Freedom in the World 1998 - Iran

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 6.0
Civil Liberties: 6
Political Rights: 6

Ratings Change

Iran's Civil Rights rating changed from 7 to 6 because of increased tolerance of political expression and association.

Overview

Nineteen ninety-eight saw an escalation of tensions between Iran's hardline ruling establishment, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and its relatively moderate president, Mohammed Khatami. Khatami's vocal support for economic reform, rule of law, civil society, and improved foreign relations has put him at odds with hardliners who see him as a threat to Iran's theocratic state. Whenever possible, conservatives have used their legal and moral authority to undermine him and to block any efforts at reform.

In January 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the hereditary monarch whose decades-long authoritarian rule was marked by widespread corruption, fled Iran amid mounting religious and political unrest. A month later, the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to lead the formation of the world's first Islamic republic. The 1979 constitution provides for a directly-elected president and a 12-member Council of Guardians, which certifies that all bills passed by the directly-elected, 270-member majlis accord with Islamic law. The Council must approve all presidential and parliamentary candidates, and thus maintains the political dominance of a few Shi'ite Muslim clerics and their allies. Khomeini was named supreme religious leader for life and invested with control over the security and intelligence services, armed forces, and the judiciary. He was also invested with the power to dismiss the president following a legislative request or a ruling by the Supreme Court and given the final word in all areas of national and foreign policy.

Following Khomeini's death in June 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assumed the role of supreme religious leader and chief of state. That August, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric, became president after running unopposed and winning nearly 95 percent of the vote. During his first term, Rafsanjani introduced limited free-market reforms, overcoming opposition from hardliners favoring statist economic policies. Again unopposed, he won a second term in 1993. But this time, he won only 63 percent of the vote, reflecting the popular discontent with declining living standards due largely to the economic devastation resulting from the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Popular disaffection has grown in recent years because of the rising cost of living, a huge foreign debt, and 25 percent inflation. Since the revolution, per-capita income has decreased while prices of basic items such as food and fuel have soared. Furthermore, two-thirds of Iranians are under age 25, and do not identify closely with the ideals of the revolution. They are increasingly resentful of a government that restricts personal freedom while offering little in the way of education and employment opportunities.

In March 1997, the Council of Guardians selected four of 238 hopefuls for the race to succeed Rafsanjani, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the favorite of Khamenei and the majority conservatives in the majlis, was expected to claim an easy victory over Khatami, a former culture minister who was forced to resign in 1992 because he was considered too tolerant. But Khatami's liberal reputation won him the support of intellectuals, women, youths, and business groups who seek greater social openness as well as an end to state interference in the economy. Ninety percent of the electorate turned out to vote, and 70 percent voted for Khatami.

Under the constraints of a highly restrictive political system, Khatami holds very little real power. He is accountable to the conservative-dominated majlis and bound by the absolute authority of the supreme leader. Thus, in his first year and a half in office, he has been unable to implement the kind of institutional reforms reportedly favored by most Iranians. He cannot realistically challenge the religious basis of the government, and therefore cannot legislate political pluralism. In response to his efforts, his supporters have been harassed, jailed, and in some cases murdered by hardline elements. Notably, Teheran mayor and close Khatami ally Gholamhossein Karbaschi was tried and convicted in July on charges of graft. He was sentenced to five years in prison, to 60 lashes, fined $333,000, and banned from public office for 20 years.

Yet Khatami's popularity has afforded him room to maneuver politically, and he has successfully asserted his authority on a number of issues. Domestically, he won approval for his choice of Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ataollah Mohajerani, a controversial figure who has been criticized by hardliners for advocating dialogue with the U.S. Since then, restrictions on publishing, filmmaking, and the news media have been loosened. In an unusual turn of events, Karbaschi's trial was televised live. Women are taking liberties in their dress and are allowed increasingly to attend sporting events, and even to participate in recreational activities alongside men. And Iranians have turned out on a number of occasions to protest vociferously against the arrests of dissident clerics and politicians.

Khatami also achieved success with his foreign policy. When foreign minister Kamal Kharazzi declared in September that the government would not carry out the nine year-old fatwa against Salman Rushdie, Britain agreed to an exchange of ambassadors and discussed opening "a new chapter" in relations between Iran and the European Union. Khatami sparked a thaw in U.S.-Iran relations with a televised CNN interview in January and an address to the UN General Assembly in September. He expressed regret over the 1979 seizure of American hostages in Teheran and invited Americans to participate in "a dialogue of civilizations." In response, the Clinton administration defied Congress to waive sanctions against three foreign companies that invest in the Iranian oil industry. Arab-Iranian relations have improved under Khatami as well. An agreement with Saudi Arabia in May provides for cooperation in economic, scientific, and cultural affairs. And agreements with Iraq have led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war this year.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Nineteen ninety-eight saw an escalation of tensions between Iran's hardline ruling establishment, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and its relatively moderate president, Mohammed Khatami. Khatami's vocal support for economic reform, rule of law, civil society, and improved foreign relations has put him at odds with hardliners who see him as a threat to Iran's theocratic state. Whenever possible, conservatives have used their legal and moral authority to undermine him and to block any efforts at reform.

