When Khatami changed his mind about his candidacy for the presidential elections in June, no one was sure why he did that as most people believed he would win the election. The reasons given by him and those around him are not convincing and many hopeful Iranians are hurt by that!
He is considered as a pragmatist and the only relatively powerful Mullah in Iran the West could come to any reasonable agreement if that is at all possible. He is the only Mullah that uses the Western style language when he talks about democracy and human rights. Even though he vehemently expresses his total support and dedication to the Islamic regime and in particular the Valih-e- Faghih (supreme leader) in almost every speech he makes, many Iranians still blindly believe that if the regime is at all reformable, it would be through Khatami and no one else. The eight years of his presidency is not enough to convince these people that he is both unable to deliver his promises of reform and that he does not wish to change the nature of the regime, i.e. reform the constitution and amend it so that the the supreme leader doe not have the supreme power.
The present political juncture with Obama committing America to talk to the regime and the West's desperation to make a deal with the Islamic Republic is what Khatami finds awkward. The problem is that the conditions of the talks are not acceptable by the Islamic regime and the supreme leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenie. And Khatami does not want to be involved in negotiations that would show he is not really any different to the rest of the Mullahs. In essence he is not different but he has manged to find a place in the people's hearts and minds as a reasonable Mullah. It is all to do with the way he talks, his expressions, and the role of the good cop he plays that the regime has found so useful. We have nick named him: the supop. (the safety valve) Whether he decided against running for the presidency or he was told to do so by the supreme leader is irrelevant. The point is that the result of the upcoming presidential elections won't make any difference to the proposed negotiations by Obama. The fact that Khatami, the only Mullah the West expects to behave in a civilised manner is no longer there and that can only mean the position of the Islamic regime won't change after the elections.
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He is considered as a pragmatist and the only relatively powerful Mullah in Iran the West could come to any reasonable agreement if that is at all possible. He is the only Mullah that uses the Western style language when he talks about democracy and human rights. Even though he vehemently expresses his total support and dedication to the Islamic regime and in particular the Valih-e- Faghih (supreme leader) in almost every speech he makes, many Iranians still blindly believe that if the regime is at all reformable, it would be through Khatami and no one else. The eight years of his presidency is not enough to convince these people that he is both unable to deliver his promises of reform and that he does not wish to change the nature of the regime, i.e. reform the constitution and amend it so that the the supreme leader doe not have the supreme power.
The present political juncture with Obama committing America to talk to the regime and the West's desperation to make a deal with the Islamic Republic is what Khatami finds awkward. The problem is that the conditions of the talks are not acceptable by the Islamic regime and the supreme leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenie. And Khatami does not want to be involved in negotiations that would show he is not really any different to the rest of the Mullahs. In essence he is not different but he has manged to find a place in the people's hearts and minds as a reasonable Mullah. It is all to do with the way he talks, his expressions, and the role of the good cop he plays that the regime has found so useful. We have nick named him: the supop. (the safety valve) Whether he decided against running for the presidency or he was told to do so by the supreme leader is irrelevant. The point is that the result of the upcoming presidential elections won't make any difference to the proposed negotiations by Obama. The fact that Khatami, the only Mullah the West expects to behave in a civilised manner is no longer there and that can only mean the position of the Islamic regime won't change after the elections.
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