Iranian intellectuals turning on Ahmadinejad

Opponents ever more vocal
Ahmadinejad’s critics have grown more vocal ever since his allies suffered a humiliating defeat in local elections in December. That vote was swept by reformists and anti-Ahmadinejad conservatives who said the president has spent too much time castigating the West and neglected dealing with Iran’s faltering economy.

The president appeared to have toned down his rhetoric in the past few weeks, insisting Iran would not give up its nuclear program but using a more moderate tone and expressing a desire to negotiate with the West.

Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Monday if the United States made a formal request for talks, Iran would respond positively but would not accept conditions, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Larijani, who was in South Africa, was responding to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s comments Sunday that the U.S. would hold direct talks with Iran if it suspended its nuclear program.

Iranian political analyst Iraj Jamshidi said it appeared “the top leadership has cautioned Ahmadinejad about his remarks” but his tough rhetoric “is part of his personality.”

Iran denies U.S. and Western claims that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, and the country’s political factions have long been united in their stance that Iran has a right to a peaceful nuclear program. So far the criticism of Ahmadinejad has focused on his confrontational tone — though some reformers have gone further, saying Iran should be more willing to compromise in the standoff over the enrichment program.

The Islamic Iran Participation front, Iran’s largest reformist party, has said Iran must return to suspension of enrichment activities to pave the way for a compromise.

Policy in ayatollah's hands
Iran’s nuclear policy is ultimately in the hands of Khamenei, who has always been a proponent of pushing ahead with the program. There have been no signs that he has changed that stance, but there are indications he is souring on the performance of his protege, Ahmadinejad.

On Feb. 19, Khamenei hosted a series of top officials for meetings, including several Cabinet ministers and vice presidents — but not Ahmadinejad. The same day, Khamenei — who has rarely criticized a president since he became supreme leader in 1989 — blamed the government for failing to use constitutional articles allowing privatization of state industries “to create an economic breakthrough.”

At the same time, Ahmadinejad’s top political rival, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has emerged as a high-level advocate of a more conciliatory stance toward the West, saying the nuclear dispute needs to be resolved through “dialogue and wisdom.”

Rafsanjani, a top figure in Iran’s clerical leadership, lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 election, but Rafsanjani’s allies were among those swept to victory in the December local elections.

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