Talk of referendum on Trump meeting goes viral in Iran

Al-Montior – “Iran is not your private property. Put talks with the US to a referendum!”

That’s what a hand-held sign says in a photograph that went viral after President Hassan Rouhani touched on Article 59 of the constitution, which allows referendums on deeply divisive issues, in an Aug. 6 televised interview.

The photo was taken outside the French Confectionary, a popular downtown Tehran cafe whose name recognition probably derives less from the cookies it offers than from individual women having chosen it as the site for their symbolic protests against hijab, the mandatory Islamic dress code. Several women have been arrested in the last few years after pictures of them taken outside the cafe without head scarves went viral.

One Twitter user who posted an image of the sign tweeted, “This is how a [Tehran] resident responded to the idea of holding referendums over issues that spark divide among the ruling elite. PS: It seems that outside this cafe is becoming the venue to express opinions over red lines.”

Of course, reactions to the sign have not all been positive. “Well, now that you bothered taking that photo and writing that text, you should have requested a referendum on the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic itself,” one person tweeted.

A more cynical tweeter wrote, “Talks between Iran and the United States are already going on behind the scenes. So, it’s likely that the guy in the photo is a Reformist trying to keep the middle class busy for some time with an issue that is of no significance or concrete effect.”

Although newspapers have largely ignored the photo, probably because of its overtly critical content, some outlets have focused on the general issue of referendums. The Reformist daily Ghanoon published an interview with the moderate cleric Ayatollah Mohsen Gheravian.

“The main purpose behind Mr. Rouhani raising the referendum idea is whether negotiations should be held with Trump,” Gheravian said. “The senior clerical community has yet to react to this. … I believe what the president meant is that restrictions on people’s opinions should be lifted … because there is a small group … who disregard people’s rights in the name of Islam.”

Gheravian expressed confidence, however, that no referendum will be held on such controversial issues as the very essence of the system of government or the principle of the guardianship of the jurist, or velayat-e faqih, the basis for the supreme leader’s position of ultimate authority. Asked why no referendums have yet been held, Gheravian said that in major disputes, the supreme leader has always been the final arbiter.

Hamdeli, another Reformist daily, covered a state TV interview with Ahamd Mazeni, a member of parliament’s pro-Reform Hope faction. Mazeni praised Rouhani for bringing up referendums as a way to settle internal disputes.

“I support the idea,” Mazeni said. “When it comes to differences that aren’t easily resolved, putting the matter to a public vote is a necessity.” He did not, however, mention holding a referendum over talks with the Trump administration.

The economic hardships being felt by average Iranians and the reimposition of US sanctions against Iran after Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal have led to debates over whether Iran should respond positively to a comment by Trump, made during a press conference, that he would hold talks with Rouhani without preconditions.

Rouhani, during his interview, sounded hopeful that budding partnerships with Europe, Russia and China could compensate for the US sanctions. Foreign sanctions pressure is only one item with which Rouhani has to contend at the moment.

On the domestic front is the headache stemming from the impeachment of Labor Minister Ali Rabiee on a no-confidence vote of 129-114 by parliament Aug. 8. “Labor Minister Jobless,” the semi-official Fars News Agency trumpeted. The agency is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Thus, Rouhani’s battle on multiple fronts continues.