Iranian Neocons?

The Independent (11.10.05):

"The storm over the appointment, the most important and lucrative in Iran's cabinet, is the latest in a series of controversies to engulf the President. His political inexperience, unorthodox beliefs and trust in untested religious conservatives is causing widespread concern in Iran." Iran starts to lose faith in its hardline President

"'This is the weakest president we have had since the revolution,' said Saeed Laylaz, an Iranian political and economic analyst. 'The gap between him and the parliament is getting bigger.'" "[Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is thought to be a religious literalist, believing in the imminent return of the 12th Imam who Shia believers say went into hiding in the 9th century." Is Mahmoud also thinking he's on a mission from God? The problem is that "(o)lder, traditionalist conservatives...are worried that Mr Ahmadinejad is trying to instigate a new Iranian revolution...." They're concerned Mahmoud is trying to "bring younger extremists from the Revolutionary Guard into top positions of power, ousting the older clerics who have previously held sway and embarking on a new cultural revolution that could unsettle their rule." In addition to having the Iranian Parliament reject his second attempt to appoint an oil minister ("his nominee for oil minister was forced to withdraw in the face of accusations of corruption" as well a lack of qualifications), Mahmoud recently created quite a stir by calling Israel "a 'disgraceful blot' that should be 'wiped off the map.'" He has also been fingered as a leading participant the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "Several of the 52 Americans who were held hostage in the US embassy in the months after the revolution say they are certain Mr Ahmadinejad was among those who captured them." Mahmoud was elected President last Summer after a bruising campaign. Did Mahmoud take a few pages out of Karl Rove's 2004 playbook?