Opposition - The Green Movement

     "Ahmadinejad's dictatorial ways have hurt Iran's image across the globe and could be a prelude to dictatorship." - Mousavi

     The Green Movement was established as a response to the 2009 presidential elections in Iran. This group believes that the elections were rigged and wish to remove Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from power.  Mir-Hossein Mousavi has been the leader of the movement since its initial establishment, offering extensive experience from his leading of the anti-Shah student movements during the Revolution in 1979. Mousavi endorses the reevaluation of the foreign policies in Iran. One of the main actions taken by the group was raising slogans questioning "Where is my vote?". Mousavi openly accused the Ahmadinejad's party of rigging the elections, demanding the supreme leader to limit his authority.

     The Movement continues to question the regime until today through three main ideas. The first one is the calling for political transparency, demanding that the secrecy involved in Iran's relationship with Hezbollah and Hamas (state-desginated terrorist organizations) come to an end. The second idea is the request that the principle of absolute power be reconsidered. The third and last main concept (and also the one I find the most brilliant) is the reassessment of Iran's relations with other countries in the world, especially the United States. 

     The Green Movement, of course, directly threatens the Iranian regime and, as a consequence has had many of its prominent figures such as Khatami and Rezai withdraw their support.

A very strong image. Inspiring.

Sources: 

Tafesh, Abdul Q. "Iran's Green Movement: Reality and Aspirations." Al Jazeera Center for Studies., 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

Breaking News

     Unless you have been living in a cave, you are probably aware that deadly, 7.8 earthquake has hit the Iran-Pakistan border this morning (April 16th). The number of casualties has not yet been fully determined. I would like to invite you to take a moment to recognize all of those who have been affected by this event. 

Dissent - Literature

“Reality has become so intolerable, she said, so bleak, that all I can paint now are the colors of my dreams.” - Reading Lolita in Tehran

     For those of you interested in literature, I highly recommend Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. Nafisi is an Iranian writer who has been living in the United States since 1997. This short-read published in 2003 is a memoir from the experiences of the author, who was teaching in Iran during the revolution. In a fast-paced, captivating narration, she recounts her refusal to wear the veil, leading to her expulsion from the university. The highlight of the book is the formation of the book club, a group that finally provides Iranian women with a voice to reveal their own thoughts, opinions, fears and dreams.
     In an interview, Nafisi revealed that the title of her memoir is associated with Vladimir Nobokov's classic, and serves as a metaphor to describe the oppression of the Iranian regime. According to her, "an ayatollah comes to Iran and likes to impose his dream upon our reality, turning us into figments of our imagination. And that is what Lolita is basically about, the crime of solipsizing another person's life."
   

     The non-fiction was in the New York Times best-selling list for more than one hundred weeks and has been translated into thirty two languages.

Sources:

"Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books." Booknotes., 08 June 2003. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

Domestic Policies - The Economy

"This is very interesting: The Americans occupy the country, kill people, sell the oil and when they have lost, they blame others." - Ahmadinejad

    The economy of Iran depends entirely on its oil industries. This makes the country dependent on the oil world prices. Any changes in these will affect the country's economy. Every time there is a fluctuation in price, the economy suffers drastic changes. For instance, in 1976 the world oil price started decreasing. This led to an increasing inflation of over 20%. Given the rise in the cost of living, the civil servants were badly affected, and opposition groups started to grow.

    On top of the inflation, in order to uphold the Shah's objective of modernization, Iran started to import huge amounts of goods. It soon became trendy to wear fashionable products. This, of course, devalued local production and affected small merchants significantly. As a result, these minor producers resented the Shah and his political decisions. 

    After the White Revolution of 1963, the Shah decided to start land reforms. This policy led to a significant increase in the population, especially the one in Tehran, that "went from 2.9 million in 1966 to 4.4 million in 1976." Soon, the infrastructure was not enough for the population, and the government showed little to no action in the building of roads or the supply of electricity and water. This caused a huge discontent among the rural class.
     You can now see how the economic structure has led to much of the discontent towards the government. This resentment, when greater, can be witnessed in the form of political opposition or dissent, which I will be discussing soon.

