Opposition? In Iran?

Rico says he wonders if Ahmadinejad is slipping, or what... Nazila Fathi has the story in The New York Times

Mir Hussein Moussavi, the Iranian opposition leader, made some of his harshest remarks to date against Iran’s rulers, calling their behavior dictatorial and terrifying. The remarks by Mr. Moussavi, whom supporters regard as the real winner of Iran’s contested presidential election last June, appeared to be part of a broader opposition effort to counter an intensified crackdown by the government ahead of the 11 February anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when many expect new street protests to erupt.
Mr. Moussavi’s remarks came as Tehran announced that nine imprisoned antigovernment protesters would soon be hanged. Two were hanged last week. Mr. Moussavi said the executions were aimed at “terrifying people” into submission. “The majority of people believed in the beginning of the revolution that the roots of dictatorship and despotism were abolished,” he said. “I was one of them, but now I don’t have the same beliefs. You can still find the elements and roots that lead to dictatorship.”
Mr. Moussavi served as prime minister in the first eight years after the revolution. He and another opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, ran against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June.
Accusations of voting fraud led to widespread antigovernment protests, a brutal repression and the worst political crisis in Iran since the revolution.
Mr. Moussavi said he did not believe that the revolution had achieved its goals.
A former senior official close to the opposition said that Mr. Moussavi “has taken his attacks against the regime one step further.” “People’s demands on the streets were definitely much more than what the opposition leaders were calling for,” the former official said in a telephone interview. “Now, with his new remarks Mr. Moussavi is reflecting what is closer to what people want.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution inside Iran.
In his statement issued after a bloody confrontation on 27 December, Mr. Moussavi had outlined demands to defuse the crisis, including the release of political prisoners and press freedom. “He stated the minimum demands of the movement a month ago but because he got no response he is taking the struggle to a new stage,” the former official said.