The containment of Hassan Rouhani
Conservative opponents of the Iranian president may be threatened by Hassan Rouhani’s agenda and will intensify efforts to contain his influence.
In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani's conservative opponents face a dilemma.
On the one hand, they need Rouhani to reach a deal with the United States over the nuclear program so sanctions are removed. The damage from sanctions is too large and too serious to ignore. In fact, the Iranian regime is so worried by the impact of sanctions that Iran's media has been warned not to publish news discussing their impact because such news could “hurt the country.”
On the other hand, a deal over Iran's nuclear program would be a victory for Rouhani that could boost his popularity inside Iran and provide him with more leverage. His conservative opponents do not want this.
Conservatives witnessed how Rouhani was backed in the 2013 presidential elections by Hashemi Rafsanjani. If Rouhani gets a boost, then so will his ally, Rafsanjani. This could create all sorts of undesirable scenarios for the conservatives.
