The Iranian “reform” movement is today a shell of its former self. When Mohammad Khatami took office in 1997, assigning ministers who believed in structural political and cultural reforms, the Reformist movement was launched to what looked like a promising start. A short number of years later, however, mass closures of newspapers, the threat of violence from “rogue elements” and mass disqualification of Reformist politicians in parliament struck a heavy blow to the ideas advocated by Reformists.

Today, while Khatami is still a highly popular politician whose support can help swing an election, and Reformist newspapers continue to occupy a significant role in Iranian media, many important Reformist politicians have been all but sidelined from Iranian politics. Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, a seasoned diplomat and former ambassador to the United Nations and France, has sought to change that with a political faction, called Neda, launched last year within the Reformist camp.

Neda, whose name is the Persian acronym for “Nasl-e Dovom Eslahat” (the Second Generation of Reforms), ruffled feathers from the beginning. Many Reformist figures felt a new faction was redundant. When asked about Neda, Khatami diplomatically welcomed “pluralism” in working for reforms, but added that his priority was "reactivating the already existing groups.”

Kharazi has not shied away from controversy, either. On his Facebook page, he posted a selfie with Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, writing a fond note for the general. Kharazi most recently has drawn attention with comments to Mosalas magazine in which he said, “I remember people who, when I was an ambassador, would negotiate with the Americans and would send messages to the enemy; I do not accept them as Reformists. I have the list [of names], too, and if needed, one day I will present it to the people.”