Reformist Blames Hardliners For An ‘Explosive Situation’ In Iran
A reformist figure in Tehran says some Iranian hardliners are reactionary elements who even do not listen to the advice of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A reformist figure in Tehran says some Iranian hardliners are reactionary elements who even do not listen to the advice of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Gholamreza Ansari said in an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) that these reactionaries have created a situation in which social crises could explode like grenades at any moment.
He was referring to a serious economic crisis triggered by US sanctions and the failure to reach a nuclear deal that could free Iran of the economic pressure.
Ansari, who has post-graduate degrees both in sciences and social sciences held various government positions during reformist governments and was an ambassador to Turkmenistan.
He argued that the reactionary elements also known as "the concerned groups" entrenched themselves in ultraconservative governments of Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ebrahim Raisi.
One example of these reactionaries, routinely singled out by critics is Iran's Housing Minister Rostam Ghasemi, who during religious mourning events this week suddenly spoke against nuclear talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal. Ghasemi used religious rhetoric to emphasize intransigence rather than compromise.
In an August 7 tweet, Ghasemi likened the United States to Shemr, the man who beheaded the Shiite Imam Hussain in the year 680 AD, while also likening Iran to Imam Hussain. He quoted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi as having said that the United States is not trustworthy as a partner to any agreement.
On the previous day, the reformist daily Sharq quoted Ghasemi as having said based on the same analogy: "The Shiites of Hussain will not forget their mission with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)” offered by evil forces.
Subsequently, former Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati reminded Ghasemi that he is no longer Iran's oil minister, the post he used to hold under President Ahmadinejad. Other social media users told Ghasemi that as Iran's housing minister he is no position to intervene in the nuclear dossier. Others warned Ghasemi that while the rest of the government is working hard to reach a deal with the United States, he should not speak against an agreement.
In his interview with ILNA, Ansari pointed out that the reactionaries derail government policies with their hollow slogans. This comes while most of the hardliner politicians who belonged to "the concerned group," including ultraconservative lawmaker Javad Karimi Ghoddousi have sometimes paid lip service to a nuclear deal that the hardliners desperately need for lifting US sanctions.
Ansari accused the hardliner group of spreading their hallucinations and superficial ideas about the affairs of the state instead of offering real solutions to the country's problems. At the same time, they try to force others who have a solution out of the political realm.
He said this group which has the upper hand in the current government cannot even solve a problem as simple as providing bread for the nation, charging that lack of coordination among the members of this group and Raisi's economic team has further exacerbated the crisis Iran faces.
"With their wrong policies and lack of coordination those who had promised to solve all of the country's economic problems overnight, and turn Iran into another Japan, have created serious problems and challenges for the nation," Ansari said. He added that "Instead, they have given way to the presence of unqualified individuals in the government and paved the way for corruption, smuggling and offering exclusive concessions to the group's members."
The twitter account of the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Austria published photos of Tehran’s lead negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani at the mourning ceremonies of the Islamic month of Muharram. The event was held at Vienna’s Islamic center of Imam Ali, a Shiite mosque.
The highlight of the month-long ceremonies of Muharram are the Days of Tasu'a and Ashura, the anniversary of the slaying of Shiite Imam Hussein and his 72 companions by his rivals to the leadership of Muslims. Ceremonies have been held for centuries in Iran and among Shiites in other countries, marking the event in the 680 AD battle of Karbala, in present-day Iraq, and have gained greater state support since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
This round of the Vienna talks reportedly focus on a text circulated in late July by Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief, to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran over how the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- or JCPOA -- can be revived. It is unclear how specific are proposals in Borrell’s text and how far he outlines a process.
European officials have presented a tough face to reporters gathered outside the Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna, insisting that the current talks will not be “reopening” negotiations, and urging Tehran not to make “unrealistic demands.”
Some, like lawmaker Mansoor-Ali Zarei, representing Sari, were still hopeful about the government's success and promised "good things to happen in the next month or two. "However, knowing how limited the government’s capabilities and options are, he said, "If this is not accomplished, we will increase our supervision over the administration."
Others, such as member of parliament (Majles) Rahmatollah Norouzi were so disappointed that said: "The Majles is planning to reduce its cooperation with the government," adding that "The Majles is planning to impeach several of Raisi's cabinet ministers."
Most of the complaints made by both groups were about Raisi and his ministers' broken promises and their inability to solve the country's economic problems. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the parliament's Economic Committee Gholamreza Marhab reiterated that US sanctions on Iran are unprecedented in modern history, and the government should try to improve its performance to compensate for the damage.
While acknowledging that the deadlock over the revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement was a major obstacle to this, like most Iranian politicians, he repeated the formulaic rhetoric that the country's economy should not be tied to the problems resulting from the nuclear issue.
