Rafsanjani

Rafsanjani finally spoke. Ando f course, Iranian opposition has seen the street light again. Rafsanjani is considered the biggest support for Mousavi and, although in Friday’s speech he didn’t attack directly the elite or the government -in fact he talked more about unity- he did leave a few words for them.

He praised, for example, for the immediate freedom for the detainees, the end of the prosecutions and the acceptance of the “doubts” emerged in a part of the Iranian society after the elections. Nothing new, it is what many influential people like the Parliament speaker Ali Larijani have been asking for for weeks. Supporters of a full scale revolution will be disappointed.

But the important issue here is the own Rafsanjani. It’s been the first time HE said it. Up until now, all was about rumors: maybe he was in Qom collecting supporters, maybe he was uniting the clergy against Ahmadinejad -or Khamenei-; but all those were only rumors.

Until this Friday. In his speech, Rafsanjani charged against the bad atmosphere lived in the country, without naming out anyone specifically. He didn’t need to name anyone, however; as it was clear who was the receiver of his message. And he couldn’t charge against the system itself, because in the end, he is just another piece of the puzzle -in fact, some analysts think he is just preparing himself for the Supreme Leader chair.

His speech, however, settles that he cannot live without the system but Iranian system cannot live without him. The place where he gave his speech -the same where Ayatollah Khamenei gave his after the election-, in the University, and the fact itself of him giving the speech proves it.

But although maybe the system cannot live without Rafsanjani, the Government can. Normally, the Friday speech is live broadcasted by the state TV. Last Friday, however, none of the five channels did it.

It really didn’t matter. Rafsanjani’s public wasn’t at home in front of the TV, but in the streets. Several times he had to stop his speech because of the chants -some against the current leader, some acclaiming him as leader. His words were the sparkle that ignited again the protests in Tehran to show Ahmadinejad their detractors may be more silent but still they are.

Of course, Khamenei also still is and he warned again against the opposition to expect consequences if the demonstrations continue. But his warnings sound every day more like a desperate call to keep the chair rather than the calming words of a beloved father and leader of the country. Specially inside Iran.



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