Kim Sengupta

Iran’s hardliners are exploiting Trump’s rhetoric

A year and eleven months ago, Iran’s parliamentary elections ended in a resounding victory for the reformists. Last May, the reformist candidate Hassan Rouhani convincingly defeated his hardline rival, Ebrahim Raisi, in the Presidential election. Rouhani’s inauguration was presented as a celebration of the country’s democracy and stability.

But last Thursday demonstrations began at the city of Mashhad and then rapidly spread across the country, growing in clamour and violence with, so far, 21 dead and 450 injured. Earlier this week, the Grand Ayatollah, Ali Khameini, who had sought to stay above it all, intervened to accuse foreign powers of sabotage. He did not name the enemy states, but other senior officials blamed the US, Britain and Saudi Arabia for instigating the protests which have led to bloodshed and destruction.

Yesterday there were massive pro-government counter-demonstrations taking place. It remains to be seen whether these, and threats of severe punitive action by the Revolutionary Guards against further violence,  result in the protests dissipating. But a lot of confusion remains about what exactly has unfolded in the last seven days, the reasons behind it, and the reaction of the divided Iranian hierarchy.

One factor behind the marches and rallies are that people are now increasingly willing to speak out and be critrical. Covering the Parliamentary and Presidential elections and the inaugurations in Iran, I was struck on successive visits by how people seemed more confident about speaking to foreign journalists. Those who had voted for reform felt empowered by the results, but it was not confined just to them. Even in Qom, a centre of Shia theocracy, clerics – as well as members of the public – were increasingly prepared to engage in discussion and debate.

President Rouhani and his colleagues encouraged this development: the feeling was that allowing greater freedom would be helpful to the reform programme in confronting the conservative backlash, clerical and political, which was bound to follow.

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