A pitched political battle is raging in Iran over control of economic policy. Radical-conservative elements in the Iranian parliament are seeking to preserve the state's dominant role in the economy. They are opposed by prominent Iranian politician, Aliakbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Political analysts in Tehran say Rafsanjani wants to use the political dispute as a stepping stone to the presidency in 2005.
Rafsanjani is a pragmatist among Iranian conservatives and is one of giants of the Islamic republican era, having served as parliament speaker from 1980-89 and president from 1989-97. He has maintained a low political profile in recent years. However, Rafsanjani has continued to wield immense influence, operating in the shadows as the head of the Expediency Council, one of the country's unelected political oversight bodies. Over the past two weeks, the Expediency Council has become embroiled in a bitter dispute with parliament over the privatization of state-owned assets. A hard-line faction, which has seized control of parliament's agenda, has been pushing legislation that would drastically curtail executive power and effectively retain state control over the economy. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On October 2, Rafsanjani engineered an Expediency Council decision that trumps the parliamentary effort to preserve much of Iran's current economic structure. |