In January 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the hereditary monarch whose decades-long authoritarian rule was marked by widespread corruption, fled Iran amid mounting religious and political unrest. A month later, the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to lead the formation of the world's first Islamic republic. The 1979 constitution provides for a directly-elected president and a 12-member Council of Guardians, which certifies that all bills passed by the directly-elected, 270-member majlis accord with Islamic law. The Council must approve all presidential and parliamentary candidates, and thus maintains the political dominance of a few Shi'ite Muslim clerics and their allies. Khomeini was named supreme religious leader for life and invested with control over the security and intelligence services, armed forces, and the judiciary. He was also invested with the power to dismiss the president following a legislative request or a ruling by the Supreme Court and given the final word in all areas of national and foreign policy.

Following Khomeini's death in June 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assumed the role of supreme religious leader and chief of state. That August, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric, became president after running unopposed and winning nearly 95 percent of the vote. During his first term, Rafsanjani introduced limited free-market reforms, overcoming opposition from hardliners favoring statist economic policies. Again unopposed, he won a second term in 1993. But this time, he won only 63 percent of the vote, reflecting the popular discontent with declining living standards due largely to the economic devastation resulting from the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Popular disaffection has grown in recent years because of the rising cost of living, a huge foreign debt, and 25 percent inflation. Since the revolution, per-capita income has decreased while prices of basic items such as food and fuel have soared. Furthermore, two-thirds of Iranians are under age 25, and do not identify closely with the ideals of the revolution. They are increasingly resentful of a government that restricts personal freedom while offering little in the way of education and employment opportunities.

In March 1997, the Council of Guardians selected four of 238 hopefuls for the race to succeed Rafsanjani, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the favorite of Khamenei and the majority conservatives in the majlis, was expected to claim an easy victory over Khatami, a former culture minister who was forced to resign in 1992 because he was considered too tolerant. But Khatami's liberal reputation won him the support of intellectuals, women, youths, and business groups who seek greater social openness as well as an end to state interference in the economy. Ninety percent of the electorate turned out to vote, and 70 percent voted for Khatami.

Under the constraints of a highly restrictive political system, Khatami holds very little real power. He is accountable to the conservative-dominated majlis and bound by the absolute authority of the supreme leader. Thus, in his first year and a half in office, he has been unable to implement the kind of institutional reforms reportedly favored by most Iranians. He cannot realistically challenge the religious basis of the government, and therefore cannot legislate political pluralism. In response to his efforts, his supporters have been harassed, jailed, and in some cases murdered by hardline elements. Notably, Teheran mayor and close Khatami ally Gholamhossein Karbaschi was tried and convicted in July on charges of graft. He was sentenced to five years in prison, to 60 lashes, fined $333,000, and banned from public office for 20 years.

Yet Khatami's popularity has afforded him room to maneuver politically, and he has successfully asserted his authority on a number of issues. Domestically, he won approval for his choice of Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ataollah Mohajerani, a controversial figure who has been criticized by hardliners for advocating dialogue with the U.S. Since then, restrictions on publishing, filmmaking, and the news media have been loosened. In an unusual turn of events, Karbaschi's trial was televised live. Women are taking liberties in their dress and are allowed increasingly to attend sporting events, and even to participate in recreational activities alongside men. And Iranians have turned out on a number of occasions to protest vociferously against the arrests of dissident clerics and politicians.

Khatami also achieved success with his foreign policy. When foreign minister Kamal Kharazzi declared in September that the government would not carry out the nine year-old fatwa against Salman Rushdie, Britain agreed to an exchange of ambassadors and discussed opening "a new chapter" in relations between Iran and the European Union. Khatami sparked a thaw in U.S.-Iran relations with a televised CNN interview in January and an address to the UN General Assembly in September. He expressed regret over the 1979 seizure of American hostages in Teheran and invited Americans to participate in "a dialogue of civilizations." In response, the Clinton administration defied Congress to waive sanctions against three foreign companies that invest in the Iranian oil industry. Arab-Iranian relations have improved under Khatami as well. An agreement with Saudi Arabia in May provides for cooperation in economic, scientific, and cultural affairs. And agreements with Iraq have led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war this year.