Hard-line Endurance Front says Rouhani's time is up
A conservative faction is seeking to limit Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to one term.
TEHRAN, Iran — On April 24, Iranian member of parliament Ruhollah Hosseinian said he had video of an all-female party thrown by President Hassan Rouhani’s wife and threatened to publish it. Critics of Rouhani’s wife’s party said the gathering was lavish. It appears many seemed upset that there was dancing at the party.
This attack on Rouhani has been one of the stranger ones since he took office nine months ago. That he won the elections with the backing of Reformist social and political forces and the supporters of the Green Movement has caused worry and anger among radical members of parliament. The Endurance Front of the Islamic Revolution (jebhey-e paydari-ye enqelab-e eslami) and its high-ranking members, such as Hosseinian, are in the front lines of the domestic opposition against Rouhani.
That a figure with Hosseinian’s background would threaten the president this openly was cause for alarm. He was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Intelligence and Judiciary in the 1980s and 1990s. One of the reasons behind his infamous reputation as a radical is his friendship and support of Saeed Emami, who organized the “Chain Murders” of intellectuals in 1998.
Hosseinian said on April 23 in an interview with Arya News, “We fundamentally disapprove of this administration,” and, “We can see that the administration is made up of radical reformists and those who were involved in the sedition.” He said that Rouhani’s time was up and he would increase criticism of the president.
