The End of the Honeymoon Between the Guards and “Moderation?”

After president Hassan Rouhani publicly criticized the threatening language of some military commanders and the intensification of the tensions between the Revolutionary Guards and the Rouhani’s administration, a number of senior members of the force have launched yet a new round of criticism against the president and his supporters accusing them of destroying the “revolutionary spirit” in the Islamic republic through their “moderation” rhetoric.

In this light, in a piece published in Javan newspaper affiliated to the Guards, the advisor to the representative of the country’s supreme leader in the Guards wrote, “Many indicators and evidence show that the powerful and wealthy are striving to rid society of its revolutionary spirit and enthusiasm as a way to solidify their position and to accomplish this goal have embarked on the path of accusing the pure revolutionary forces of being extremist.”

In this article, general Yadollah Javani writes, “We must be vigilant and watchful so that the rhetoric of moderation is not used to equate revolutionary with extremism. Moderation is a good concept in its general form and people welcome this definition. But we must be careful so that this concept does not end up where the term ‘reforms’ did.”

Javani was the head of the political bureau of the Revolutionary Guards and so his words carry special weight. “Reforms are a Quranic and religious concept but we saw how the flag-bearer of this movement turned it into relegating ayatollah Khomeini to history books, distancing (people) from clerical rule, rapprochement with America, acceptance of Western notions of human rights, etc. Now we must be watchful of those who proclaim the notion of moderation and understand what they mean by it,” he continued.

“Forces loyal to the revolution and those that are purely revolutionaries are presented to be at odds with moderation and to be extremists. This is not a good sign and cause for concern. It is interesting that to justify any accusations against revolutionaries they say that people voted for moderation. This is the same rhetoric that was used yesterday when they argued that people voted for reforms,” he wrote.

The article goes further to clarify his views. “The path of the revolution is to confront America and American Islam. We must be watchful so that through the concept of moderation battling criminal America and Zionism are presented to be extremisms.” He then writes that, “This will certainly not happen because people are aware and will dismantle this spectacle as well.”

Moderation has been Hassan Rouhani’s central theme during and after his 2013 presidential elections. He was even been the head of the “Moderation and Development” party since1999.

The Guards have been in conflict with Rouhani’s worldview. Even before he was elected president they criticized his achievements in the 90s and the agreement that he reached with the international community over the suspension of uranium enrichment. But since his election, these differences have become even more poignant.

After some news agency published reports that Rouhani’s administration and the country’s national security council were against the Guards’ frequent missile exercises, Rouhani clarified his views last Saturday. “We should not talk in a manner that makes others feel threatened. Threats are not limited to missile tests. Military exercises are a necessity. But there are times when we do not intend to threaten others but we make remarks that make them feel threatened. The firing of a single bullet can destroy everything. So it is important how we posture ourselves,” he said.

He reiterated that Iran’s foreign policy was based on “reduction of tension and confidence building with the world.”  “This is not a tactic. We do not want to have tension with others and are after building trust, particularly with our neighbors. The world must of course know that our red lines are our independence, dignity, respect, national interest and our values. We will not negotiate over these. We are ready for friendship with the world but will not negate our red lines.”

Two days later, Sadegh publication, the weekly magazine of the Revolutionary Guards responded to this. While accepting Rouhani’s logic it said that currently the country was in tension with the US and that US officials at times used the language of threat. Then it asked the question: “How should the aggressiveness of world dominators (a term Iranian officials use for the United States) be dealt with?”

The article in this magazine that is published under the supervision of Iran’s top leader ended with defending the threatening language of the military commanders even as international talks over Iran’s nuclear program were in progress and accused Rouhani’s administration of being passive. It argued that the threats by the commanders were a deterrent for an attack against Iran.