The West can huff and puff, but it won’t blow Iran down
The political upheaval that has gripped Iran since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in the June 12 election makes one thing clear: If the Islamic clerics weren’t actually running the country, reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi would be the president today. Or, at the very least, there would be another election.
But, when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced that his review of the election results showed Ahmadinejad as the undisputed victor, the die was cast.
Mousavi has refused to concede defeat. He and his legions of supporters in the capital city Tehran contend the election was stolen and that there was no way the millions of votes cast could have been counted so quickly as to have a winner just a day after the balloting.
Mousavi and his followers decided to make known their anger by taking to the streets of the city in daily demonstrations.
At first, the grand ayatollah and the other clerics were silent while thousands of demonstrators vented with shouts of “Down with the dictators” and other such comments. Khamenei even went so far as to offer a conciliatory note when he said he would review the results.
But once he declared Ahmadinejad the winner, it was just a matter of time before the Islamic conservatives said “Enough.” That came Friday when the supreme leader warned that bloodshed would ensue if the demonstrations continued. He also unleashed riot police, the revolutionary guards and the military.
At least 10 Iranians have been killed and many injured.
By Monday, the enthusiasm that marked the early days of the uprising was waning. Indeed, even if Mousavi had won, Iran would still have been a theocracy run by the ayatollahs.
And that makes the West’s public criticism of what is happening in Iran — from President Obama, to members of Congress, especially chest-pounding Republicans, to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and members of Parliament, to other European leaders and politicians — nothing more than feel-good rhetoric.
The clerics don’t care about world opinion. If they did, Iran would not be the kind of police state that it is today. The freedoms enjoyed by the people are those the ayatollahs have decided aren’t at odds with Sharia, or Islamic law.
They also know that Iran’s economic future requires the country to have relations with others. And, they are the ones who have given Ahamdinejad the green light to pursue the development of nuclear power. That pursuit has raised concerns about Iran’s true intentions — namely the production of nuclear weapons.
Careful comments
That is why President Obama has been careful in his comments about the current political upheaval. He understands correctly that the American people would never support military intervention on behalf of Mousavi and the reformists.
He also knows that engagement with the rulers in Tehran is necessary to dissuade them from pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
So, how can the West at least ensure that human rights aren’t violated and that Iranians are free to express themselves in whatever peaceful form they choose?
A possible answer lies with the ayatollahs being approached by religious leaders around the world, including Islamic clerics from other countries and perhaps even Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the head of the Church of England.
Khamenei has accused the United States and Britain of fomenting political turmoil in Iran through their support of Mousavi. Both countries have denied the charge.
The goal of the meeting of the religious leaders would not be to discuss presidential politics, but rather the religious underpinnings of human dignity.