Most Politicians In Iran Not Fit For Office – Faezeh Hashemi

Without naming Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi said those who "engineered" the June 2021 presidential election and brought a man to power who still needs to learn the basics of economics should be accountable for his failures.

Raisi, a cleric with just elementary school education, was Khamenei’s choice for president and all his serious rivals were barred from running in the June 2021 vote.

Raisi should know that he is the president of 85 million Iranians, Imanabadi, who supported Raisi last year, said, and that he does not represent only the 15-17 million people who voted for him despite his limited abilities.

Zayban Ghabishavi, the Iranian journalist who interviewed Imanabadi for Rouydad24 news website, wrote: "Raisi has been in office for more than seven months now, but nothing appears to have changed during this period. Criticism of Raisi and his economic teams still remain unanswered, and there is no hope in any improvement in the performance of the government."

She added that "the lack of executive experience on the part of Raisi and his cabinet indicates that the situation will get even worse." Ghabishavi quoted Imanabadi as having said: "None of Raisi's promises have been met,” and the few things he has done so far have never been the people's priority.

Accountable to people

According to Imanabadi, Raisi has not done anything other than wasting his time by blaming the Rouhani administration for all the shortcomings. The lawmaker added that throughout the past seven months Raisi's advisers misled him and the people.

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"Raisi should know that he has to give a report to the people this coming summer about the progress he has made," Imanabadi said, while pointing out that the people's dire financial situation during the Iranian New Year (Noruz) holidays revealed the decline in their purchasing power. "He wanted to eliminate poverty, but the people have become poorer during the past seven months, and the situation is going to look much worse in the future."

Imanabadi particularly criticized the government for failing to pay millions of Iranian pensioners until the last hour before the holidays.

Meanwhile, he said Raisi had claimed that he has a 7,000-page plan to run the economy. "I wish he presented only seven pages of that plan to the public," he said. He added that Iran lawmakers expected Raisi to take action to replace the ministers of labor and economy and the chairman of the Planning and Budget Organization and not wait for the Majles to impeach them.

Did you come from Mars?

The lawmaker, who was once one of Raisi’s staunch supporters, said that he is certain at least 30 percent of those who voted for him have been disappointed. He added that the government's slogans are based on illusions rather than realities. "You have not come from Mars. You have been holding official positions during the past 30 years, and still, you fail to realize that you are responsible for the current situation."

He said Raisi does not allow reporters to accompany him during his provincial tours because he fears they might record his blunders and let the public know about t. He added that government officials do not allow any criticism, and target anyone who dares to criticize them.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker called on Raisi to explain how he can claim to manage the economy independent of the nuclear negotiations and lifting of US sanctions. He also asked Raisi to explain Iran's over-reliance on Russia. But first and foremost, he has to change his economic team. He must realize that many mechanics, tailors, hairdressers, doctors and nurses are leaving this country" because of the poor performance of the government's economic team.

Earlier, many politicians, lawmakers and analysts, including Reformist activist Gholamali Rajaei had also called on Raisi to change the members of his economic team. Rajaei had called the Raisi administration "the most incapable cabinet since the 1979 Islamic revolution."

Meanwhile, Iranian economists such as Hossein Raghfar had warned that "national interests and the interests of 85 million Iranians are not on the Raisi administration's agenda."

Khamenei in a rare instance admitted that people faced “hardships, high prices and inflation” in the past Iranian year, which ends on Sunday, March 20, but expressed doubt if the economic crisis can be overcome soon.

“Well, [economic hardship] should be resolved. We hope part of these [problems] can be resolved in the coming year, since all cannot be dealt with. These [problems] will be resolved gradually,” he said in his customary New Year video message.

Khamenei rarely admits that the country faces serious economic problems, often praising progress and highlighting the resilience of the Islamic Republic in confronting challenges and overcoming what he calls “enemy” conspiracies.

Iran’s economy experienced a serious recession from 2018-2020 as the United States withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear agreement, the JCPOA and imposed tough oil and banking sanctions. Its currency rial has lost value eightfold and inflation has been hovering around 40 percent for more than a year. Officials say a slight economic growth has started since 2021 but it has had little impact on the hardships people face.

Khamenei maintained that “to show haste and say that, no, soon [problems will go away], is not realistic.”

Despite admitting that serious economic problems exist, Khamenei insisted that the “Americans confessed…that they experienced a humiliating defeat in their ‘maximum pressure’ against the Iranian people.” Khamenei underlined that the word “humiliating” was used by Americans themselves. He was clearly referring to statements by Biden administration officials who repeatedly have said that sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump have failed to change Iran’s behavior.

This was the second time in recent months Khamenei has used statements by the Biden administration to claim victory against US sanctions, while Iran has faced a dangerous economic crisis.

