Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Unified leadership

When the Supreme Leader and the head of the military voice support for the Iranian president, there's little room for dissent.

General Hassan Firouzabadi is, according to Wikipedia, very close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and was a supporter of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran’s top general urges media to back president

Iran’s army chief of staff has asked media outlets to support the policies of President Hassan Rowhani and to refrain from “spreading rumours” against his administration, reports said Tuesday.

Ultra-conservative media in Iran have frequently criticised Rowhani’s moderate views on talks with world powers over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, as well as other foreign and domestic policies.

“Some news is worthless and creates discord, some is rumours and baseless accusations,” General Hassan Firouzabadi was quoted as saying by Sharq newspaper on Tuesday…

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he said, had asked all political factions to support Rowhani’s administration and avoid “destructive criticism (which would) create tension in the society.”

Rowhani, a reputed moderate, has revived long-stalled nuclear negotiations with six world powers since being elected in June last year…

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