Bloomberg View, 20150826
Dr. Amin Tarzi was quoted by Eli Lake in "Iran's Moderates Used Nuclear Deal to Save the Revolution"
"Amin Tarzi, the director of Middle East studies at the Marine Corps University, told me there is political tension between Rouhani's supporters and the leaders of Iran's revolutionary guard corps, the organization responsible for supporting groups like Hezbollah. He said Iranian elites like Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, "are trying to show we have long hands elsewhere and we can determine some things in the region.
All of this is important for the internal politics of Iran because different factions are now competing not only for the ear of Iran's supreme leader, but also control of the contracts and ventures that will flood into Iran from new investment after sanctions begin to ease.
But this competition between Iran's elites is not, according to Tarzi, a struggle between reform and revolution. "Rouhani is a patient thinker. And this makes him more dangerous. He sends Rosh Hashanah Twitter messages to Jews, but he has a more long-term and a determined outlook," he told me."
To read the full story, click here:
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-26/iran-s-moderates-used-n...