For Iranian reformists, the twin parliament and Assembly of Experts elections on February 26 were also a chance to blow new life to their presence in the power circle of the Islamic Republic which they lost after their rejection of the results of the 2009 presidential elections, leading to street riots and months of chaos in the capital city of Tehran.

Almost six years after those days, Reformists are cheering the election gains and are ecstatic about their unexpected wins in the ballot boxes and sweeping Principalists off parliament seats in the Tehran constituency.

However, the results in the other cities are different and both Principalists and Reformists have enough seats to be influential in the next parliament and the Assembly of Experts, but the fact that almost all of the Principalists’ prominent figures in Tehran failed to find their way into the Parliament (and in case of the Assembly of Experts, only Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati was elected ranking 16th out of the 16 seats reserved for the Tehran constituency) is a major blow to them which had the upper hand over the course of the past decade.

Though Reformists’ gain in the elections is also a result of their coalition with government supporters, known as the Moderates, as well as some moderate Principalist figures such as Ali Motahhari which led them to support coalition lists for the twin elections, the fact that Reformists could gain such a major support from the people is an undeniable reality for the political power sphere of the Islamic Republic and on the other hand this victory poses, at the same time, an opportunity and a threat for the winning Reformists.

Will Reformists seize the opportunity?

After 2009’s post-election disputes and street riots, many Reformist leaders were arrested and many of their aides who spurred the public into street riots had to flee the country; subsequently, the leadership in Iran lost its faith in the movement and to loyalty of prominent Reformist leaders. This lack of confidence in the Reformist movement and absence of its leaders and forces beside consecutive defeats in the national and local elections pushed reformist figures out of the political scene, minimizing their role.

After Hassan Rouhani won the 2013 presidential election, he tried to pave the way for the return of Reformists to the country’s political circle, while, he himself is not a Reformist and even was a serious critic of them while he served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

The full participation of the reformists in the recent elections (even Reformists’ leaders under house arrest invited their supporters to participate in the elections) and then the results of the recent twin elections and especially the landslide victory of the Reformists in Tehran showed that the movement is coming back into the political sphere of the country and will revive its status as a legitimate game-changer.

Now, it’s about time for Reformist leaders to engage in direct talks with the political leadership of the system and to iron out misunderstandings and address the existing issues with them. Overestimating their reemerging power and making the same mistake of playing the role of staunch opponents of the Islamic Republic can lead them to a process which will not have better results than they gain in recent years. But a negotiated resolution not only will recreate the confidence and trust of the Islamic Republic to them but will secure their return to highest levels of the power in the country.

Dangers of a victory

If one was to study the voting pattern of the Iranians in last three decades, they would see Iranians mostly (if not always) make pragmatist decisions and never support a particular group because of their theoretical aims and promising rhetoric. Iranians evaluate the records of an official and after providing them enough time, they would decide to whether continue their support or terminate it. Unexpected victories of the Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami in 1997 and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 presidential elections are good examples of how different choices Iranian people can make due to their experience of the incumbent officials.

For this reason, Rouhani’s government- which turned to be a facilitator for the return of Reformism – will have a critical time for the rest of its tenure. Now the Parliament is also in line with the government and in case the government fails in fulfilling its promises, Principalists cannot be blamed as being the trouble makers! While people are hoping for a better economic situation after giving Rouhani more than two years to reach a nuclear deal, possible excessive concentration of Reformists on their political causes may undermine their ability to make significant and tangible changes in the life of ordinary people and so lose their votes in future Presidential elections, after less than two years.

In the words of the senior reformist leader Mohammadreza Aref during his campaign for the 2013 Presidential election, each time both government and the parliament was controlled by one party the outcome was not satisfactory.

Another threat to the Reformists is their inability in understanding the ordinary and the lower-classes especially in the small cities. They are the sources that provided Ahmadinejad with enough vote to win two Presidential elections against the robust rivals from the Reformist and Conservative circles. Today’s threat to Reformism is to make their usual mistake of confusing Tehran and large cities’ political tendency with national sentiments and ignoring lower- classes and ordinary people for who politics is not a priority.

