Khatami dilemma echoes Iran's place at a crossroads
Financial Times / Roula Khalaf
05-Nov-2008 (2 comments)

The argument his allies make is this: Mr Ahmadi-Nejad has turned the world against Iran and wrecked its economy. His populist policies have sent prices skyrocketing, hurting most those he claims to protect. And his defiance over Iran's nuclear programme threatens to provoke military strikes from the US, Israel, or both.

But Mr Khatami needs to decide quickly. If he chooses not to run, reformists should waste no time in joining Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's other critics - and he has alienated many segments of society, including clerics and businessmen - round another single candidate.

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News Goffer

Ghaht-ol-rejaal!

by News Goffer on

Whom are these reformists fooling?!  In Iran only one man makes all the decisions and his title is not President of Iran.  Have these people forgotten what a lame duck President Mohammad Khatami made?  He was blocked every step of the way, pushed into oblivion.

He had once chance to do away with all of the mess, and that was to support the students and side with them at 18 Tir, and instead he sided with his beloved Supreme Leader, feeding the youth to the wolves. 

I think he should stay home and watch the election results on his TV this time around.

The most interesting and scary thing out of this piece of news is that the same OLD clowns keep running for office in Iran.  What will happen when they die?  They will, you know?!!  Watch Karroubi announce his candidacy soon, too!  Who else?  Rafsanjani?!!  Oh, puhleeeeezzzz!



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by M-Reza (not verified) on

I don't think that there are any doubts for anyone that it's only the Rahbar who makes the final decisions in IRI. But, what you say is very interesting: Khatami tried to do something, but was at each time pushed back. He could effectively use the mass to overthrown the system but he would have been considered as a traitor and the result of this uprising is not so clear with pasdars and basijis looking around...

I'm personally against the mix of religion and power, but look what's the alternative? There aren't so much ... War is a mistake and even Bush has understood it, internal uprising is almost impossible, what it stays is either a flexible foreign and internal policy or a real embargo (or both). For the first, I don't think that people like Mahmoud can incarnate such a wise politic.