Iranian reformists
The Reformists are an Islamic liberal political faction in Iran. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005—the length of President Mohammad Khatami's two terms in office. The Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front is the main umbrella organization and coalition within the movement; however, there are reformist groups not aligned with the council, such as the Reformists Front. Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist, was elected president following the 2024 Iranian presidential election, and was subsequently confirmed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 July.
Background
Organizations
The 2nd of Khordad Movement usually refers not only to the coalition of 18 groups and political parties of the reforms front but to anyone else who was a supporter of the 1997 reform programs of Khatami.The reforms front consists of several political parties, some of the most famous including the following:
- Islamic Iran Participation Front: key figures are Mohammad Reza Khatami, Saeed Hajjarian, Alireza Alavitabar, Abbas Abdi, Mohsen Safaie-Farahani, Mohsen Aminzadeh, and Mostafa Tajzadeh. It has been described as the dominant member within the 2nd of Khordad Front, the "main reformist party", and the party most closely associated with President Khatami.
- Association of Combatant Clerics : key figures are Mohammad Khatami, Hadi Khamenei, Majid Ansari, Mohammad Tavassoli, and Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha. It has been described as the "main 'reformist' clerical body".
- Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization : key figures are Behzad Nabavi, Mohsen Armin, Mohammad Salevati, and Feyzollah Arabsorkhi. The mojahedin have been called a "key political group".
Ideas
The movement has been described as changing the key terms in public discourse: emperialism, mostazafen, jehad, mojahed, shahed, khish, enqelab and Gharbzadegi, to some modern terms and concepts like: demokrasi, moderniyat, azadi, barabari, jam'eh-e madani, hoquq-e beshar, mosharekat-e siyasi, Shahrvandi, etc.
Supporters
The core of the reform movement is said to be made up of Islamic leftists disqualified from running for office as they were purged and generally disempowered by Islamic conservatives following the death of Imam Khomeini in 1989. Islamic leftists turned reformists include Abdolkarim Soroush, Saeed Hajjarian, Akbar Ganji, Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and the Anjoman-e-Eslami and Office for Strengthening Unity student groups.Many institutions support the movement of reformation such as organizations like Organization of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution and the Majma’a Rohaneeyoon Mobarez or the Forum of the Militant Clergy, or Office for Fostering Unity and Freedom Movement of Iran. There were also many media outlets in support like the Iran-e-farda and kian magazinez.
Khatami's support is said to have cut across regions and class lines with even some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qom seminarians and Basij members voting for him. The core of his electoral support, however, came from the modern middle class, college students, women, and urban workers. For example, by 1995, about half of Iran's 60.5 million people were too young to be alive at the time of the Islamic Revolution.
Major events
1997 presidential election
The movement began with the May 23, 1997, surprise victory of Mohammad Khatami, "a little known cleric", to the presidency on with almost 70% of the vote.Khatami is regarded as Iran's first reformist president, since the focus of his campaign was on the rule of law, democracy and the inclusion of all Iranians in the political decision-making process.
Assassination attempt on Saeed Hajjarian
Very soon after the rise of the 2nd of Khordad movement, there was an attempted assassination of Saeed Hajjarian, the main strategist of the reformist camp. In March 2000, he was shot in the face on the doorstep of Tehran's city council by a gunman who fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice. The bullet entered through his left cheek and lodged in his neck. He was not killed but was "badly paralyzed" for some time. During his coma, groups of young Iranians kept a vigil outside Sina hospital, where he was being treated. Due to this injury, Hajjarian now uses a walking frame, and his voice is distorted.His convicted assailant Saeed Asgar, a young man who was reported to be a member of the Basij militia, served only a small part of his 15-year jail sentence.
Ganji and ''Red Eminence and Grey Eminences''
Red Eminence and Grey Eminences is the name of a series of newspaper articles and a book written by Akbar Ganji under the responsibility of Saeed Hajjarian, in which he criticized former president Akbar Rafsanjani as the "Red Eminence" and the intelligence officers in his government, such as Ali Fallahian, as the "Grey Eminences". His subsequent prosecution and conviction for "anti-Islamic activities" for his role in the publication of the book and articles cost Akbar Ganji six years of imprisonment.1999 local elections
Reformist candidates did remarkably well in the 1999 local elections and received 75% of the vote.18th of Tir crisis (1999)
The 18th of Tir crisis, refers to a demonstration in Tehran University dormitory in reaction to closing Salam newspaper by the government. Demonstrations continued for a few days in most cities in Iran and in more than ninety-five countries worldwide. The demonstration ended in violence and the death of a young Iranian citizen along with many casualties. At the time, it was Iran's biggest antigovernment demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution.After attacking of the students of Tehran University by hardline vigilante group, Khatami delivered a speech three months later while defending of his reform programme and at the same time he insisted on the foundations of his government. He referred to the reformation of system from within with holding two elements of Islamic and republic.
18th of Tir national day of protest (2003)
In 2003, Iran's leading pro-democracy student group, the Daftar-e Tahkim-e-Vahdat called for a national day of protest on the 18th of Tir to commemorate the original 1999 protest. At least one observer believes it was the failure of this protest that "delivered a fatal blow to the reform movement."According to journalist Afshin Molavi, many Iranians hoped the day would lead to an uprising that would "break the back" of the hardliners, but instead the Islamic Republic "employed violence, intimidation, and sophisticated carrot-and-stick approach to suck the wind out of the demonstrations." In addition to a show of force and numerous checkpoints, the state used sophisticated jamming technology to block satellite TV feeds and allowed the holding of outdoor pop concerts to draw young people away from the demonstrations. Dartar-e Tahkim-e-Vahdat also hurt its cause by calling for foreigners, specifically the UN - to assist it against the government.