What The Speech Means

by Patrick Appel

Nico does his best to figure it out, with the help of his readers:

Thoughts from reformists on Rafsanjani's speech today are very, very diverse. Some are extremely happy with his comments. Some are pleasantly surprised by the speech was (given his history of cautiousness) but wish he had gone much further. Others are disappointed, and still others believe he "sold out the people. In a video posted below, a reader notes, people are chanting "base dige dorooghgoo, Akbar Hashemi (literally: we've had enough you liar, Akbar Hashemi [Rafsanjani])." The reader notes, "It is crucial not to mistakenly identify the unusually high number of people who attended today's prayer as backers or even fond of Rafsanjani. His sermon merely presented people with an opportunity to once more voice their dissatisfaction."