Twenty three years ago, the students of Tehran went over the walls of the U.S. Embassy, now they are in the street calling for freedom for democracy at home.
They are protesting against the death sentence imposed on the history professor Hashem Aghajari. He’s accused of questioning clerical rule in the radical Islamic nation. The campus protests are the largest political demonstrations in three years, and they have a significance beyond the imprisoned professor. This has become a political staring contest between the conservative hardliners, headed by Ayatollah Khamenei, and the elected, reform-minded President Khatami.
What’s clear is that the tension between those who want more democracy and those who don’t may well come to a head, at the very moment when the entire region is poised for the possibility of war. Iran, once again on the verge of transformation.
Guests:
Ali Banuazizi Professor of Cultural Psychology and
Codirector of the Program in Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at Boston College
John Muir, BBC Correspondent based in Iran
Guy Dinmore, Financial Times reporter based in Tehran.