Regime mouthpiece accuses Khatami of, gasp!, wearing suit in passport photo

Artist's rendition of possible passport photo

The regime is continuing to spread innuendos against opposition leader and former reformist President Mohammad Khatami.

Yesterday, March 9, Fars News Agency, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), claimed that a foreign travel ban had been placed on Khatami. The report was rebutted half an hour later by Khatami's lawyer. (For report, click here)

Today it was Javan Online's turn to attempt to discredit the former two-term president by reporting that he had committed the crime of wearing a suit in his new passport's photograph. Javan Online, the web site of Javan newspaper which also happens to be controlled by the IRGC, made the affirmation this morning. The item will probably appear in tomorrow's edition of the daily.

Javan was as closefisted as Fars News in its use of honorifics or titles for Khatami:

'Prior to February 11 (NB Anniversary of 1979 revolution), Seyed Mohammad Khatami intended to travel to a European country (NB Code for: What's wrong with the beach resort of Gaza or beautiful downtown Mazar-i Sharif?),' Javan Online wrote. 'Because his passport had expired, he took steps to obtain a new one.'

'Khatami's representative with power of attorney applied for a new passport in one of the police stations of eastern Tehran,' Javan continued. 'According to the documents that were submitted, Khatami's passport was issued without clerical garb and with a suit, per his request and contrary to [past applications].'

Since Javan Online did not publish the said photograph, despite the newspaper's obvious close relationship with the authorities, this blog had to resort to on-line research to illustrate this post and hit a gold mine at graphic designer Mehrdad Aref-Adib's web site:

A youthful Ayatollah Saanei and Charles Bronson

The way we were: Rafsanjani and Sean Penn

Please visit Aref-Adib's lookalikes page for more.