Tag: Ruhollah Khomeini

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — His image is on bank notes and in textbooks in Iran, often as a black-and-white embodiment of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that swept aside the country’s shah and forever changed the nation. But unlike other countries ruled by family dynasties, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s children and grandchildren have never fully entered politics. Part of the reason lies with Khomeini’s own commandments after becoming Iran’s first supreme leader. His tape-recorded sermons circulated through the country in the days leading up to the shah’s departure, his calls for supporting the poor striking a populist tone among Iran’s struggling masses. His daughter, Zahra Mostafavi, later became politically active, but said in 2006 that her father had told her and other family members: “Do not enter politics while I am alive.” “After his death, we decided not to enter” politics, she said. Khomeini’s family did not stay out of politics for long, in part due to the changes within Iran. Those demands gave birth to Iran’s reformist political movement, which seeks to change Iran’s government from within and grant more political freedoms to its people. His father, Hassan Khomeini, another of Khomeini’s grandsons, was barred by authorities in 2016 from running for seats on Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which can appoint or remove a supreme leader. But fears about political dynasties persist in Iran. Earlier this year, President Hassan Rouhani described the 1979 Islamic Revolution as being aimed at avoiding having a “son to take the throne after the death of father.” Family members of current supreme leader Khamenei have taken a low-key approach to public life.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hard-liners batter President Hassan Rouhani over his faltering nuclear deal, sending his popularity plummeting. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Iranian politics. “I don’t think that the majority of people are after regime change . America appears poised to further sanction Iran despite Tehran abiding by Rouhani’s nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for sanctions being lifted. The 69-year-old Rouhani, himself a Shiite cleric, could potentially be considered when Iran picks its third-ever supreme leader. But popular anger continues to rise against Rouhani, threatening whatever mandate he could claim in the future. Telephone surveys by IranPoll, a Toronto-based firm, also have seen a precipitous drop in Rouhani’s popular support. “Such stories suggest that the Islamic Republic may be approaching an existential crisis, where its core values such as adopting a simple lifestyle and observing Islam strictly are widely promoted by the establishment but not necessarily followed by the elite,” analyst Sara Bazoobandi recently wrote for the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Meanwhile, social change can be seen on any street in Tehran, as some young women wear their state-mandated hijabs loosely over their hair. Noting nearly 40 years have passed since the Islamic Revolution, she added: “The world and the situation have changed.” “People have reached a point that they have nothing to lose,” said Hashemi, who herself has served prison time over her comments and activism.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hard-liners batter President Hassan Rouhani over his faltering nuclear deal, sending his popularity plummeting. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Iranian politics. "I don't think that the majority of people are after regime change . America appears poised to further sanction Iran despite Tehran abiding by Rouhani's nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for sanctions being lifted. The 69-year-old Rouhani, himself a Shiite cleric, could potentially be considered when Iran picks its third-ever supreme leader. Telephone surveys by IranPoll, a Toronto-based firm, also have seen a precipitous drop in Rouhani's popular support. There are signs, however, that the Iranian government recognizes the growing anger. Iran saw nationwide protests in late December and early January over its worsening economic situation, which resulted in nearly 5,000 reported arrests and at least 25 people being killed. Meanwhile, social change can be seen on any street in Tehran, as some young women wear their state-mandated hijabs loosely over their hair. "Usually you only fear things for the first time, when things happen once you are no longer worried, and you get a bit braver, and you raise your demands more freely."