Iran's hardliner Paydari Party has dismissed long-time conservative figure Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel's leadership of an umbrella group for a handshake with a moderate.
Paydari's break with the coalition occurred this week after long-time conservative figure Haddad-Adel shook hands with former reformist President Mohammad Khatami at a commemoration ceremony on Tuesday.
The former president has long been shunned by conservatives loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. State media have even been barred from showing his image or say anything positive about him, although during eight years in office Khatami hardly challenged the authoritarian ruler.
Paydari used to join coalitions with other conservative parties ahead of almost all elections since mid 2000s, but it invariably left all coalitions at one point before an election and went its own separate way.
However, if Paydari stands on its word this time, it would be a first even for the notorious spoiler group eight months before the 2024 parliamentary vote.
Reformist newspaper Shargh called the development "a confrontation between radical and moderate conservatives," although Haddad-Adel can hardly be characterized as a moderate.
The development also revealed, though belatedly, why the host of the meeting, Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had to apologize to an Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reporter who was beaten up by his bodyguards and kept in a shed for several hours. The reporter was assaulted apparently when he tried to take photos of Haddad-Adel shaking hands with Khatami.
According to Sharq, Haddad-Adel was criticized by Paydari for remaining at the commemoration event after he found out that individuals such as Khatami and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were also there. The hardliners said Haddad Adel should have done what Kayhan's firebrand editor Hossein Shariatmadari did. He left the session a few minutes after the opening speech by a reformist figure.
Shaking hands is nothing more than a sign of politeness and courtesy, wrote Shargh, but it was different for Paydari, because Haddad Adel and reformist figures were involved. That makes it a meeting which has something to do with elections and the rivalry between political factions.
Shargh pointed out that Haddad-Adel certainly knew beforehand that reformists will be present at the ceremony. It also reminded that Haddad-Adel was the first political figure to accuse Khatami as being one of the perpetrators of the post-election unrest in 2009 which led to his isolation on Iran's political scene. But apparently the old conservative leader thought a handshake was needed with the ex-president.
Hamid Rasaei, a Paydari figure wrote after the photo showing Haddad-Adel shaking hands that Khatami was "one of the leaders of the coup in 2009 and the ensuing seditions."
What Khamenei loyalists call a sedition was popular protests when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quickly declared the winner of the presidential election in 2009 in a highly disputed move.
Shargh further pointed out that the episode revealed that Iran's conservatives see the upcoming election in March as a game reserved only for their candidates where no reformist should be allowed to play.
As a further indication of that, Shargh noted that the Strategic Network of the Supporters of the Islamic Revolution [Persian acronym SHARIAN] ,another conservative coalition which is also close to Paydari has made it clear in a recent meeting that their list of candidates will include no so-called moderate conservatives.
"The countries of the region have today realized that only cooperation with each other brings security to the area," Iranian army's navy commander Shahram Irani was quoted as saying.
Iranian media had mentioned a new naval alliance this week without providing any details. There have been no hints by other regional countries about such a development.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard also has a navy along with the army's maritime force.
However, the United Arab Emirates unexpectedly announced May 31 that it had withdrawn from the US-led 34-nation Combined Maritime Forces coalition, which if true, signals a further weakening of the US position in the Middle East.
The Combined Maritime Forces task force, headquartered at the US naval base in Bahrain, works on security, counterterrorism and counter-piracy in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf areas. But in fact, the US and Israel were trying to forge a regional coalition to contain Iran, including an air defense network.
"As a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners, two months ago, the UAE withdrew its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
However, the US 5th Fleet on June 1 politely refuted the UAE claim and said that the country was still a "partner" in the multinational coalition.
The Iranian navy commander did not elaborate on the shape of the alliance that he said would be formed soon.
Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Persian Gulf Arab states.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran ended seven years of hostility under a China-mediated deal, stressing the need for regional stability and economic cooperation.