Next presidential elections will be the scene of a critical completion between the Moderates/ Reformists who were controlling two important sources of power for at least two years and the Principalists who were out of power for the same period. I believe it will be the incumbent government’s economic record that will determine the next winner.

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“The consequences of Morsi being overthrown is against the Islamists and all Egyptian revolutionaries,” said the Chairman of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi in an interview with the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Boroujerdi believes that Morsi should have made a wide change in the system and removed the officials from Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

“The first mistake of the Muslim Brotherhood was that they only removed a few of ex-regime’s senior officials and they didn’t make any change to the body of Egypt’s Security, Military and Intelligence organizations,” he said.

“One of the problems with Mubarak was that he continued following US politics and Egyptians had expected an independent government to come to power. But Morsi didn’t make any significant change in such politics and he continued Mubarak’s stance towards Israel and Iran,” Boroujerdi said.

Iran nevertheless still favored leaving Morsi in charge and to allow him to reconcile with the opposition.

Iran on Tuesday had called on the Egyptian military to support national reconciliation and respect the “vote of the people” after it warned it was ready to intervene in Egypt’s political crisis.

“Mohamed Morsi is the incumbent president based on the people’s vote,” Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told the official IRNA news agency.

“It is expected the armed forces of Egypt that they play their role in supporting national reconciliation and respect the vote of the people.”

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Later that day, Iran Air Flight 655 departed Bandar Abbas Airport for Dubai at 5:10 pm with 290 people on board: 156 men, 53 women, 57 children aged 2 to 12, and 8 babies aged 2 or less. In addition to Iranians, there were also passengers from India, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates.

The American warship USS Vincennes had departed San Diego on April 25, 1988, and was in Iranian waters. As the Iranian airliner was climbing to 14,000 feet, the USS Vincennes, under the command of Captain William Rogers, fired two surface-to-air missiles at the airliner. The airliner disappeared from radar, and smoke and fire appeared in the sky. The control tower at Bandar Abbas Airport asked Dubai Airport about the flight, but they said they had no information.

Immediately after the event, American officials claimed they had shot down an Iranian F-14 fighter jet. Later, they claimed the airliner had been flying out of its assigned civilian air corridor and that they had sent seven warning radio messages to the plane but received no answer.

Four years later, the New York Times published an article that revealed that the American warship had been in Iranian waters, not international waters, at the time of the incident. This revelation led to accusations that the Pentagon had covered up the incident.

“For no clear reason, the Vincennes approached Iranian waters, equipped with advanced artillery and long-range missiles,” said Admiral William Crowe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Reagan. “This shows that the warship was prepared for a bad action.”

The Iranian airliner, an Airbus A300B2-203, was very different from an F-14 fighter jet in terms of dimensions, shape, size, and flying capabilities. Moreover, the American warship could easily have listened to the pilot’s conversations and understood that it was a passenger flight.

Despite the claims, the Vincennes’ warnings did not reach the airliner, nor were they received by any other civilian source.

Iran expressed its complaint over the shooting down to the international community.

Iran’s View arranged an interview with Vahid Ahmadi, who was then an MP, to get more information about the issue. He was also an advisor to the Foreign Minister and is now a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the parliament.

Mr. Ahmadi believes that the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane was related to the conditions of the Iran–Iraq War. “Iran had the upper hand at that time, and Saddam was under a lot of pressure,” he said. “Therefore, the US wanted to open another front against Iran and help Saddam.”

“The United States intended to distract Iran from the Iraqi war front and warn Iran that America might militarily enter the war,” Mr. Ahmadi added. He called the reasons given by the Americans a “lie” and a “justification” and insisted that there is evidence that shows it was a planned and intentional action. He called the event a “black page” in the history of the United States, and said that it alone invalidates all of their claims to human rights.

He also referred to the ineffective statement issued by the United Nations Security Council and the verdict by the International Court of Justice, which only sentenced the United States to pay $95 million in compensation.

“Iran is still pursuing the case, and we expect the new president to put it on his agenda until the military leaders on the warship are sentenced and the United States officially apologizes to the Iranian people,” Mr. Ahmadi said.

See Related Photo Gallery.

