THE ROVING
EYE Iran: Tough talk and
temptresses By Pepe Escobar
I just wanna watch Dylan live I
won't fly into the Pentagon alive -
My Sweet Little Terrorist Song, by
Iranian rock band 127
TEHRAN - Scene
1. The brand new Imam Khomeini Airport -
or IKA, its code in the travel industry - is
spread out on a deserted plain near the Tehran-Qom
expressway, 35 kilometers south of the capital. On
a weekday afternoon, it is nearly empty. There's
just one flight arriving from the Gulf. Not a
single, crass billboard softens IKA's steely
austerity: perhaps yet one more sign of the
struggle against "cultural invasion", one of the
pillars of Iran's clerical oligarchy (although
"invaders" such as Samsung, LG, Daewoo,
Nokia, Peugeot and Moulinex are making a killing
in the Iranian market).
Outside the airport, a
billboarded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of
the Islamic revolution of 1979, sporting the
faintest of smiles, welcomes visitors to the
Islamic republic. A ride into town costs US$8. In
the European Union - promised land of migration
for many an Iranian - it would cost at least six
times more.
Scene 2. Mahmud
Ahmadinejad, the new Iranian president, has
announced an eight-point plan for his new
government. In central Tehran's cramped sidewalk
kiosks, though, the main topic of discussion is
the poor performance of the national soccer team
against Japan. Both teams had already booked a
place for the Germany 2006 World Cup, but the poor
performance was inexcusable - a national shame
much worse than Washington accusing Tehran of
harboring a secret nuclear program.
The
papers duly include a measure of discussion of the
eight-point plan. Ahmadinejad promises to "end
corruption" and "use the latest modern technical
and technological advancements" to improve the
life of Iranians. He wants to "establish justice
throughout the world by reviving Islamic
civilization". But he also wants "social and
economic justice consistent with strict religious
teachings"; he will only "allow freedoms
conformant to Sharia" (Islamic law); justice as
well has to be meted out "in strict accordance to
Sharia"; and he wants to help "humiliated nations"
striving against terrorism and war (a reference to
Iraq?). A reader in front of a kiosk sighs:
"There's not a single reference to democracy."
Mohammad Soltanifar, the managing editor
of Iran News, is not impressed either, "We are in
2005 and not the immediate post-revolutionary
period of 1979." He simply cannot believe that
Ahmadinejad "has insisted that economic
development should be founded on the instructions
of the Holy Koran". He does not believe in the
competence of the people appointed by the
president to form his cabinet - heated
confirmation debates in parliament started Sunday:
"They have no experience to manage large and
hugely complex government ministries." His final
verdict: the plan is "too general, vague and
slogan-oriented" to succeed.
Scene
3. A shared taxi - the quintessential,
rickety Paykan - crossing from south to north
Tehran. Nadr, the mute driver, proud father of a
baby girl - photo on the dashboard - gestures a
whole political program to the foreigner: those
bearded people (the mullahs) are no good; here
it's no good; I want to fly away; yes, to England.
The chances of Nadr, a proletarian from south
Tehran, making it to IKA are virtually nil. It
doesn't matter: his enthusiastic pantomime sparks
a tumultuous debate in the taxi.
South
Tehran voted for Ahmadinejad in the recent
presidential elections. North Tehran voted
reformist. The passengers are basically south and
central Tehran. When they refer to mullahs and
politicians, the expression inha (roughly
meaning "those people") is recurrent. They press
the point that "those people" also make a very
clear distinction themselves, between the
khodiah ("our people") and the gheyreh
khodiah (the rest), the insiders (daroune
nezam) and the outsiders (biroune
nezam). All in the taxi consider themselves
biroune nezam. And they all voted for
Ahmadinejad - which implies their belief that the
new president may be able to protect them from
"those people".
Scene 4. An
army of Angelina Jolie clones is roaming north
Tehran, from the malls and cafes of trendy Vanak
Street to the upper class suburb of Eliyaheh.
Jolie is the ultimate feminist symbol in Tehran.
The reason is simple: she looks Persian. And she
embodies the image of the ultimate temptress - the
bete noire of the Islamic regime, obsessed
with female virtue. The black chador,
compulsory from 1979 onwards, was supposed to
master the legendary power of seduction of the
Persian woman. In south Tehran, the chador
still ranks a roughly 50% approval rate. But on
the other side of town, the preferred composite
look goes something like this: colorful Chanel or
Hermes scarf, barely disguising a fashionable
hairstyle; tons of make up (preferably Mac); Dolce
& Gabbana sunglasses; a short, tight, light
overcoat posing as a chador; designer
jeans; and illegally imported Ferragamo shoes. The
miniskirt is not back, yet, but some more
adventurous temptresses are already showing off
golden ankle bracelets, something that in Khomeini
times would have landed them in jail. No wonder
testosterone levels are on red alert: Tehran men
simply can't stop talking about "all the pretty
girls".
