatami’s most serious challenge yet to the powerful conservative-controlled institutions that have severely hindered his ability to push through reforms in Iran.

A reformist walkout could force a dissolution of parliament and spell the end for the tentative reforms, which have brought some advances in personal freedoms, women’s’ rights and economic openness since Khatami was elected in a 1997 landslide.

“It seems that Khatami is on a no-return path. If his bills were turned down, at any stage, he would have no option but to quit,” reformist parliamentarian Serajeddin Vahidi told the ISNA student news agency.

“Reformist parliamentarians have proved they would stay shoulder-to-shoulder with Khatami in achieving his pledges...and the number of MPs ready to resign if the bills do not get approved is enough to make the parliament dissolve,” he said.

Khatami was re-elected with an even bigger majority last year and has the backing of the reformist-controlled parliament. But he has been unable to meet the public expectations generated by his victory.

One of the two bills, introduced to parliament last month, would give him greater power to warn and sanction hardline judges who have muzzled scores of newspapers and jailed dozens of journalists and intellectuals in the past two years.—Reuters