Iran's political situation

I have been able to keep in contact with a few Iranians in Ahvaz and Tehran during the current political situation in Iran.From what I have gathered there is resentment against Ahmadinejad's antics which has been viewed as intensely embarrassing for Iran's image.However I think it would be wrong to think that they would be overly pro-West, if Mousavi got into power but they might be more receptive to a compromise over Iran's nuclear program.

The key players are:



Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, born in Aradan to a family of carpet painters and later studied at a university in Tehran where he became a strong supporter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his velayat-e-faqih (rule of the jurists),he is notorious for his supposed involvement in the Iran hostage crisis and supervising some of the torturers in prisons across Iran.He has risen to international fame since his victory on a wave of populist votes in 2005 and has been admired by some and loathed by others for his comments towards Israel and the West



Ali Khamenei, born in Mashad and is half Azeri, he became a cleric and rose through the ranks to eventually became a close of confident of Khomeini, this of course wasn't without its risk as was shown by the attempt on his life in 1981 by the MEK (Mujaheddin-e-Khalq),after Khomeini's death in 1989, he was able to become Supreme Leader,he has tried to balance the Conservatives and Reformists in principle but in reality he is more favourable to the Conservative cause as was shown by his continual backing of Ahmadinejad



Mohammad,Ali, and Sadeq Larijani, They belong to the most powerful family in Iran today, grew up in Qom and were very studious from a young age and have a far more cultured background than Ahmadinjad.However they are opposed to Western Secularism but despite this they weren't very radical even during the Islamic Revolution in 1979,unsurpisingly the Larjani brother have not been particular friendly with Ahmadinejad as a result but they remain strong supporters of Khamenei



Mir Hossein Mousavi, born in Khameneh and is a relative of Khamenei, he actively supported the Islamic Republic of Iran and helped to establish it,during Iran's first great crisis after the Revolution, he emerged to lead the country during the Iran-Iraq War for which he is still remembered.Despite this since Khomeini's death, he has clashed with Khamenei over numerous issues which led him to align with Khatami.He has risen to international fame since 2009, with his widely reported opposition to Khamenei and Ahmadinejad



Mohammed Khatami, born in Ardakan, he studied in Esfahan,Tehran and Qom before serving a representative in the Iranian legislature,he was able to use to run as a presidential candidate in 1997 and won the election.During his tenure as President, he pursued a more reformist approach to Iranian politics and wished to reform Iran along more democratic lines although he was opposed by hardliners in the government thus his work was unfinished when he left office in 2005.He has again reemerged as a strong supporter of his long time friend, Mir Hossein Mousavi and has become part of his "Green Path of Hope" opposition group.He is remembered for promoting a "dialogue of civilisations" in response to Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilisations"



Mehdi Karroubi, born in Aligourdaz and is an ethnic Lur, he became a cleric after taking religious studies in Qom and Tehran, After the revolution he was opposed to Rasfanjani's presidency but has continued to support the rights of all Iranian citizens and is now a supporter of Mousavi.



Hossein Ali Montazeri, born in Najafabad, he studied in Qom under Khomeini and went on to be involved in the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and was even appointed Khomeini's successor, however after Khomeini's death,his liberal views led Khamenei to be appointed Supreme Leader instead.He remained a strong opponent of Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,he disputed the 2009 election results.Montazeri passed away on 19th December 2009



Akbar Hashemi Rasfanjani, born in Nough, comes from a rural background but was able to become President in 1989 after Khomeini's death, he is a conservative but does advocate a free market economy,and a moderate position towards the West but is authoritarian domestically, however he has been be accused of corruption.After the 2009 election, his daughter did participate in the protests but was arrested like many other protesters.