How important was Montazeri's fatwa?

An opposing perspective on the Montazeri fatwa we blogged about this weekend: Juan Cole says it's overhyped.

It is being alleged that Montazeri is saying that the Iranian regime is illegitimate, which he is not. He is implying that if Ahmadinejad stole the election by foul means, then his presidency is illegitimate. That is just a self-evident conclusion.

... It is well known that he is on the outs with Khamenei, who put him under house arrest for five years in response to his questioning of the Khomeinist doctrine that the clerics must rule. His fatwa is therefore to be expected...

Via e-mail, Cole points out that Montazeri also called Khomeini a "tyrant" back in the 1980s. Montazeri doesn't have much respect for the office of the supreme leader, in other words, so his fatwa is "nothing new."