Iranians Vote Whether To Keep Hard-Line President

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In The Media

Iranians Vote Whether To Keep Hard-Line President

A recent heated televised debate between Iran's two leading presidential candidates and accusations of corruption by President Ahmadinejad toward leading clerics, have called into question whether the incumbent still has the backing of Iran's conservative political establishment.

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Jun 12, 2009

Source: NPR's Morning Edition

As Iranians head to the polls, it is unclear whether incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will retain leadership in Tehran. The conservative president faces a tough race against his main challenger, former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi. Key events in the last week, including a heated televised debate between the two candidates and accusations of corruption by Ahmadinejad toward leading clerics, have called into question whether the incumbent still has the backing of Iran's conservative political establishment.

As Karim Sadjadpour explains, "The Surpeme Leader has really associated himself with Ahamadinejad, but in the last weeks, especially the last week, Ahmadinejad has really alienated some of the elders of the revolution. It's going to be much more difficult for [Supreme Leader] Khamenei's support to make a huge difference this time around."

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Recent Work

Q&A
What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now
- Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Q&A
How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps
- Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Political Reform Foreign Policy North America United States 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.

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