Post by peterd on Sept 23, 2013 7:49:59 GMT -8
The Struggle Between Khamenei And Rafsanjani Over The Iranian Leadership – Part IV: Rafsanjani Calls For Moderation In The Spirit Of 'Islamic Realism'; Khamenei Is Ready For 'Heroic Flexibility' By Iran But Without Compromising Revolutionary Principles
Introduction
In a continuation of his calls in the past year for engagement with the U.S.,[1] Hashemi Rafsanjani has again called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to lead Iran in the spirit of moderation and of "Islamic realism" – that is, updating and adapting the values of the Islamic Revolution to the spirit of the times and to conduct a dialogue with the U.S., instead of leading Iran in an extremist path for the sake of an ossified "false idealism." In an August 8, 2013 interview, Rafsanjani set out the main points of his "Islamic realism," and assured his readers that the approach that he is promoting leads not to secularization but to enhanced revolutionary values. As an example, he presented the rulings of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian Revolution, which had been adapted over time, and again praised Khomeini's greatness for accepting U.N. Security Council Resolution 598 and thereby ending the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
To support his position, Rafsanjani said that Ayatollah Khomeini had followed a moderate path – like Rafsanjani's own – and stressed that when Khomeini did take an extreme position, his wisdom in leadership impelled him to heed the opinion of the Expediency Council – which was headed by Rafsanjani himself – even though Khomeini thought differently.
Khamenei has responded in two ways to Rafsanjani's demands during the past year for dialogue with the U.S.: One, in a September 17 speech directly addressing these demands, Khamenei outlined the "heroic flexibility" vis-à-vis the Western enemy that he was willing to implement provided that Iranian officials truly grasped the essence of this enemy. He stressed that "the changes that are taking place today in the world are not a reason to change our ideals, our goals, or our path." With these words, Khamenei expressed his willingness to show some flexibility in technical matters in order to Iran's ultimate nuclear goals.
www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7422.htm
Introduction
In a continuation of his calls in the past year for engagement with the U.S.,[1] Hashemi Rafsanjani has again called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to lead Iran in the spirit of moderation and of "Islamic realism" – that is, updating and adapting the values of the Islamic Revolution to the spirit of the times and to conduct a dialogue with the U.S., instead of leading Iran in an extremist path for the sake of an ossified "false idealism." In an August 8, 2013 interview, Rafsanjani set out the main points of his "Islamic realism," and assured his readers that the approach that he is promoting leads not to secularization but to enhanced revolutionary values. As an example, he presented the rulings of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian Revolution, which had been adapted over time, and again praised Khomeini's greatness for accepting U.N. Security Council Resolution 598 and thereby ending the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
To support his position, Rafsanjani said that Ayatollah Khomeini had followed a moderate path – like Rafsanjani's own – and stressed that when Khomeini did take an extreme position, his wisdom in leadership impelled him to heed the opinion of the Expediency Council – which was headed by Rafsanjani himself – even though Khomeini thought differently.
Khamenei has responded in two ways to Rafsanjani's demands during the past year for dialogue with the U.S.: One, in a September 17 speech directly addressing these demands, Khamenei outlined the "heroic flexibility" vis-à-vis the Western enemy that he was willing to implement provided that Iranian officials truly grasped the essence of this enemy. He stressed that "the changes that are taking place today in the world are not a reason to change our ideals, our goals, or our path." With these words, Khamenei expressed his willingness to show some flexibility in technical matters in order to Iran's ultimate nuclear goals.
www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7422.htm