Anti-American murals have long been part of the urban landscape in Iran, and include images of the Statue of Liberty transformed into a creepy skeleton and bombs raining down from the Stars and Stripes. The storming of the U.S. Embassy is marked every year with protests outside the compound’s brick walls. Now, however, the images reflect internal divisions in Iran and suggest more intrigue ahead. Rouhani’s groundbreaking overtures to the U.S. appear to have the backing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This means that – at least for the moment – he has the ultimate political cover to try to reach a nuclear deal and perhaps find other ways to cross the 34-year diplomatic no man’s land between the countries. However, the criticism and protests by hard-line resisters, led by the Revolutionary Guard, are as much directed at Rouhani’s government as they are intended as a message for the supreme leader.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 17:37:06 +0000
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