Many believe he would be the only person able to compete against Ahmadinejad, who still enjoys the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A close associate of Khatami relayed that the former president would request guarantees from Khamenei about his constitutional authorities before he runs for office. Khatami still has in mind the experience of his own presidency, when the reform agenda failed to move forward. For many Iranians, Khatami is reminiscent of some form of economic prosperity when Iran was in relative good terms with Arab and European neighbors. He got elected in 1997 with 80 percent of turnout and 70 percent of the votes on a platform of political reform and free market, but he had no legal authority on the security forces, judiciary branch and media.
