Wielding the Scalpel (Text and Context) (Reprint‪)‬

Rafsanjani couldn't have timed his move better. Speaking from the pulpit in Tehran University last month, addressing a congregation including two of the candidates who lost in the recent elections, Mir-Hussein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, he must have been acutely aware of the symbolism. Tehran University, where Friday prayers have been held since the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, is the top forum for sending political messages at home and abroad. It was in this place that the Iranian revolutionary regime has made its voice heard. It is a tradition that began with the crisis of the American hostages 30 years ago and continued through the Iraq-Iran war, through the Khomeini leadership, and through Ali Khamenehi's time. And Rafsanjani was always around, always a key player.