Zamaneh Media
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
Zamaneh Media
No Result
View All Result

Khatami’s last stand and Rohani’s first

by Zamaneh Media
October 31, 2013
in Latest Articles
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Khatami’s last stand and Rohani’s first
By: Ehsan Mehrabi

“This government will be toppled in six months!” This is a statement attributed to an Islamic Republic hardliner about the reform government of Mohammad Khatami.

After Mohammad Khatami’s unexpected victory in June of 1998, a potential coup and subsequent fall of the government was the talk of every political gathering. Opponents of the reformist government dismissed such innuendo as media sensationalism. They had better ideas about quasi-coups, which would be much less costly, such as an attack on a Tehran University dorm and the mass closure of media outlets.

The Hassan Rohani administration is similar to that of Khatami’s government in that it should be preparing for such quasi-coups. While the Rohani government is talking about a return to a peaceful political atmosphere of hope and wisdom, Tehran’s political atmosphere is tense, and the security atmosphere in the border provinces appears to be showing some bent toward the upheavals of the Ahmadinejad era. And in the arena of foreign policy, while the government is making efforts to reduce tensions, billboards have dotted the city landscapes in an attempt to damage potential talks with the United States.

Proud of Sabotage

Opponents of the government are hoping to repeat the disabling of the Khatami government with acts of sabotage, which can already be noted in the statements of government opponents. Ahmad Alam-ol-Hoda, the Mashhad Friday Mass Imam, speaks with pride when describing their acts of sabotage, saying: “The 11th government has tried six times to appoint a person to the governorship of Khorasan Razavi Province but failed.”

Alam-ol-Hoda emphasized the four million votes garnered by the ultra-conservative candidate Saeed Jalili, saying that according to the leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei, these four million are “the essence of the Revolution.” The statement seems to point to the old Iranian expression: “A centimetre of horn easily outweighs a metre of tail!”

They do not even need four million to disable the Rohani administration. The active Basij militia is enough to handle that for them. Basij militia members, who according to Alam-ol-Hoda, are willing to go on a land mine for the sake of this regime, or in other words, are prepared to throw a shoe at the president or even perhaps, as Mohammad Khatami has fearfully speculated, may be prepared to begin assassinations.

Source of the Quasi-Coups

Saeed Hajjarian, a prominent reformist figure who was the target of an assassination attempt, claimed 14 years after the attack that the attempt had been carried out by a Basij member, after Hajjarian had criticized statements by top Islamic Republic hardliner Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. A month after the attack, all reformist and independent press outlets were shut down. Seven months prior to that, the attack on the Tehran University dorm had taken place. However, some observers trace the source of the quasi-coups against the Khatami government back to the prosecution of progressive Tehran mayor Karbaschi or even the house arrest of dissident senior cleric Ayatollah Montazeri.

Khatami did not appear to have a red line for when he would stop tolerating the push against his programs and policies and he kept retreating as far as they pushed him back. Khatami made neither a first stand or a last stand.

Now, with the experience of the Khatami government under its belt, the Rohani administration needs to define its first and last stand. It might choose the method of the leader of the Islamic Republic. When the leader of the Islamic Republic decides to oppose his opposition, he prefers to oppose them in the first stronghold rather than the last.

According to his campaign promises, the first stronghold of the Khatami government was politics and culture. However, he mounted no resistance in these initial trenches and he failed to put up any resistance in later trenches when dealing with the economy.

Now Khatami’s last stand has become Rohani’s first stand; however, it is the method of resistance that is of greater importance. If Rohani has chosen the economy and development as the first stronghold, he must resist right there. If the opponents of this administration come to the realization that Rohani, like Khatami, has no red lines for his plans, they will run him over.

Rohani’s New Stronghold

Rohani has found himself a new stronghold: foreign policy. The administration is lucky that the impact of sanctions on the economy is undeniable, and the leader of the Islamic Republic, contrary to his inner desires, has opened up some room for nuclear negotiations.

If the Rohani government appreciates this stronghold and the space it has opened up, it may make history. He has already become the first Iranian president to have had a conversation with an American president. This is only the beginning of the road, and the Rohani administration can score many more firsts for itself if it mounts an effective resistance.