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Protests in Istanbul, Turkey rage on after police reacted violently to an occupation Gezi Park, located in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, initially because of government plans to develop a shopping mall over the park.

Violent crackdown of protesters transformed the protest into massive anti-government demonstrations around the country.

After the protests became world news, Western media got it wrong by characterizing the uproar as a revolt against Islamic influence in Turkish politics or simply an environmental protest.

But to be more accurate, these protests should be seen as a chain of demands of people from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government over recent years.

More than 1,700 people have been arrested and dozens are injured or dead. The anti-government demonstrations have flared up in 67 cities as well as important cities of Izmir, Ankara, Antalya and Konya.

These demonstrations had a negative influence on turkey’s economy leading to a fall in its stock exchange market and decrease in its tourism industry.

Iran has a great influence in its neighbor, Turkey. However Sayed Abbad Araghchi the spokesperson of Iran’s Foreign Ministry strictly denies any interventions in Turkey and described it as an internal issue of the country.

“The protests in Turkey are a domestic issue and Iran will never intervene there,” said Mansour Haghighat-Poor, The deputy of National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Majlis in an exclusive interview with Iran’sView.

He, however, invited the turkey to “peacefully dealing with the protesters and avoiding violence”, and emphasized “the need to respect the demands of the protesters.”

“These protests somehow roots in Turkey’s Foreign Policy. Iran had previously warned the Prime Minister Erdogan about opening borders to terrorists and helping subversion of Syrian legal government which will leads to the Turkish dissatisfaction and finally protests, besides ending in chaos in the region,” he said.

Haghighat-Poor suggested to Erdogan “try to solve the domestic issues and welfare problems” by ending “support for the Syrian armed opposition”.

“If the Turkish government doesn’t correct its mistakes and instead continues in its current policies, more opposition will emerge and Turkey will follow the pattern that Syria has,” he warned.

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In an interview with Lebanese satellite channel Al Mayadeen, Chairman of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi confirmed Doha’s role in having dispatched the suspected terrorists to the Islamic Republic.

On June 2, Iranian Intelligence Ministry said it had uncovered a Mossad-trained network of terrorists with links to the spy agency of “one of the most dependent and reactionary Arab countries in the region, whose dependence on the Israeli regime has become more obvious in recent years,” plotting to sabotage Iran’s upcoming presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on June 14.

“The destructive role of Qatar in the region is clear. We warn Qatar against continuing to play such a role,” Boroujerdi stated.

“We will not compromise with anyone when it comes to our national security. We did not compromise with Britain or the United States, let alone a country like Qatar…,” the lawmaker stressed.

On Tuesday, Iran Foreign Ministry summoned Qatar chargé d’affaires in Tehran to relay the Islamic Republic’s strong objection to his country’s authorities over the dismantled spy cell.

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In response to reports of Russia’s supply of the sophisticated s-300 anti aircraft missiles to Syria IransView asked an Iranian MP his opinions.

Mehdi Sanaei, a member of the Iranian Majlis’ National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and the Chairman of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group said in an interview with Iran’sView: “Russia has employed a more clear and determined foreign policy in the Middle East due to several reasons including the reelection of president Putin, also the enduring American intervention in different countries especially in the Middle East and because of the Libyan scenario.”

According to Sanaei, the U.S. and its allies passed a resolution in the UN [on Libya] but they “operated as they wanted” and denied Russia’s concerns.

He recalled “having the authority to impose a No Fly Zone in Libya, and the violation of international laws by the U.S. in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, the misusing of the resolution of the U.N. Security Council and the loss of Russia’s interests in Iraq, Libya and now the most important and the most recent one; Syria” as the reasons for Russia’s full political and military support for Damascus.

Sanaei believes that evidence shows Russia is serious in defending against any military intervention in Syria and emphasizes the political solutions based on the Geneva agreement.

On the possibility of Iran’s direct intervention in Syria he said: “Iran, Hezbollah and the so-called “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East consider Syria as a front for their resistance and they will never compromise on that.”

“Iran doesn’t think direct intervention in Syria is necessary but it supports this country and provides advice and suggestions to the Syrian government”, said the Iranian MP.

