DOMESTIC CHALLENGES PUT SURVIVAL OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT RISK, KHATAMI SAYS

Sat 28 December 2024:

Iran’s ex-President Mohammad Khatami warned Tehran may collapse or be toppled without urgent reforms, joining other Reformist figures who have sounded the alarm in recent days about popular anger over the ailing economy.

Iran is currently grappling with an intense economic crisis, as the value of the US dollar has surged past 800,000 rials, exacerbating inflation and eroding the purchasing power of ordinary citizens.

The country is facing severe energy shortages, with power outages and gas supply cuts becoming more frequent, leading to the disruption of business and daily life.

Pollution levels are escalating, intensifying the already dire health challenges.

Meanwhile, skyrocketing prices for basic goods, including food and medicine, are placing immense pressure on households, pushing many to the brink of poverty.

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Their calls come as costs of living mount and the country faces huge external pressure in the form of military setbacks and renewed sanctions under Donald Trump.

Referring to a 15-point action plan for greater social and economic freedoms, Khatami warned on Thursday that “Iran is in a critical situation“.

Adopting the plan would ensure “the country does not fall into chaos and conflict, to prevent, in my view, an overthrow, while also avoiding self-overthrow,” Khatami said.

The former president from 1997 to 2005, rarely comments so stridently on vital policy matters and is out of favor with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – the ultimate decider of foreign and domestic policy.

“If no action is taken to improve people’s lives and strengthen hope for change, we will all suffer,” he added.

Khatami and other Reformists have often been caught between the need for change and the constraints imposed by Iran’s conservative political structure.

Their history of seeking to improve the system only for the Islamic Republic to resort to harsher crackdowns and fail to deliver on promises has stoked criticism.

Khatami, who has long been a de facto leader for Iran’s Reformist camp, also called for a return to the ideals of the 1979 revolution, including republicanism, which he argued had been sidelined by the current political order.

“If we have deviated from this goal, what peaceful and fair measures can be taken to bring all—parties, factions, society, and governance—back to republicanism?” he said.

His remarks reflect an ongoing struggle within Iran’s political elite: how to balance the need for reform with the preservation of the Islamic Republic’s fundamental structure, which has been increasingly threatened by internal and external challenges.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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