The Rohani administration needs its political and popular supporters to make such a stand. Disappointing the people and making everyone believe that nothing has changed was one of the chief strategies used against the Khatami administration. It is now being used against the Rohani government.

The administration’s actions can also contribute to the success of this strategy. The Khatami government chose to take on the role of the oppressed opposition rather than taking a stand. This made it easy to swallow the idea of an impotent administration. The Rohani administration has the potential to avoid similar disillusionment of the people by taking responsibility and resisting in all areas where it has some power.

Rohani’s supporters will stand behind his government only if they are certain of the the lines of resistance and retreat, so that their fate does not become akin to that of soldiers who do not get the retreat orders and are captured by the enemy.

 

[translated from the Persian original]

 

Previous Post

Minister quashes rumor of action to free opposition

Next Post

Tehran faces challenge with looming water shortage

Related Posts

Protests over Price Hikes in Iran Spread to Several Cities
Latest Articles

Protests over Price Hikes in Iran Spread to Several Cities

May 14, 2022
Civil Activists Arrested in Iran
Latest Articles

Civil Activists Arrested in Iran

May 9, 2022
Featured Items

ISNA: Swedish-Iranian professor to be executed in May

May 4, 2022
Latest Articles

Tensions between Iran and Sweden following the possibility of life imprisonment for a former Iranian official

May 2, 2022
Wage Suppression, Labor Strikes and Crackdown on Protests in Iran: Zamaneh’s Annual Labor Report is Out
Latest Articles

Wage Suppression, Labor Strikes and Crackdown on Protests in Iran: Zamaneh’s Annual Labor Report is Out

April 27, 2022
Featured Items

An interview with Rudy Bouma, Dutch Journalist who has witnessed two Ukrainian wars

April 17, 2022

RSS Iran in Other Media

  • U.S. seizes Iranian oil cargo near Greek island - sources - Reuters.com May 26, 2022
  • Iran And Saudi Arabia Show Record Death Penalty Toll In 2021 - I24NEWS - i24NEWS May 26, 2022
  • Iran into IWBF Asia Oceania Championships semis - Tehran Times May 26, 2022
  • US leak fingering Israel in Iranian colonel’s death could harm trust, official warns - The Times of Israel May 26, 2022
  • Iran Urges Formation of Regional Convention As Dust Pollution Concerns Grow - Tasnim News Agency May 26, 2022
  • Iran Learns Fate at AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022 - Tasnim News Agency May 26, 2022
  • China calls for positive US response to Iran nuclear concerns - CGTN May 26, 2022
  • Iran Building Collapse Kills at Least 14 People - Insurance Journal May 26, 2022
  • Iran state media says diplomat jailed with insufficient evidence - Al Jazeera English May 26, 2022
  • Analysis | Russians look to Iran for lessons on life under long-term sanctions - The Washington Post May 26, 2022
  • Wife of Swedish Man Detained in Iran Fears her Husband Will be Executed Soon - Asharq Al-awsat - English May 26, 2022
  • U.S. sanctions sprawling Russia-backed Iranian oil smuggling network - UPI News May 26, 2022
  • Fajr Sepasi Relegated from Iran League - Tasnim News Agency May 26, 2022
  • One killed in accident at Iranian military research center in Parchin - The Jerusalem Post May 26, 2022
  • Conservatives call on Canada Soccer to cancel match with Iranian team - CBC News May 25, 2022
  • Israel responsible for assassination of IRGC officer, claims NYT - The Jerusalem Post May 25, 2022
  • Negotiator tells Congress US still trying for Iran nuke deal - Fox 12 Oregon May 25, 2022
  • Alphonso Davies to return for Canada’s matches in June vs. Iran, Curacao, Honduras - Sportsnet.ca May 25, 2022
  • Iran opposed to US push for reforms in global health rules: Official - Press TV May 25, 2022
  • Iraqi boy, 10, eludes security to board Iran-bound plane - Al Arabiya English May 25, 2022
Zamaneh Media

© 2020 Zamaneh Media

More information

  • Sponsors
  • Donate
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Legal

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Latest Articles
  • Latest News
  • About Zamaneh Media
    • Exiled Media Report
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
    • Contact us
    • Legal
  • Advertise

© 2020 Zamaneh Media