A pretty young lady from Eliyaheh,
drenched in Chanel and Hermes, wouldn't be caught
dead shopping in "medieval" Tehran bazaars, "over
there" in the south side of town (and local taxi
drivers wouldn't even know how to take her back to
north Tehran): a megamall in Dubai would be a
different proposition entirely. On Thursday nights
the pretty young one takes ecstasy at US$2 a pop
and goes cruising in dad's made-in-Iran Peugeot on
secluded, tree-lined Fereshte Street, listening to
Russian techno. On her holidays, she goes to Goa
in India or Malaysia, and if dad is really part of
"those people", London or LA (or Tehrangeles, as
it is locally known, the largest Iranian
population in any city outside of Iran). To master
the killer Jolie look, she just needs to buy a
pirated video CD of Mr and Mrs Smith, a
Jolie-Brad Pitt movie, for less than $3. Talk
about "cultural invasion".
Scene
5. Friday jumma prayers at Tehran
University. A huge operation: heavy police
presence, sealed perimeter, body searches, the
whole neighborhood coming to a standstill. On
stage, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, sartorially magnificent, a portrait of
Khomeini hanging by his side attached to a purple
curtain. From the point of view of a lone
foreigner lost in a crowd of Shi'ite believers,
it's always an arresting experience - especially
when the rhythmic, incantatory chanting - Ali!
Ali! Ali! Ali! - starts to weave its magic.
The crowd overspills through all the
alleys leading to the giant hangar where the
gathering takes place: aerial shots make for great
TV. It's a mix of religious assembly and political
rally, right in the middle of the most important
university in the country: like the Christian
right taking over Harvard. The crowd includes many
of "those people", many bazaris
(merchants), a few bassijis (Islamic
vigilantes loyal to Khamenei), but mostly the
average Tehrani, wearing plain white shirts and
worn-out sandals, sometimes carrying his own small
prayer mat and the small round tablet of sacred
clay from Najaf touched by his head when he kneels
down to pray. They all wear an expression of
profound concentration under the blazing sun. The
women, of course, are invisible, on the other side
of the hangar. Ahmadinejad is also present,
sitting down cross-legged on the floor in the
first row inside the hangar, wearing his new
trademark beige light jacket, a simple Shi'ite
worshipper surrounded by the regime's top clerics.
After a few minutes, the Supreme Leader's
speech takes a sharp turn and the key themes are
easily discernible - "Khomeini", "Palestine",
"America", "terrorism", "Iraq". He says "the US
has been defeated in Iraq and there is no doubt
about it." He praises the new popular government
in Iraq ("The Iraqi nation, the progressive clergy
and religious authorities wanted this"). He
identifies Palestinian resistance as the reason
why Israel handed over Gaza. ("The Palestinian
nation and the jihadi groups of Palestine should
know that negotiations did not liberate Gaza, and
will never liberate anywhere.") He calls for a
referendum so Palestinians may choose the
government they want.
And then comes the
clincher - straight from the mouth of the most
powerful man in Iran, the only one whose voice is
absolute and intangible: Iran is not after a
nuclear bomb. And Iran has not breached any
international laws. "We have been acting with
moderation, logic and tolerance. But we have said
this before and I repeat it, the Iranian nation
will not give in to bullying and blackmailing by
anyone."
The Supreme Leader justifies what
Iran is doing: "The uranium we enrich in the fuel
cycle is only 3% to 4% rich while for an atomic
bomb it should be enriched up to 99%. We are using
our own uranium, our own facility to make a 3%, 4%
enrichment for supply of fuel to the unfinished
nuclear power plant in Bushehr. We want our own
fuel production for our nuclear plant but they
[the West] tell us to purchase fuel from them so
that we would eventually become dependent on
them." And in a dramatic coup of political theater
- unfortunately lost in translation, so the sound
bite cannot reverberate across the world - he
urges Europe not to be influenced by the US:
"America neither has goodwill towards you or
towards Iran. So do not give up under US
pressure."
The huge crowds disperse, the
youngest on their way to a game of badminton and a
late burger or pizza in neighboring Laleh park,
dreaming of striking up a conversation with a
group of Angelina Jolies. A group of young men,
"no, we are not students" (and not the religious
police either) approaches the foreigner with
immense curiosity. A discussion ensues over who
has and who has not the right to nuclear power.
Their point, in a nutshell: "Your" [the West, seen
as a whole] Bush invaded Iraq because he said Iraq
had nuclear weapons. It was a lie. Now he [Bush]
says Iran wants a bomb. It's also a lie. So it all
comes down to this: who're you gonna trust, George
W Bush or Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?"
It might be easier to bet on the winner of
the Germany 2006 World Cup.
(Copyright
2005 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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