Reading Saeid Jafari’s piece in AL Monitor on Iran’s hardline (Principlist) political camp is reminiscent of the United States’ pack of right wingers, where all are supposedly on the same page, yet have that lust to power pushing them along:
[Former President] Ahmadinejad’s attack against the parliament speaker [Larijani] comes as some view Larijani as the symbol of a classic Principlist who in recent years has distanced himself from the camp due to its hard-line activities and instead now enjoys close ties with the Rouhani administration. It should be noted that Larijani ran as a conservative in the 2005 presidential elections, which first brought Ahmadinejad to power. However, he was eliminated in the first round of voting, coming in sixth place after late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad, former parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, Ghalibaf and former Minister of Science Mostafa Moin.
It should also be noted that some Principlist groups don’t even consider Larijani a conservative anymore and have strongly criticized him for his close ties with the current administration. In a recent development, a picture of Larijani next to former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), the leader of the Reform movement, surfaced on Sept. 23, causing a great deal of controversy and harsh criticism from hard-liners. Some even described the photo as an attempt by Larijani to launch his campaign for the 2021 presidential elections.
As such, Iran’s conservative camp today is more divergent than ever. This is perhaps due to a lack of leadership in the camp and the existence of multiple forces who each see themselves as being superior to others. This is not to mention that not all Principlist groups accept Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, the hard-line cleric who is seen by many as the spiritual father of the conservative front. Thus, it seems as if each part of the movement is branching out for itself, with none willing to accept other factions.
Note the Iranian analog to the RINO. I wonder how much that phenomenon has occurred in Iran, until the hardliners are best viewed as extremists? As a theocracy, it shouldn’t be surprising to see a certain over-confidence evident in the various factions, since all of them think they understand best what their Divine Being wants. That same reasoning justifies the ejection of members in good standing from the group – after all, they’re not conforming to the wishes of DB, now are they?
Because, of course, they know the mind of DB.
