Hashemi Effective, Even If an Armchair Politician

29 September 2011 | 16:03 Code : 16620 Middle East.
The problem-- people gathering in protest outside the Saudi embassy to Iran-- was destined to be resolved by Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Hashemi Effective, Even If an Armchair Politician

IRD: A few weeks ago, there was a gathering in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran to protest against the disrespect to the Shi’a imams’ graves and Iranian pilgrims visiting them at the Baqi’ Cemetery, and to ask the Saudis to reconsider in their behavior. This gathering was a continuation of the opposition expressed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to Saudi involvement in the Bahrain’s affairs and the suppression of Shiites, as Iran-Saudi Arabia relations have not been of any significance in the past months.

 

Attempts were made to avoid misunderstandings between Riyadh and Tehran, but the pressure of some Iranian parties and the adoption of an anti-Iranian approach by some radical Saudi groups did not allow the relations to ameliorate. Today, the memories of the presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami are revived to highlight the current (un) intended political distance between the two countries: during Ahmadinejad’s presidency, some messages from some of the Saudi officials were sent to the two former presidents known as critics of the government to activate track two diplomacy and resolve the conflicts to the extent possible, while the officials of the countries condemn each other for their involvement in Arab countries’ affairs. Moreover, the political and economic approach adopted by the current Iranian government (from 2009 onwards) was thoroughly against that of the two former presidents, as it presented another Iran in the domestic and international arena.

 

Yesterday, the office of the Head of the Expediency Council announced two pieces of news: the first one dealt with the rejection of the news of the electoral meetings and campaigning of Hashemi, as he announced he would not take any electoral measures and all the broadcast news were wrong, destined to distort his image. The second one was about the visit of the Hojjat-ol-eslam Kazem Al-Omari, the leader of the Shiites of Medina, with Hashemi Rafsanjani about the situation of the regional Shiites and pilgrimages to the sacred Imams’ graves. Hashemi requested that Saudi officials provide security and safety for the pilgrims, to make it possible for the pilgrims to visit the graves with ease, and to change their policies over the Baqi’ Cemetery. Al-Omri presented a recent report about Saudi Shiites and expressed the wish to see Hashemi Rafsanjani in Medina again. Therefore, it remains to be seen if this unofficial visit and diplomacy can solve the problems arising in the relations between the two countries.