“Iran’s and Hezbollah’s support has definitely led to more Russian support and changed the game,” he said.

Recently, contradictory leaks are revealed about the technologically advanced Russian S-300 Missiles transferred to Syria and even some pro-Syria media claimed that soon these missiles are operated in Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry reacted to the news and said the sale of S-300 air defense systems by Russia to Syria would be “destabilizing” for the region.

The British weekly Sunday Times quoted an unnamed Russian official as saying Israel has managed to convince Moscow that if the missiles will fall into the wrong hands, they can be used to attack civilian aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that the air defense system was a “stabilizing factor” that could dissuade “some hotheads” from entering the unrest in Syria.

“We consider these supplies a stabilizing factor and believe such steps will deter some hotheads from considering scenarios that would turn the conflict international with the involvement of outside forces,” Ryabkov said.

He added that Moscow would go ahead with the decision since the contract for the delivery of the system had been signed several years ago.

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The statement of Kadkhodaei could be a warning for the 78 year old two-term former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani whom his old age has been the target of criticism by his rivals and authorities.

“Hashemi Rafsanjani does not have energy to run the country,” said Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel a member of the Coalition of 2+1 and a former speaker of Iran’s Majlis.

“If I were Hashemi’s age, I would not run for president,” he said.

“Usually people with old age have their jobs done by people around them. In the case of Mr. Hashemi this is not possible because they have spent some time abroad and cannot be trusted,” said Mohammad Dehqan a member of Majlis Board of Directors.

Kadkhodaei reiterating the Guardian Council “has not any fear to disqualify outlaws” said on Sunday in an interview with Iran’s Arabic-language news Channel, Alalam : “If a candidate is able to work only several hours each day, cannot be qualified.”

“If a candidate’s belief to the principals of the Islamic Republic is undermined by his past activities, he should not expect the Guardian Council to approve him,” he said.

All Principalists would go behind of Saeed Jalili

Presidential candidate and 2+1 Coalition member Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said “If Saeed Jalili can create an atmosphere like what Ahmadinejad created in 2005, We all should go behind him.”

Speaking to the campaigners of the coalition he also expressed his worry that the upcoming presidential election would bring conflict to the country.

Three Iranian presidential hopefuls have dropped their bid for the June 14 presidential election.

Former Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast issued a statement on Sunday saying he is no longer in the presidential race.

Davoud Ahmadinejad, the elder brother of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also withdraw in favor of the a Principalist candidate and the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili.

Mohammad Hassan Bautorabi-Fard, MP and the Candidate of the Coalition of Five issued a statement today saying he withdraw from the election race.

Some political analysis believe that the quitted candidates were informed of their disqualification in the Guardian Council, so they preferred to quit the race before the council announce the list of denied candidates.

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Iran Will Foil Enemy Plots: Minister of Intelligence

Iran’s Minister of Intelligence said on Wednesday that “[Iran enemies] have plans about Iran upcoming presidential election but we will foil enemy plots.”

“All [in the Intelligence Ministry] are prepared to counter enemy’s plans [to sabotage iran election],” he said stressing that “most of the plans are in media.”

Two Battalions of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards hold a drill on Tuesday to practice tactics of street riots.

100 MPs Urged Rejection of Hashemi Rafsanjani

100 MPs signed a plea, asking Iran’s Guardian Council to reject Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani candidacy; citing him indirectly supporting the “sedition leaders” during 2009 post-election unrests.

Ahmadinejad: Let Everyone Take Part in the Election

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talking to journalists asked the Guardian Council to “let the different political orientation to take part in the election and people would cast their votes.”

Ahmadinejad is supporting his controversial adviser, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in the upcoming presidential election. Mashaei’s chance of being disqualified by the Guardian Council is very high due to his non-Islamic remarks.

Only 7-8 Candidate Will Be Permitted: Member of the Guardian Council

Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a member of the Guardian Council said today that only “7 or 8 presidential candidates will be approved.”

“Most of the candidates will be disqualified because they lack enough management experience,” he said during his class on religion.

686 candidates registered in Iranian presidential election.

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