… Speaking at a roundtable at the Tehran University mosque, entitled Recognizing the Vulnerabilities of the Sixth Majlis Election, Fa'ezeh Hashemi [Rafsanjani's doughtier] added: Experience has shown that whichever faction gains absolute rule it would pursue its own interests. Freedom is nothing but a slogan, because freedom is not an established phenomenon in our society.

Also present at the roundtable, Monireh Nowbakht described the right and left division in the country's political arena as undesirable. She said: Those friends who were one day in favour of state-run economy, are today advocating free economy and capitalism, and are constantly saying that they are reformists… But what do the reformists want to reform? Do they want to change the constitution?

Fa'ezeh Hashemi replied: We, who are in the reformist camp, do not wish to change the constitution.
 

Daily Reports Rift In Pro-Khatami Front, [State-Controlled Daily] Jomhuri-Ye Eslami, February 2

A new group, which has been formed from a number of [pro-Khatami] Second Khordad parties and associations, has stated that the reason for its split from the Second Khordad Front is the patronizing attitude of some of the parties in the front…

The rift is the result of the extremist and monopolist behavior of some of the organizations known as the 2nd Khordad Front.
 

Protest Gatherings Will Undermine Khatami's "Reform" Program! [State-Controlled daily] Iran, February 2

Yesterday, hundreds of people from Chalus, Nowshahr and Kelardasht, staged a gathering in support of Yadollah Tahernezhad, the Majlis deputy representing those towns, protesting against his disqualification by the Guardian Council…

The report adds that the governor of Chalus, Faqihi-Mohammadi, came to meet the people and asked them to remain calm.

He asked the people to express their demands by peaceful means and through the relevant authorities and avoid staging protest gatherings so that the president's [Khatami's] reform programs could continue.
 

U.S. Intelligence Chief Forecasts "Unsettled" Politics In Iran, Agence France Presse, February 3

WASHINGTON - The political situation in Iran will remain "unsettled" in the months leading up to the next presidential elections in mid 2001, US Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet told Congress.

"Even if the elections produce a Majles (parliament) dominated by (Mohammad) Khatami's supporters, further progress on reform will remain erratic," Tenet told a Senate committee Wednesday.

He said that Iran's spiritual guide and supreme leader, Khamenei, and "key institutions such as the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the large parastatal foundations will remain outside the authority of the Majles..."

[Mr. Tanent added that: The factional maneuvering probably means that foreign policy options will still be calculated first to prevent damage to the various leaders' domestic positions. This will inhibit politically risky departures from established policy. This means that Iran's foreign policy next year will still exhibit considerable hostility to US interests. This is most clearly demonstrated by Tehran's continued rejection of the Middle East peace...]

These factors, Tenet said, will conspire "to keep the domestic political scene unsettled." However, the CIA chief also predicted that "change in Iran is inevitable."

["A key indicator that the battle over change is heating up came last July when student protests erupted in 18 Iranian cities for several days. The coming year promises to be just as contentious as Iran elects a new Majles in February," Mr. Tanent added.]

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