At the time the deal was seen as a shift in Saudi foreign and security policies that for decades has relied on the United States for protection in return for a steady flow of oil at reasonable prices.
Tehran rejoiced the agreement with Riyadh, with officials repeatedly proclaiming a great diplomatic victory against Washington and another step toward their proclaimed goal of “expelling America” from the region.
Naval commander Irani said the states that will take part in the alliance also include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Pakistan, and India.
Iranian officials often make exaggerated claims to boost domestic morale and Irani’s claims have to be echoed by regional Arab countries to have any credibility.
The region contains some of the world's most important shipping routes where, since 2019, suspected Iranian attacks began against oil tankers amid tensions with the United States. The Obama, Trump and Biden administrations chose not to retaliate against Iranian naval provocations over the years or show a convincing military deterrent response.
In its latest provocation in May, Iran seized two oil tankers transiting between UAE ports.
Saudi Arabia's rapprochement with Iran has frustrated Israel's efforts to isolate Iran diplomatically.
The UAE, which was the first Persian Gulf Arab country to sign a normalization agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year.
Bahrain and Morocco later joined the UAE in establishing ties with Israel.
Critics ae mainly concerned about the lack of transparency about an amendment the current law kept under wraps. However, lawmakers with access to the text of the bill charge that the amendment will restrict reformists, moderates and independent candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections planned for March 2024.
A May 31 report published by Khabar Online website quoted MP Abdollah Izadpanah as having said that the new law will give the Guardian Council a free hand to disqualify non-conservative candidates.
The Islamic Republic has always banned non-insiders from running in elections but since 2020, the Guardian Council with the constitutional power to review candidates, has banned even former senior officials from running for parliament and the presidency. The council’s heavy-handed intervention in early 2020, handed the majority in the legislature to hardliners.
Izadpanah confirmed that based on the new law the Guardian Council may even disqualify candidates after they win an election. On the other hand, he said that the new bill introduces the concept of proportional elections for Tehran.
While currently the winning party list takes all the 30 parliamentary seats in the capital, the new law would divide the seats according to the percentage of votes each group receives. So, instead of the winner taking all, it takes as many seats as the percentage of votes it wins.
Some critics believe that this might even benefit candidates other than the conservatives. However, this will not make a big difference if all of the candidates and lists come from the same hardliner political faction, as it was the case in the previous election in 2020.
Ahmad Alirezabeigi, the lawmaker from Tabriz, also agreed that trying to restrict the voters' choice to ultraconservative candidates is the biggest shortcoming of this bill.
Another problem is that those with a pending legal case at the Judiciary may not be allowed to run for the parliament according to the bill. This opens the door to fabricating cases against some candidates, or some pending cases may be left inconclusive at the courts only to deprive some individuals from the right to run for the Majles.
Iran Judiciary, which controls both prosecutors and courts is a close ally of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s hardliner loyalists.
Alirezabeiogi also disagreed with the part of the draft bill that allows the conservative-dominated Guardian Council to disqualify candidates who have won the election. Factional interests may be involved in such decisions, some members of the parliament have charged. Others say this will make voting and elections meaningless as a few members of the Guardian Council can effectively change elections result.
Reformist political activist Gholamali Rajaei charged in an interview with Nameh News website that some state officials and politicians are after a low-turnout election to ensure a victory by the ultraconservatives. These officials and politicians believe that a few percent of the total number of eligible voters in Iran are enough for the election and that there is no need for a majority of eligible voters to take part.
However, according to Nameh News website in Tehran, the main problem is whether Iranians can be persuaded to go to the ballot boxes again after two engineered elections in 2020 and 2021.
Rajaei also argued that a public deeply unhappy about the economic mess might boycott an election it has no faith in.
Rajaei also suggested that releasing political prisoners will also encourage political participation.
An earlier report by Iran International indicated that none of the country's political factions can do anything to ensure a high turnout in the upcoming parliamentary elections, and if the people do not feel it is a free election, they will not take part.