Rising U.S.-Iran Tensions Influence Iranian Domestic Policy

By Steve Bynum
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during parliament’s open session on confidence vote for four new ministers, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Rouhani urged Parliament to approve four new ministers and help his government “resist” and “fight” the U.S. as it reinstates sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during parliament's open session on confidence vote for four new ministers, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Rouhani urged Parliament to approve four new ministers and help his government "resist" and "fight" the U.S. as it reinstates sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Photo
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during parliament’s open session on confidence vote for four new ministers, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Rouhani urged Parliament to approve four new ministers and help his government “resist” and “fight” the U.S. as it reinstates sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during parliament's open session on confidence vote for four new ministers, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Rouhani urged Parliament to approve four new ministers and help his government "resist" and "fight" the U.S. as it reinstates sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Photo

Rising U.S.-Iran Tensions Influence Iranian Domestic Policy

By Steve Bynum
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Following President Trump’s last-minute decision to cancel airstrikes on Iran last Thursday night, Iran’s navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi told the Tasnim news agency, “Everyone saw the downing of the unmanned drone,” according to a translation by Reuters. “I can assure you that this firm response can be repeated, and the enemy knows it.”

Discussions are already underway in the secretive process to choose the successor to Iran’s aging Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the reformist-moderate coalition in Iran’s Parliament that supports the current moderate Prime Minister, Hassan Rouhani, has not reached an agreement to cooperate in next year’s parliamentary elections. The two factions cooperated in previous elections, including those for parliament in 2016 and for president in 2017.

With us to discuss the recent tensions’ impact on Iranian politics is Ahmad Sadri. Sadri is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College. His latest book is an illustrated adaptation of the Persian classic “Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings.”