Hardliners who are loyal to Khamenei bashed former president Hassan Rouhani for the long-running economic crisis, while the main cause of the deterioration in the already weak economy were US sanctions. Admitting the devastating impact of restrictions on oil exports and international banking would mean accepting that Khamenei’s anti-West foreign policy was the cause of hardships.

Khamenei backed Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi) for president in the June 2021 vote, with hardliners insisting that a government dominated by their faction could address economic problems despite US sanctions.

Raisi has not been able to achieve much since last August, except more clandestine oil exports to China because of less strict US implementation of sanctions by President Joe Biden’s administration.

Nuclear talks lasting for a year have not revived the JCPOA, although apparently the United States has been willing to make important concessions.

Khamenei also claimed that last years presidential elections was “one of the sweet” events, praising voter participation. In fact, Iran experienced the lowest rate of voter turnout, below 50 percent, as all serious candidates were barred from running against Raisi, making it a completely uncompetitive vote.

The 83-year-old cleric ruling Iran since 1989 also praised the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, while he had banned the purchase of American and British vaccines in January 2021, leading to the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of people in a severe wave of infections from June to September.

Moderate news website Rouydad24 carried a long illustrated feature about the king, calling him the country’s modernizer, in what was a rare if not an unprecedented event. The article was titled, "Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founder of modern Iran and the man who initiated the military's intervention in economy!" The second part of the headline was probably aimed at striking a balance in coverage so that the king would not be portrayed entirely in a good light.

In fact, it is the Revolutionary Guard which is often criticized for its involvement in business, while Reza Shah was not known for allowing corruption or business activity by the military.

Since the 1979 revolution, the clerics running the Islamic Republic have been sworn enemies of not only the last dynasty in Iran but have generally tried to portray all kings in a bad light.

Reza Shah, born on March 15, 1878, in Savadkooh in Mazandaran Province as an ordinary individual was named the Shah of Iran by parliament in 1925 and resigned in favor of his son, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1941 under pressure from the occupying allied forces who accused him of favoring Germany in WW2. He died in exile in South Africa in 1945.

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Meanwhile, the popular Twitter account @Mazandaran – Iran, which usually covers stories about the province, its people and culture, carried two posts on the occasion of Reza Shah's birthday, in which it described the monarch as "the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty."

The Twitter account wrote that "Various judgements have been made about the performance of Reza Shah's government, but regardless of those judgements, one should note that he contributed a lot to progress and cultural activities with the intention of developing and reviving Iran and creating a modern Iran, although he also had some mistakes and went too far in some of his actions."

If this level of praise for the former monarch looks unprecedented in Iran, more of this can be seen in the article on Rouydad24 website. The website cited 8 authoritative books on the life and times of Reza Shah and carried several rare photos of him dating back to various junctures of his life. Meanwhile, to be on the safe side, the website balanced its praise with criticism cited from the same sources.

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For instance, it quoted US envoy Arthur Millspaugh as saying that by excessive taxing of landowners he made the peasants poorer and by creating a new class of affluent Iranians, in fact he lowered the living standards of the masses. At the same time, other authors generally praised Reza Shah for bringing into Iran many manifestations of modern civilization such as universities, a European type of judicial system, a new educational system, ridding Iranian women of the burden of hijab, establishing the South to North railways and bringing order to a vast country where chaos ruled before he came to power.

The report quoted the king's critics as saying that he accumulated a huge wealth during his reign. At the same time, it acknowledged Reza Shah's role in turning a backward country into a modern state.

Although criticism of Reza Shah and undermining of his achievements has continued throughout the past 43 years, since 2017 many Iranians, particularly the young generation, have started praising him as a national hero during massive antigovernmental protests.

Whether it is sheer accident that Iranian media paid tribute to the king, or the Iranian government decided there is no harm in partly acknowledging the grandeur of a popular dead hero while still criticizing him, is still not clear. However, one can hardly find a reason why Tehran may have decided to allow government-controlled media to even mention a king’s birthday except to mollify the younger generation.

Bahonar, who served in parliament (Majles) for 28 years as a conservative, acknowledged that there is a gap between the revolutionaries' slogans and realities on the ground. To fill this gap, it is now time for the revolutionaries to confess that they have made too many mistakes. We need to take what Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called "the second step," and that is what I call "the second republic," Bahonar told Jamaran website in an interview on March 13, republished by other media in Iran.

Bahonar does not hold any office now as ultra-conservatives and neo-conservatives have swamped the parliament and the government, but he is an influential voice.

The second republic is about a roadmap. He said the Islamic Republic has borrowed democracy from the West and it is based on the people's vote. We cannot separate "Islamic" from "Republic." But unfortunately, we have not adopted democracy in full. Iran desperately needs three or four real and powerful political parties.

