Iranian President Hassan Rowhani’s election was seen in the U.S. media and by the Obama administration as a moderate choice, but Rowhani’s administration is littered with men who have a history of making radical statements, according to aWall Street Journal article.
Hassan Rowhani’s inauguration as Iran’s president has renewed the Obama administration’s dreams of rapprochement with Tehran. In a Sunday statement, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney expressed hope that “the new Iranian government will heed the will of the voters by making choices that will lead to a better life for the Iranian people.” Should the Islamic Republic choose to engage, Mr. Carney added, “it will find a willing partner in the United States.”
Mr. Rowhani has already been “making choices” that the U.S. might want to take into account before becoming a “willing partner” in dealing with the regime. Consider the Iranian president’s new cabinet, announced on Sunday. His picks were generally hailed in the American media as “reform minded or moderate technocrats” (NBC), as “more moderate” (New York Times ), or as bearers of “an olive branch to the U.S.” (New Republic).
For example, Rowhani’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has in the past said Iran would not back down against the “arrogance” of the United States and its allies. Additionally, he said in October on Iranian state-run television, “The Americans can’t even take on the pupils of our revolution, namely Hezbollah and Hamas. How dare they even consider a plot against our nation when twice they’ve been defeated by our pupils?”
Iran’s Minister of Justice Mostafa Pourmohammadi said at a February event, “With our actions and our resistance, we have cornered the arrogance. We have severely frightened and confused the arrogance.”
Head of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Mohammed Javad Zarif has been a defender of Tehran’s campaign against Israel and of Iran’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Washington free Beacon
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