Obama Has 'Accentuated Iran's Internal Rifts'

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In The Media

Obama Has 'Accentuated Iran's Internal Rifts'

Whereas the Bush administration united Iran's disparate political factions against a commmon threat, Obama's overtures have accentuated deep internal rifts amongst Iranian political elites.

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Jun 22, 2009

Source: BBC Radio 4 Today

In addition to debates that have arisen in Washington over how hard-hitting President Obama should be in response to the situation in Iran, there is also debate over whether the existence of these protests can be attributed to the election of Obama himself. Karim Sadjadpour comments, "I do think there is a real link between the election of Barack Obama and some of the fissures which we are seeing now in Tehran. The argument I would make is that whereas the Bush administration united Iran's disparate political factions against a common threat, Obama's overtures to Iran have really accentuated these deep internal rifts amongst Iranian political elites. Between a small minority faction that wants to continue this "death to America" culture of 1979 and the vast majority of the Iranian population, but I would also argue the vast majority of the Iranian political elite."

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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