| Path to democracy is not easy, specially in an oil-rich country like Iran. We've had our moments that we were getting close. Now those moments are quite fragile. Every single time the U.S. has kicked us in the nuts in those moments. Examples are this very same moment, where the economic sanctions and the reformists finally convinced the hardliners to talk to the U.S. Supreme Leader finally gave it a thumbs up. And he raised his concerns back then that the U.S. cannot be trusted but if that's what people want it's OK to do it. He was right. The U.S. could not be trusted. Now reformists have lost all credibility. In 2 years we have another election and for sure a batshit crazy like Ahmadinejad is going to be elected. Same happened around 9/11. We had a really strong reformist movement and government. Then, out of nowhere, president Bush named Iran a part of "axis of evil". That gave the hardliners enough of a reason to push back against major reforms. Jack Straw (British foreign minister of the time) has good notes on this if you're more interested. 1953's coup was another moment like that. Actually that's probably the closest we've ever been. Now, if Iran is moving towards democracy, and at the most important moments, you kick it in the nuts, you "are" part of the problem. |