Word: tehran
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Ibrahim Asgharzadeh now insists, all his idea. On Nov. 4, 1979, Asgharzadeh, then a radical 24-year-old engineering student, led a furious mob down Taleghani Street in Tehran, crashed through the U.S. embassy's gates and began a 444-day siege that not only humiliated America but also cemented a new Iranian political order. But these days, Asgharzadeh is a changed man. At 44, he is a yuppie-ish politician with a seat on Tehran's municipal council, and he is frequently denounced by hard-liners. He has shaved his beard and clearly prefers cracking jokes to raising...
...separate interviews, conducted in Tehran over cups of tea, plates of sugary cookies and in one case a late-night pizza to go, Asgharzadeh and top planners Mohsen Mirdammadi, today a political-science professor, and Abbas Abdi, an outspoken newspaper editor, revealed fresh insights into their moment of history. They denied, to start with, that Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini had put them up to it. "The idea came to me while I was studying," Asgharzadeh recalled, joking. "I didn't mind getting away from the books...
...barred, a solid number will survive the vetting process and get elected. Some analysts are predicting that the regime's heavy-handed tactics could wind up mobilizing the sort of strong voter turnout that propelled Khatami to his unexpected victory in 1997. "There could be a backlash," says Tehran University professor Nasser Hadian. "The conservatives are making Khatami and his supporters look like underdogs...
...street demonstrations, Khatami dutifully fell in line and condemned any attempt to break the law and create social upheaval. In fact, five days earlier, it was Khameini who had been forced to condemn some of his most ardent supporters, who had mounted a bloody raid on protesters at a Tehran University dormitory. Both sides, then, recognize the need to maintain a balance. And despite the disappointment of many democracy-minded students over Khatami?s condemnation, he and the students continue to share the same goals. "Iran?s students are not trying to overthrow Khatami?s government," says Dowell. "They...
...same time, however, the conservatives recognize the importance of transforming Iran?s image in the international community. In a sermon at Tehran University on Friday, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani praised Iranians who had rallied behind the leadership during the street protests, but noted that the episode and had damaged Iran and called for stability. "[Instability] can be very damaging economically," he warned. "Foreign and domestic investment could decrease and Iran?s risk factor could rise." The very fact of a doyen of Iran?s Islamic revolution expressing concern over the country?s AAA rating signals a profound shift...