Kicking against Khatami By Safa Haeri The conservative-controlled 270-seat Iranian parliament last Sunday ousted Interior Minister Abdullah Nouri, considered to be one of President Mohamed Khatami's strongest supporters. The impeachment was supported by 137 members, while 117 voted against it. Eleven abstained. But in a show of defiance, Khatami immediately named Nouri as vice-president for social and development affairs, a position that does not require the approval of parliament. It was a historic day for Iran. Millions of Iranians who one year ago voted for Khatami, with high hopes of seeing their country find peace with itself, were humiliated by the conservatives who are opposed to any radical reforms. But 6,000km from Tehran, Iranian football players gave the nation one of its sweetest victories in many years by beating the US 2-1 in the World Cup finals in France. The verdict against Nouri came after a tumultuous seven-hour debate during which several conservative MPs showered the minister with a wide range of accusations, including degradation of internal security and lenience towards dissident students. Nouri's handling of the followers of the dissident Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri and his alleged arrogance in dealing with the MPs also came under attack. In an effort to ease the tension, Majles (parliament) Speaker Ayatollah Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri said impeachment of a minister does not mean that the Majles is opposed to the government or the president. In fact, some MPs had argued that the impeachment of the interior minister would help the president to bring more cohesion to his government. But observers in Tehran said the successful impeachment of Nouri was a stern and clear warning to dissidents, particularly students, who had in recent months called for the limitation of the powers and mandate of the Islamic revolution's supreme guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, such calls have been taboo. Answering his opponents in parliament, Nouri warned MPs of a plot to separate and estrange students and intellectuals from the revolution. His impeachment, he added, was a tool for the plotters to carry out their plans. Analysts in Tehran said Nouri's ouster had taken the power struggle between the reformist president and the conservatives to the point of no return. They also pointed out that the conservatives who had brought down the interior minister had probably received the green light from Khamenei, who, from the outset, was opposed to the nomination of Nouri as interior minister. This would then be the second time that Nouri has been impeached by the Majles upon orders from Khamenei. He was ousted from President Hashemi Rafsanjani's cabinet, in which he was also interior minister, five years ago. Sources in Tehran speculate that the latest diplomatic initiative by Washington, aimed at easing tension with Iran, might have encouraged the conservatives to deal Khatami a big blow. The president is seen as one of the architects of dialogue with Washington, which conservatives vehemently oppose. Observers say the move could also have given the Clinton administration another chance at more prudence in their approach towards Tehran. "If Mr Nouri had been confirmed, it would have sent a strong signal to the Americans," said Shahin Fatemi, an Iranian professor at the American University in Paris. "But now that he had been defeated, it is difficult to see the [Clinton] administration betting on a lame, losing horse." A day before Nouri's impeachment, Iran's conservatives had rejected the latest American charm offensive prosecuted by both the Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and President Bill Clinton who had called for "a genuine reconciliation based on mutuality and reciprocity." In an aggressive editorial entitled "Satan's New Vociferation", the radical daily Islamic Republic said that all Iran's main policies, including foreign policy, are decided by Khamenei, "who, in recent months, has repeatedly reiterated that there will be no dialogue with the United States." Khamenei, who is reportedly suffering from prostate cancer, is now resting in Amol, a posh resort on the Caspian Sea. In the absence of any official reaction from Iran to the latest US overtures, analysts consider the Islamic Republic's editorial an indication of what is to come. The newspaper is owned by Khamenei and often reflects his views. "If somebody has said something to Mr Clinton (on behalf of the Iranian president), he may have the intention of making a fool of him, something which is not difficult given the American president's credulity and simple mindedness," the paper said. It added that statements by Clinton and Albright, who is often referred to as a "Jewish woman in the service of world Zionism", did not contain "any new thoughts, proving that the American view of Iran is the same as it was 19 years ago." But the liberal daily Jame'eh, which supports President Khatami, called upon the government to take its time, carefully study the American proposals and come out with a proper answer capable of improving bilateral ties. In an interview with the Persian Service of Radio France International, Sadeq Ziba Kalam, a professor of international relations at Tehran University, said that the message from Clinton and Albright was "very, very important and significant". Kalam added that what had surprised most members of Iran's clerical leadership was the fact that the American initiative had first come from someone like Albright, whose "conservative, if not unfriendly" views towards the Islamic Republic were an "open secret". However, Kalam said the new developments in Iran-US relations were "regrettably" overshadowed by domestic political crises in Iran, including the trial of the Mayor of Tehran, which is "nailing down to their TV sets more people than those who are following the World Cup," the impeachment of the interior minister, and the threat to close down Jame'eh. See also With peace from Persia by Nashwa Abdel-Tawab
