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US shadow clouds Iran's internal
tussle
By Ramin Mostaghim
TEHRAN - The suspension of contacts between the
United States and Iran in the wake of Washington's
charges that Tehran is harboring al-Qaeda members is the
latest prism through which to view the differences
between the government and the public on what political
road the country should be taking.
Over the
years, this debate has often been reflected in tussles
over reformist laws and attempts to have a more open
society and press. But in recent weeks, it is also being
played out in issues dealing with the United States: the
US warnings to Iran to "behave" in neighboring Iraq;
Tehran's supposed hosting of al-Qaeda members linked to
the Saudi Arabia bombings in May; and ties with
Washington, more than three decades after the Islamic
Revolution froze bilateral ties.
"Foolish
vanity" is how Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei describes the US warnings after it suspended a
meeting with Iranian officials scheduled for May in
Geneva. These contacts have been under way for more than
a year now, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks.
At his sermon at Friday prayers at the
Tehran University, Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the
powerful Expediency Council, said, "One should feel
sorry that America as a huge giant will make so grave a
mistake and underestimate the power of Iranian public
opinion and the strength of the Supreme Leader. Today,
the Iranian nation, clerics and the power of the
revolution have not been weakened and the American
administration is daydreaming in vain to topple the
Iranian system," added Rafsanjani, whose sermons are
seen to reflect the policies of the establishment.
These top leaders were reacting to warnings that
Washington issued against Iran for hosting al-Qaeda
members who fled Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq after the
US-led invasion - and for its nuclear program. Tehran
says this for peaceful purposes, but Washington says it
aims to produce "fissile materials for nuclear weapons".
How Tehran deals with the US government remains
a point of contention between clerical conservatives
like Khamenei, who is cool to the warming of ties, and
reformist President Mohammad Khatami, especially as
Washington ratchets up the pressure against Iran.
But for all of the tough words from Khamenei and
Rafsanjani, however, some Iranians say that they are not
impressed. "This is worn-out rhetoric and irrelevant to
the needs of the Iranian youth," 21-year-old student
Mahmoud Zare said of Rafsanjani's remarks.
Khamenei maintains the reformist camp is being
intimidated by Washington's threats. Last week, he said,
"Those who are intimidated by the enemy's demands will
retreat step by step and finally surrender. But nobody
has right to do so and the nation will not allow it."
He was replying also to an open letter that 127
members of the Islamic majlis or parliament wrote to
Khamenei - concurrent with the US-Iran contacts in
Geneva - indicating that the regime would not survive
unless the people's needs are addressed.
But
people like Kamran Saadat, an irrigation engineer and
designer, say that such arguments do not appeal to him:
"The Iranian regime has no more popular legitimacy and
unlike 1997, the high turnout time for the presidential
election, the mainstream of the nation does not defend
the regime. If America intervenes to speed up the
removal of Islamic theocracy in Iran, people would not
be bothered to resist."
Still, these reactions
by no means make for a black-and-white picture when it
comes to Iran's attitudes toward the US. Those who do
not care much about the conservatives are not
necessarily happy with the US government or US policy in
the Middle East, and say that its warnings about Iran
trying to export its type of Islamic government, say to
Iraq, simply miss the point.
"Our world, huge as
it is, has been buffeted from two sides by the outlooks
and methods of violent dogmatists or arrogant powers,"
Khatami told the Organization of Islamic Conference
meeting on May 28. "On the one side, terrorism and
fanaticism have distorted the humane and
freedom-speaking visage of religion and humanity and on
the other, resort to force, hegemony-seeking and
unilateralism have made a mockery of such respected
concepts as freedom and democracy," Khatami said.
Mohammad Haydari, manager of Parpejvak website
and editor of the privately-owned monthly Khandani, says
it is not logical for the US to argue that
majority-Shi'ite Iran is a major supporter of al-Qaeda,
which follows the strict brand of Islam called
Wahhabism.
Theoretically and from the Islamic
theological point of view, Shi'ism and Wahhabism, which
originated in the Arabian peninsula in the 19th century,
are opposed to each other. [Osama] bin Laden and his
al-Qaeda are purely Wahhabist Muslims," he pointed out.
"Officially and diplomatically, no relations
between the al-Qaeda and the Islamic republic of Iran
can be envisaged whatsoever," he added. This, he said,
is "although some members of intelligence community or
security circles might exploit the al-Qaeda refugees as
their tools in future challenges."
Iran has
denied that it is harboring al-Qaeda members, saying it
had previously made some arrests. However, White House
spokesman Ari Fleischer has said this is "insufficient".
Conservatives and reformist supporters hold
different views on claims about al-Qaeda being active in
Iran. Issuing the standard reply, Hussain Mosaee, a
sergeant in the Revolutionary Guard, says that "talk
about bin Laden's friends in Iran is absolutely
groundless" and that in truth, Washington is using this
claim to shield its protection of the anti-Tehran group
Mojahedin Khalq Iran in Iraq.
Reformist
supporters, speaking on condition of anonymity, tell a
different story. "Dozens of al-Qaeda members are in a
hotel in Torbat Haydariyeh town near the Afghan border,"
one such supporter said.
Meantime, many are
watching to whether the conservatives or reformists make
use of recent US actions to strengthen their clout. News
reports also talk of a split in Washington between
officials who want an end to contacts with Iran and to
support anti-Iran opposition groups based in Iraq, and
those who want to keep communication channels open.
(Inter Press Service)
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