Iranian Power Politics

{
  "authors": [],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}

In The Media

Iranian Power Politics

Over the course of the past year, tensions between Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have increased.

Published on Sep 16, 2011

Source: Brian Lehrer Show

Over the course of the past year, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has increasingly fallen out of favor with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking on the Brian Lehrer Show, Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour asserted that this distance between the two men was “bound to happen.” Khamenei was essentially using Ahmadinejad as a bludgeon against his domestic opponents, Sadjadpour explained. However, Khamenei is stronger now than he has ever been and this has made Ahmadinejad dispensable. Ahmadinejad’s inability to have the two jailed American hikers released “evidences how much he has been emasculated within the Iranian domestic political context," Sadjadpour argued. He predicted that tensions between Ahmadinejad and his allies and Khamenei seem likely to continue, since Ahmadinejad seems unwilling to continue being simply Khamenei’s lieutenant.

Political Reform Middle East Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Article
Serbia Still Has a Steep Hill to Climb
After two years of mass protests, Serbia’s student-led movement has ousted Aleksandar Vučić. Now the Student List must prove it can deliver on its promises.
Dimitar Bechev
Article
Europe’s Tide of Citizen Assemblies: Unsung Success or Anticlimax?
A notable degree of participative democracy has firmly arrived in Europe. But to have more far-reaching impact, democratic deliberation needs to move into a radically new phase.
Richard Youngs
Commentary
Strategic Europe
The Uncomfortable Truth About EU Enlargement
Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.
Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen
Report
Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order
As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?
Richard Youngs, ed.
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?
When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?
Rym Momtaz, ed.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Article

Serbia Still Has a Steep Hill to Climb

After two years of mass protests, Serbia’s student-led movement has ousted Aleksandar Vučić. Now the Student List must prove it can deliver on its promises.

Dimitar Bechev

European Union EU democracy Parliament citizens assembly

Article

Europe’s Tide of Citizen Assemblies: Unsung Success or Anticlimax?

A notable degree of participative democracy has firmly arrived in Europe. But to have more far-reaching impact, democratic deliberation needs to move into a radically new phase.

Richard Youngs

Ukraine Poland Zelensky Tusk Enlargement EU

Commentary

Strategic Europe

The Uncomfortable Truth About EU Enlargement

Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.

Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen

Report

Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order

As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?

Richard Youngs, ed.

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?

When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?

Rym Momtaz, ed.