From the Professor’s Classroom:
The recent election and the results have brought a familiar name to the forefront of the opposition, Rafsanjani, an old “friend” from the past. The media analysts are saying that he has the key to the modernization of Iran and the possibility of a slackening of the hostiles between Iran and the US. The media calls him a moderate and as such he is in direct opposition to the ruling mullahs.
That analysis is not quite accurate.
Once again it is to the “way back” machine.
It is 1989 and the ayatollah has died, one Khomeini and with that the speaker of the Iranian parliment becomes the presdident of Iran, Rafsanjani. He is a shia cleric and a founding father of the Islamic Republic Party. Late that same year aftyer the US releases some of Iran’s frozen funds, Rafsanjani attempts to massage the west but is quickly slapped down by the Supreme Council.
Then in 1991 with a slump in oil prices and the debt from the war with Iraq, Rafsanjani tries to slide economic reform through the parliment and was not too successful. Then in 1993 Rafasanjani runs for his second term as president and squeeks out a win, not the resounding 95% total he had first got, his popularity was waning.
During his second term, his presidency was marked with western sanctions, most of them financial and economic in an attempt to bring down the regime of the clerics. When Rafsanjani bowed out in 1997, he could not run for a third term, there was NO popular front runner to take his place, It seems that the Supreme Council had learned their lesson with Rafsanjani.
It is to be known that the candidates for the presidency are put up by the clerics on the Council of Guardians, therefore they are basically all fundamentalists. That can explain the present president and his support within the Council.
Rafsanjani’s name keeps reappearing occassionally when analyst talk about any reform in Iran. But he does not have the support he once had, but he seems to stay in the running, at least in the minds of westerners. Just remember, whoever becomes president can do nothing without the approval of the Council of Guardians and they hate the west and all it stands for.
In the recent protests over the election results Rafsanjani and his daughter are mentioned as leaders, as well as the losing candidate, Moussavi. Are they truly the leaders or just names mentioned in passing?
