Rowhani’s ‘Path of Moderation’ Also Shows Limits

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) —

Iran’s newly elected president showcased his reform-leaning image Monday by promising a “path of moderation” that includes greater openness on Tehran’s nuclear program and overtures to Washington. He also made clear where he draws the line: No halt to uranium enrichment and no direct U.S. dialogue without a pledge to stay out of Iranian affairs.

Hasan Rowhani’s first post-victory news conference was a study in what may make his presidency tick. Rowhani may be hailed as a force for change, but he also appears to carry a deep and self-protective streak of pragmatism. He knows he can only push his views on outreach and detente as far as allowed by the country’s real powers, the ruling clerics and their military protectors, the Revolutionary Guard.

Many of Rowhani’s statements reflected these boundaries, which could later expand or contract depending on how much the theocracy wants to endorse his agenda.

When he appealed to treat “old wounds” with the U.S., he also echoed the ruling clerics’ position that no breakthroughs can occur as long as Washington is seen as trying to undermine their hold on power. Rowhani’s urging for greater “nuclear transparency” as a path to roll back sanctions was also punctuated by a hard-liner stance: No chance to stop the uranium enrichment labs at the heart of the stalemate with the West and its allies.

Rowhani spoke eloquently about a “new era” on the international stage but avoided direct mention of the sweeping crackdowns at home since the
disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

At the end of the news conference, a spectator — whose identity was not immediately known — yelled out for the release of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest for more than two years. Rowhani smiled but made no comment.

Iranian newly elected President Hasan Rowhani, places his hand on his heart as a sign of respect, after speaking at a press conference, in Tehran, Iran, Monday. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Iranian newly elected President Hasan Rowhani, places his hand on his heart as a sign of respect, after speaking at a press conference, in Tehran, Iran, Monday. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

“You can make any kind of promises you want,” said Merhzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle East Studies program at Syracuse University. “At the end of the day, it’s the ruling clerics that decide whether they go anywhere.”

There is no doubt, however, that the overall tone of Rowhani’s remarks resonates well in the West. The White House and others have already signaled cautious hope that Rowhani’s presence could open new possibilities on diplomacy and efforts to break the impasse over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program after four failed negotiating rounds since last year.

Even so, the Obama administration won’t welcome Rowhani’s election with any new nuclear offer.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. is open to new nuclear talks with Iran. But Washington and its international partners first want a response to an offer of sanctions relief for Iranian nuclear concessions they presented in April.

“The ball is in Iran’s court,” Psaki said Monday in Washington.

If nothing else at the Tehran news conference, the contrast was vivid with Ahmadinejad and his hectoring style.

“We are on a path of moderation. … We have to enhance mutual trust between Iran and other countries,” Rowhani told journalists. “We have to build trust.”

Rowhani appeared to borrow phrases from another cleric-president, reformist Mohammad Khatami, who preceded Ahmadinejad and opened a range of social and political freedoms that have been largely swept aside in the lockdown atmosphere of recent years.

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