Khamenei attacks the US, pro-reform Iranian press and "enemies"--Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei on Thursday lashed out at the United States as well as pro-reform newspapers that have supported President Mohammad Khatami.

TEHRAN, April 20 (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei launched a scathing attack Thursday on pro-reform
newspapers behind President Mohammad Khatami, amid mounting
political tension over the press here.
Khamenei, whose powers dwarf those of the president, told tens
of thousands of young people in a fiery speech in Tehran that the
pro-reform press had become "enemy strongholds" that were harming
the interests of the nation.
"What they are doing is a grave danger to us. If their leaders
do not put a stop to it, the enemy will move ahead," said Khamenei,
who accused the press of carrying out "the same agenda" as the media
in the United States.
He criticised "the world's oppressive powers, led by the United
States, which are trying to rule the country, just as they did in
Eastern Europe" and said the US desire to re-open an embassy in
Tehran was merely a "dream."
But he also expressed support for Khatami and, just as he did
following last year's violent riots which shook the capital after
the closing of a pro-Khatami newspaper, insisted that the Iranian
leadership was united.
"Our nation is based on Islam, and all its leaders are united on
the matter," said Khamenei, who called the president -- himself a
cleric -- a "religious and very responsible man."
During his sermon at Friday prayers last week, Khamenei
expressly rejected the "US-style" reforms which he said were being
promulgated by the pro-Khatami press as well as reformist
politicians behind the president.
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, under the direct control of
Khamenei, echoed his word two days later, hinting that the
pro-reform press was due to get a reaction from the revolutionary
force.
"When the time comes, these people will feel a blow to the head
delivered by the revolution," the Guards said in a statement.
But the English-language Tehran Times on Thursday denounced the
rumors of a military coup which have circulated since the statement,
and other papers have cited Guards officials denying any coup was in
the works.
"Some people inside the country have been taken in by such
rumors, which are aimed at causing anxiety among the people and
putting the political factions against one another," the
conservative Tehran Times said, adding the rumors were "baseless."
Iran's largely pro-reform press has been growing bolder in
recent months but the outgoing conservative parliament has in recent
days passed a series of tough measures against the media.
Khamenei on Thursday again called on the government to take
action against the press, which has flourished since Khatami's 1997
election despite regular crackdowns by the conservative-led courts
and police.
Earlier a number of traditionally conservative merchants at
Tehran's bazaar defied a call to go on strike and close down for the
day in a show of support for Khamenei.
Political tension has been mounting since the first round on
February 18 of parliamentary elections in which reformists ousted
their rivals and ended the longstanding conservative majority in the
legislature.
Since then the conservative-led Council of Guardians has
overturned the election of several reformists, a move which sparked
riots and demonstrations in several cities.
But the council has failed to declare the official results of
the first round or set a date for second-round run-offs, as the May
28 deadline for the first session of the new parliament draws
nearer.
"Not respecting the timetable could be a kind of political
coup," said political analyst Iradj Rashti.