As my taxi sped down the bleak southern highway to Imam Khomeini International Airport, a snippet of dialogue played, unbidden, in my mind.

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All relief work relating to the earthquake has been "taken over by the Revolutionary Guards, the Red Crescent, and the state-run Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, " the Telegraph reported in August.

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You drove past the Imam Khomeini shrine.

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"This is why back in 1997, we had to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan when the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee moved in next door, and why, 13 years later, the Treasury Department caught the same group in cahoots with Hezbollah, " said Rubin, who recently wrote about the issue for Commentary magazine.

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"If the Iranians truly wanted help, they would accept American relief workers who could keep a tight eye to ensure that the cash went to the earthquake victims, " said Rubin, noting that Iran's principal charity, the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (IKRC), has been cited by the U.S. government for supporting the terror group Hezbollah.

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Also, the opposition leadership, though fervent supporters of Khomeini, is quite different from the late charismatic leader who was regarded as an "imam" -- a title bestowed only on those believed to be anointed by God.

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