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Hossein Mohammadi

Mohsen Armin is a prominent reformer and former member of the Iranian parliament. He ‎is an original co-founder of the Sazemane Mojahedin Engelab Eslami (the Islamic ‎Revolution Mojahedin group which is now considered a reformist group). In a candid ‎interview with Rooz, he spoke of his views on the upcoming June 2009 presidential ‎elections. Here are the excerpts.‎

Rooz (R): Will reformists come to an agreement about a single presidential candidate for ‎the upcoming presidential race to be held in June 2009?‎

Mohsen Armin (MA): Reformists are a politically divergent group and have different ‎views on issues. So it is really not realistic to expect them to come go an agreement over ‎a presidential candidate without going through the necessary process regarding something ‎as important as the presidential race. So in talks with our friends (i.e. other reformists) we ‎have reached an agreement under which different groups would present their candidates ‎and then filtering them to a single final candidate will take place through a democratic ‎process.‎

R: Some say that reformers cannot come up with a single candidate?‎

MA: If normal conditions take their course, there is no such concern among reformists. ‎As reformist group that supports former president Khatami, I can say that if Mr. Khatami ‎accepts to run in the race, then I am almost absolutely certain that there will be no ‎problems at all.‎

R: What if he does not run?‎

MA: Then reformist groups will not be in a satisfactory position. Our assessment shows ‎that in this unequal battleground, the only person who through his participation can ‎change the status quo in favor of reformists is Mr. Khatami.‎

R: But Mr. Khatami has already demonstrated his record in the past?‎

MA: While we believe that Mr. Khatami’s participation in the presidential race, and his ‎victory, will naturally result in some resistance to the implementation of the demands of ‎the reformists, I believe that the most important issue before the next elections is how to ‎rid ourselves of this inept administration.‎

R: Don’t you think conditions today are very different from the past and that the situation ‎is even more difficult for reformers?‎

MA: I think with Mr. Khatami’s victory conditions will be different from those in the ‎past. It is true that there are now more obstacles and that opponents of reformers inside ‎the regime have gained a stronger position, but at the same time some new areas have ‎also opened up for reformers.‎

R: Like what?‎

MA: During the last four years, some of the areas that were taboos and untouchable as ‎defined by the ruling anti-reformers, and any engagement by reformists in those domains ‎led to a strong reaction, have now disappeared. For example, in the past whenever we ‎talked of negotiations with the US, Tehran’s prosecutor would issue a statement and ‎threatened to deal with us. But now talks with the US are no longer a taboo subject and it ‎is very difficult for hardliners to push the issue back into a taboo. There are many similar ‎subjects which fortunately are not viewed as sensitive any longer. ‎

R: Do you think Mr. Khatami will become a presidential candidate”‎

MA: Our assessment is that if such a request is made by political groups, the elite, the ‎public, etc – which I think is actually growing as we approach the election day – we can ‎convince him to run.‎

R: What if Mr. Khatami decides not to run, for whatever reason?‎

MA: If Mr. Khatami finds an obstacle – such as being disqualified, which is very ‎unlikely, it would mean that the regime is determined not to allow reformers to win the ‎elections. Under those conditions there is no need to participate in the elections at all.‎