Iran rifts in a dangerous time

by Gareth Smith August 1, 2009

written by Gareth Smith August 1, 2009

Ironically, Iran’s reformists have long feared a scenario in which a conservative government would first crush them and then reach an agreement with the United States and reap the domestic political benefits. Could an agreement with the US, defusing tension over Tehran’s nuclear program, result from June’s presidential election awarded to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with 63 percent of the vote? Could a deal be delivered by a single-minded, unified right wing in control of Iran’s organs of state? In theory, yes. In practice, it is hard to see Iranian politics being so malleable, even if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, has emerged from the post-election protests still in charge. While much of the American media has detected a military coup in the election and its aftermath, the claim is unsubstantiated. Even if Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has increased its influence in recent years, overall control of the state lies with

Gareth Smith

Gareth Smith was a distinguished journalist who reported from the Middle East for over two decades. He served as the Financial Times correspondent in Tehran, where he was the chief Iran correspondent from 2003, following his earlier role as Lebanon correspondent. Throughout his career, Smith covered Middle Eastern affairs for leading media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, and the BBC. He also contributed as an editor to Executive magazine. His work as a freelance journalist in the 1990s, focusing on the politics of Iran and Iraq, paved the way for his appointment at the FT. In 2009, he relocated to the west coast of Ireland, where he balanced freelance journalism with his passion for nature and the land.

Iran rifts in a dangerous time

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