Bahonar had first raised the issue of constitutional change and establishment of political parties in early February when he called for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s support. He proposed his idea of "the Second Republic" and stressed that Iran needs to facilitate the rotation of elites to reach this goal and it should set up strong political parties.

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The quintessential insider, however argued that political parties should exist and compete but not stand against the regime, adding that "you cannot be part of the system and at the same time act as an opposition to the same system. No regime can allow political parties to clash with the values and principles of the system."

Iran’s clerical system has to over-arching principles: The supremacy of religious laws as interpreted by those clerics who are in power and the un-elected office of the Supreme Leader.

Asked if the presence of a supreme leader is against the party system, he said, "No. The Supreme Leader determines the general policies of the regime," while the parliament and the parties can decide about the day-to-day matters.

However, Bahonar's idea contradicts the fact that Khamenei has weakened the parliament and the government to such an extent that in fact he makes all the decisions and leaves the legislative and the executive branches to be accountable for the fallout.

The most prominent case is the issue of Iran’s foreign policy. Khamenei has stood behind an offensive regional policy, a controversial nuclear program and anti-Western foreign polcy, leaving presidents to struggle with an economy often besieged by sanctions.

Bahonar said when there is no party system, several prominent surgeons and engineers get elected, but we do not need doctors and engineers at the Majles. What we need are individuals who can plan for the country's future and such people are normally trained by political parties.

Asked what the regime’s biggest problem is, Bahonar said: People's participation. "When you have a 48 percent turnout in elections, that means 52 percent have a problem with the way the country's affairs are being managed. They have economic and political problems. I cannot believe we have reached this point in terms of political participation in 40 years."

Meanwhile, he insisted on the need for a change in the constitution to save the Republican nature of the regime and to make things work. "We can amend the constitution and call for two rather than one parliament. Or we can increase its term to 6 years. Only the Supreme Leader needs to agree with this change."

According to the producer, the hardliner guests and the host opposed to the nuclear deal, JCPOA, were ready to start the show from an hour before the scheduled live broadcast. The hosts including an unnamed academic and a member of the parliament Yaser Jebraili, as well as four other likeminded hardliners, all Paydari members like the program's host were suddenly told that plans have changed, and they can go home.

This was taken by many political observers in Iran as a sign that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who controls the state television no longer tolerates opposition to a deal with the West, whatever the reason.

During the next two days, commentators in Tehran said that in the latest turn of events, the Raisi administration is frowning at ultraconservative Paydari party's maneuvers to influence ongoing events including the attempts to forge a deal with the West to save Iran's ailing economy. Paydari has a strong presence in the conservative-dominated parliament.

Reformist daily Aftab Yazd wrote on Thursday, March 10, that "some of the conservatives [in the Raisi administration] who until yesterday opposed a deal with the United States now want direct talks between Tehran and Washington. This comes while some other conservatives [such as Paydari members] insist on their opposition to any deal with the West."

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Aftab Yazd mentioned the talk show as an example to make a point. The daily characterized the development as an indication of a deepening divide between Paydari and other conservatives loyal to Raisi and Khamenei. The daily pointed out that almost the same thing happened in 2015, when Iran signed the JCPOA, and opponents had to keep silent under pressure from the government.

On Thursday, President Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as having said that that the government still supports the idea of reaching to an agreement in Vienna as the country needs to make sure that sanctions on Iran are lifted.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Mohajeri, a leading conservative figure, and the former editor of hardliner daily Kayhan, said that an agreement between Iran and the United States will put an end to the anti-JCPOA activities of Paydari. He said the reason why its members have recently began criticizing Raisi and his chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani is that they wish to restore their own shaky and errant identity as a political group.

Paydari was in fact former president Mahmud Ahmadinejad's support base a decade ago, but later many of its members distanced themselves from him as he fell out of favor with Khamenei.

Meanwhile, moderate website Rouydad24 opined in an analysis that it was clear from the beginning of Raisi's term that sooner or later his administration would fall out with other conservative groups. However, few thought that a divide could take shape within a matter of just six months.

The website pointed out that support for the Raisi administration hinges on various groups scrambling for their economic stakes in the system. As soon as the Raisi stops giving them their expected share, they begin to criticize the government.

Criticism of the administration is also fashionable in IRGC media outlets. On Thursday, IRGC mouthpiece Javan Newspaper pointed out in a sarcastic frontpage headline that "Prices refuse to obey orders;" a reference to the fact that Raisi never suggests a solution for economic problems and keeps issuing orders for prices to come down or for poverty to disappear. 

As Mohajeri predicted, Paydari could end up as the victim of a new political situation marked by a deal with the United States. Paydari's existence depends on an atmosphere of infighting among various conservative groups, he said. “As soon as a faction’s interests are harmed, it is likely to stand up against other conservatives.”