Word: rafsanjani
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...Rafsanjani spoke at the semi-annual meeting of the Assembly of Experts, which he heads. The group, an elected body comprised of 86 clerics, most of them well into senior citizenship, is tasked with, among other things, overseeing the actions of the Supreme Leader, though it has never used that power. Referring to the post-election turmoil, Rafsanjani took no clear sides but made a rare acknowledgment of wrongdoing by regime forces, stating that "unfortunate incidents occurred that were unprecedented in our country, and these incidents caused disputes and in some instances hostilities, and events took place that no Muslim...
Being equivocal has served Rafsanjani well in the past - and his words this time once again led to speculation that an attempt at political compromise may be afoot between the two warring halves of the regime. "I have no doubt that those who believe in the articles of the constitution want to respect its boundaries," he declared in a barely veiled reference to the opposition. None of the leaders of the reformist opposition - Ahmadinejad's two rivals in the polls, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and former President Mohammed Khatami - have called for the abolition of the republic. They...
...start of spring. Meanwhile, opposition websites and social-media channels cited a meeting between Mousavi and Karroubi this week that had Karroubi calling for a referendum on the popularity of Ahmadinejad's government. But that muffled noise is all that can be mustered nowadays. Speaking via official media, Rafsanjani may be signaling, louder than he has since the crisis began, that the time for squabbling should come to an end with some kind of compromise so that a united Iran can resolve its many other serious challenges. Whether his hard-line rivals in the regime will actually listen...
...Part of Rafsanjani's effectiveness is the system's inability to marginalize or radicalize him. Nevertheless, the past several months have been trying ones for the 75-year-old, one of the richest men in the country and one of the Islamic Republic's most powerful players since its inception 31 years ago. He and his family vocally opposed the re-election of Ahmadinejad. His daughter Faezeh has spent time in jail; his son Mehdi, who is currently outside of Iran, will potentially be subject to arrest if he returns. Rafsanjani, who was President of Iran for two terms ending...
...speech before the Assembly, therefore, shores up Rafsanjani's position as a patriot and revolutionary at a critical time. Iran sees new threats from the West, both economically and militarily. In his address, Rafsanjani referred to America's "unprecedented presence in the region" and how it was meant "to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic," citing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's accusation that Iran was turning into a "military dictatorship" as part of some Washington plan of intimidation. In that context, Rafsanjani's words made it clear that he (and, by extension, those he sympathizes with) believes...