The question that is often raised these days has to do with how US-Iranian relations and political confrontation will evolve after the expected US surgical strike against Syria. The coming to power of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and the new pragmatic, moderate team he put together, mainly with the appointment of Javad Zarif as foreign minister, indicate a willingness for change in Iran. Some would like to argue that his lectionaries were facilitated by the supreme guide himself, who could have obstructed the success of Rouhani, if he so wanted.
Thus, his election, according to this reading, was a message of openness to change on the part of the supreme guide — a policy that aims to end the rigid, highly ideological and confrontational policies of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which could not have been possible without at least the tacit approval of the supreme guide. The other interpretation of Rouhani’s success considers that it was a normal reaction to the confrontational policies of his predecessor. They were policies, which caused a lot of problems for Iran, mainly in the economic field, due to the sanctions that were applied.