Criticism of Raisi and his cabinet began a few weeks after he assumed office in August 2021 and gained momentum earlier this year, but confidence of even his supporters was shaken when a decision by the government in early May led to a sudden jump in food prices.
Raisi decided to eliminate a key subsidy for food imports, and this led to an across-the-board jump in prices.
An infographic published by Etemad Online website on August 6 indicated that the price of cooking oil has increased by 367 percent in the past year, rice by 200 percent, yogurt by 185 percent, pasta by 168 percent, cheese by 133 percent, butter by 120 percent, eggs by 114 percent, sugar by 102 percent, poultry by 101 percent.
Meanwhile the Tehran Chamber of commerce announced in a new report that meat and rice consumption in Iran has dropped dramatically during the same period.
MP Zarei said it is a shame that Iran has so many economic problems while it owns seven percent of the world's resources and has only one percent of the world population. He added that despite all the economic problems, the members of Raisi's economic team have still not learned to speak in one voice after one year in office.
Norouzi, the lawmaker for Golestan Province also criticized the government for giving a 10 percent pay rise to a small part of workers in Iran while the overall inflation rate in the country is more than 50 percent.
He said, "the Majles has serious criticism of the government's one-year performance, and we expect Raisi to work hard to improve the nation's livelihood."
He added that Iranians are in a very difficult situation and government ministers need to come up with practical plans to solve their problems. He pointed out that costs of housing, meat, dairy products, rice and all other essential commodities have risen dramatically during the one year Raisi and his colleagues were in office.
Norouzi warned that the Majles should put an end to its hesitations and take strict measures against the government if it fails to deliver.
It was the outcome of Europe’s multifaceted ascendance in the 19th century that motivated Iranian intellectuals to demand freedom and justice.
Justice was the main demand, and many thought “Constitution” meant justice and a process that would eventually lead to the establishment of courts of justice [Edalat Khaneh or house of justice]. For several centuries, Iranians, then called Persians, were suffering in the hands of despotic monarchs and Sharia judges. Since the 16th century, the oppression by courtiers and Shiite clerics close to the court became unbearable. Kings and grand ayatollahs did whatever they wanted without consulting members of the public.
Particularly under the Safavids (1501-1736) and the Qajars (1789-1925), despotism was the main characteristic of the Persian governments. Under the Qajars, many intellectuals and learned clerics fled Iran and went to the Ottoman Empire or India and set up newspapers and magazines to promote democracy and justice in Iran.
Once the revolution was successfully established, the idea of justice was soon forgotten or pushed to oblivion by the kings, but democracy flourished in the form of a parliament (Majles or Iran's National Assembly) where most seats were occupied by clerics. The parliament, throughout the Qajar period was divided between pro-British and pro-Russian factions who were constantly fighting each other. Traditionally, Russia supported the despotic monarchs, and Great Britain lent its support to intellectuals and Westernizers.
The Qajar kings who were supposed to be the guarantor of the Constitution could hardly tolerate it. Muzafareddin Shah who signed the decree of Constitution and Muhammad Ali Shah, his son, who bombed the Majles with the help of the Russians, are widely believed to have been Russian puppets. They were educated and trained by Russian advisers in Tabriz as crown princes. Muhammad Ali Shah finally fled to Russia.
The only likeness of a modern judiciary system was created under Reza Shah Pahlavi with modern courts, and a civil code based on the laws of Belgium, albeit with some clauses to guarantee some benefit for clerics who were no longer partners in the government.
Although the Majles experienced increasingly less upheavals under the Pahlavis, it was never the institution envisaged by the forefathers of the constitutional revolution. However, the limits the Constitutional Law imposed on the power of the kings were respected by Reza Shah and his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
But if the Constitutional Revolution also meant free and fair elections for a parliament represented by all walks of life, the Pahlavis were somewhat successful in upholding the law although there are many reports about rigged elections throughout the period and arrests of political opponents. Apart from that, the Shah held his position for life, and his eldest son would inherit the throne.
Under the Islamic Republic, the Constitution and the Parliament lost their true meaning, as the Supreme Leader’s powers are boundless and for life, and candidates for parliament and president are first chosen by the Guardian Council, controlled by the Supreme Leader, before the people can vote for them.
During the past few days, Empress Farah Pahlavi, and Prince Reza Pahlavi, both in exile, paid tribute to the people’s quest for democracy and remembered the Constitutional Revolution and its heroes. Politicians in the Islamic Republic generally ignored the occasion as freedom and justice, the main elements of the Constitutional Revolution are dangerous issues to raise in Iran under the Islamic Republic.