Reformists Hope for Link to Khamenei as Election Looms

When Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died unexpectedly on January 8, it shook the world of Iranian politics. 

A towering figure in Iran for four decades, Rafsanjani served as Iran’s president from 1989 to 1997, headed the Assembly of Experts and, at the time of his death, was chairman of the Expediency Council. 

In later life, one of Rafsanjani’s most important jobs was acting as a liaison between Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran’s reformist politicians, although the role was informal and disputed by some. With his death came serious questions about who would now take on that mantle, and how the reformists might negotiate their relationship with the leader without him. 

On February 26, an interview published in Shargh newspaper seemed to answer the question that had echoed throughout parliament, political circles and the media for weeks. Eshagh Jahangiri, President Rouhani’s First Vice President, told the paper that he had met with the ayatollah and that he would now be the main point of contact between the regime leader and the reformists. The interview, which lacked spontaneity, seemed to be set up specifically to answer the question that had not only been looming since Rafsanjani’s death, but which is also taking on more significance as the presidential election nears.  

According Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament for Tehran, the meeting took place in mid-February. Jahangiri told Shargh that, after consultations with President Rouhani and “reformist friends and figures,” he met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. When they met, the leader asked Jahangiri to act as the liaison between himself and the reformists — though this was most likely prompted by Jahangiri suggesting that he take on such a role. 

“Considering the loss of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was the communication channel between the Supreme Leader and the body of reformists,” said Sadeghi, “Mr. Jahangiri wanted to know how this vacuum could be filled.” 

A New Roadmap

Reformist figures responded to the Shargh interview in different ways. “Communication between the reformists and the leader has always existed and will continue to exist,” said Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, a member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics, who was seen as a potential candidate for the role. Although the comment lacked passionate conviction, Sadeghi regarded it as a positive response to the development.

The reformist former mayor of Tehran, Gholam Hossein Karbaschi, said it was an important step toward supporting the reformists  — not so much because it would give them support, but more because it would prevent their elimination from politics altogether. Whoever spoke to Khamenei on behalf of the reformists, said reformist academic and pundit Sadegh Zibakalam, he “must be disciplined in his dialogue” and good at articulating points of view. Journalist and social activist Abbas Abdi wrote that reformists needed a new roadmap. Speaking to Khabar Online, he said reformists must change their preconceived idea that the Supreme Leader is unwilling to communicate with them.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahari said that the question of a liaison between the reformists and the leader was nothing new. Rafsanjani “was a go-between but not a representative of the reformists,” he said. “To a certain degree he informed the leader of the reformists' views.”

A Channel or a Representative?

And this the heart of the matter. What does a liaison between the reformists and Ayatollah Khamenei actually mean? Is it a communication channel for transmitting messages back and forth? Or is it a representative for political negotiations? If it is the first then the role is a more administrative one. If the second interpretation is true, then it is more of a political role. 

Eshagh Jahangiri fits the bill for administrator. Besides being the first vice president, he is also the head of so-called Resistance Economy Headquarters, an entity designed and built to satisfy Khamenei’s obsessions about the Iranian economy and how he believes it should be run. Jahangiri is in a good position to meet the Supreme Leader and convey any messages pertaining to these issues. 

But if it is a political and representative role on behalf of the reformists, then the question becomes more complicated. For the reformists, Jahangiri is not just the first vice president but, more importantly, he is also the head of the central council of the Executives of Construction Party, an important rival to other reformist factions. In particular, there are indirect clashes with Mohammad Reza Aref, the parliamentary leader of the reformists' Hope faction. Other reformists dislike him, but tolerate him because former president and high- profile reformist Mohammad Khatami insists that Aref maintain a key role in the reformist camp. Aref, who was Khatami’s first vice president when he was in power and is now head of the most important reformist faction in parliament, the Reformist Supreme Council for Policy-Making, believes he is best placed to liaise with Khamenei. 

But Jahangiri’s team is set to act. For the past few months,  reformists have also been toying with the idea of an “alternate” candidate to Hassan Rouhani for the upcoming presidential election. Some have asked what would happen if the Guardian Council disqualifies Rouhani from running, or if Rouhani’s principlist rivals succeed in crushing him. For them, an alternate reformist candidate — one acceptable to the Guardian Council, which must approve candidates — could help to shield Rouhani, especially during the debates, from the hardliners and their attempts to destroy the president. After the protection operation is successful, they say, the alternate candidate can step down and put his support behind Rouhani.

No Extras, Please!

But it is not surprising that Rouhani’s team is against this idea. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communication, has said candidly that any such candidate would be an opponent of Rouhani and that Rouhani must be the reformists’ first and only candidate. And Mohammad Ali Najafi, Rouhani’s advisor, has confirmed that the president shares this view. One real warrior, said Najafi, is better than a hundred thousand extras. Team Rouhani is also worried that during the debates and the campaign, the “alternate” candidate may prove to be more popular than Rouhani. Then, of course, it would be Rouhani who would have to withdraw his name from the ballot.

But supposing that Team Rouhani could be persuaded of the need for an alternate candid. Who would it be? Some reformists point to Eshagh Jahangiri. If he does become a candidate in the 2017 presidential election, it will elevate his political standing and he will have a better chance of being a “representative” for the reformists to the Supreme Leader instead of simply a “liaison.”

Jahangiri is ambitious, and if he is approved as a presidential candidate, it would of course benefit the Executives of Construction Party, which has worked hard to establish itself as the principal reformist party. Party members would then be in a position to present a better claim that they deserve the guardianship of Rafsanjani’s legacy. As yet, it is not clear how other reformist factions will react to this not-so-secret plan, but it is likely to lead to trouble in the reformist ranks. This in-fighting within what is essentially a broad reformist collective could damage the battle objective of instilling more moderate ideals within Iran’s political environment.