Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Photo from the Sydney Morning Herald)Iran's Strongman Shows Signs Of Weakness -- Globe And Mail
Was that really hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offering an olive branch to Barack Obama this week? With the economy a mess and his predecessor vowing to humble him at the polls, the terror of Tehran suddenly seems to be changing his tune
MASHHAD, Iran — For people like Mahdi Fahandari, times have always been tough in Iran. The 33-year-old labourer has struggled to make ends meet on the $6 a day he earns. Lately, however, the situation has become dire.
"Inflation is bad and prices are always rising. It's getting hard even to buy food," he says amid the noisy gloom of the welding shop where he works — a job he fears may soon disappear. "A lot of my friends are out of work."
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My Comment: Nothing is going to change in Iran for a very long time. The clerics have veto power over all legislation and government decrees .... and they are as hard line as you can get.
The priority is to preserve their positions of power, and to preserve this they will maintain their nuclear weapons program, their military expenditures, and support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.