U.S. Shouldn't Be Too Thrilled with Iran's Election of Hassan Rouhani

COMMENTARY | The West just misunderstands Friday's presidential elections in Iran. The government of Iran cannot be compared to any form of government we have ever considered. In February, the Obama administration broached the possibility of direct talks with outgoing President Mahmood Ahmadinejad. In the context of these talks, Ahmadinejad was compared to Barack Obama. Ahmadinejad was quoted as offering to negotiate "himself," if Iranian demands were met first.

The relative positions of the two presidents bear no relation to each other. In the United States, the elected representatives direct policy while the bureaucrats implement them. In Iran, the theocrats direct policy while the elected officials implement them. The equivalent of Ahmadinejad would be an undersecretary at the State Department, if that.

Iran is ruled by a Supreme Ruler. There is no such concept in the U.S. government. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has supreme authority over every aspect of government. The president's administration is only one of the many bodies that allow the Supreme Ruler to govern. The Guardian Council is the true legislature, if a country whose laws are derived from theological principles can even be said to have a legislature. All the candidates in this election were selected by the Guardian Council that vetted Ahmadinejad. The Guardian Council will oversee Rouhani's administration just as it did Ahmadinejad's administration.

In this election, the Guardian Council vetoed the candidacy of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for being too liberal. Rafsanjani is one of the most prominent architects of the Islamic Revolution and holds key positions of power even now. He is one of the closest living colleagues of the late Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and a candidate for Supreme Leader himself.

This should give pause to anyone who would like to see real reform come from the approved candidates.

Hassan Rouhani is no maverick nor is he a moderate. Rouhani may not be an Ayatollah, but he is a Mujtahed, one of the highest ranking Muslim clerics. The position is dedicated to advancing Islam through intellectual jihad. Is someone who has risen through the ranks of Iran's clergy to such a lofty position going to be the agent of radical reform? Not likely, even if his administration was not supervised by the Supreme Ruler and Guardian Council.

Nor does Rouhani's record establish him as any sort of hope in the nuclear standoff at the heart of international concern. He may be more superficially diplomatic than Ahmadinejad. He has served as the top negotiator with European countries on nuclear issue. Yet, it is difficult to assert that his election will contribute to new offers to reduce the military threat Iran poses -- especially when you consider that his political party is the Combatant Clergy Association.

Tio Akop is a political asylee from Iran living in Los Angeles. He graduated with a Juris Doctorate and Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-shouldnt-too-thrilled-irans-election-hassan-rouhani-205900863.html

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