Europe recently imposed sanctions on and banned Iranian oil, significantly affecting its export numbers.

Sources:

Habibi, Mariam. History of Europe and the Middle East: Course Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Nature of Government - The Revolution

"For this reason, the expansion of relations with all countries is on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I mean balanced relationships, based on mutual respect and observation of each other's rights." - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad


The establishment of a republic in Iran was only possible after the issuing of the 1979 Constitution, which marked the success of the Iranian Revolution that finally overthrew the country hereditary ruler, the Shah. Therefore, the state has benefited from the theocratic republic given that this form of government allowed for the independence of Iran in April 1^st, 1979; this transformation did away with the country’s former tradition of dictatorship, and opened doors to a system that offers elections by universal suffrage. However, the Iranian Revolution also led to the Iranian takeover of the American embassy, taking 52 American as hostages for 444 days. This episode embittered Iran-US diplomatic relations, which were soon broken. Overtime, this embitterment caused Iran to provoke the Western Hemisphere, raising the bar when it comes to nuclear power, terrorism endorsement, and human rights violations. “Numerous sanctions have been imposed on Iran by the United States and the international community to compel Iran to engage seriously in discussions with the international community and address concerns over its nuclear program. Iran still has not recognized Israel’s right to exist and has hindered the Middle East peace process by arming militants, including Hamas, Hizballah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad” (“US Relations with Iran”, US Department of State). 

P.S.: If you want to know more about the hostage crisis, the Oscar-winner movie Argo is a must-watch. You can find the trailer here below:

Sources:

"Iran: Government." GlobalEDGE. Michigan State University, Web. 30 Dec. 2012. <http://globaledge.msu.edu/Countries/Iran/Government>.

"The World Factbook." Central Intelligence Agency. United States Government, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html>.

"U.S. Relations With Iran." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Jan. 2013. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5314.htm>.

Nature of Government - Political Structure

"Justice must reign supreme in the Organization, and in accordance with its Charter, all Member-States must have equal rights. Greater power or wealth should not accord expanded rights to any member."

    I personally find Iran's nature of government a little hard to understand. So Ahmadinejad is the dictator... But then who is Hosseini-Kamenei? What are their political responsibilities? And why are there so many Assemblies, anyways?

     Don't worry, I will try to clarify here how this country really works politically.

     The Islamic Republic of Iran is governed based on the 1979 Constitution. Above all the other factions of political power, there is the chief of state, a supreme leader who holds perpetual power unless removed by the Assembly of Experts. It is the chief of state’s duty to establish a supervise all domestic, foreign, and security policies for the country in concession with other political bodies such as the National Security Council, the National Assembly, and the Expediency Council. The chief of state has the final say in all affairs. Currently, Ali Hoseini-Khamenei holds the position of the country’s supreme leader. Apart from him, Iran also counts on the head of government, who is elected by universal suffrage to a 4-year term. President Mahmud Ahmadinejad currently holds the position as head of government. Once appointed, the head of government is in charge of supervising executive affairs as well as the Council of Ministers, coordinating government decisions, and selecting government policies to be established before the Majles—the National Assembly.

Ahmadinejad, head of government

The supreme leader, Khamenei

     Judging from these characteristics, one could categorize Iran as a theocratic republic. This means that the leader of the state is regarded as divine, ruling in the name of a god. This leader, in turn, is elected by the people of the state. Khamenei, according to policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour, was appointed supreme leader, after a “landslide election” (Sadjadpour, 2); thus making Iran a republic.
     Stay tuned for more information regarding the Iranian History including the Revolution and the Shah.

Sources:

"Iran: Government." GlobalEDGE. Michigan State University, Web. 5 March. 2013. <http://globaledge.msu.edu/Countries/Iran/Government>.

Sadjadpour, Karim. Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran's Most Powerful Leader. Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008. Print.