If people are left unsatisfied, this will one day lead to an explosion. Khatam, who has limited powers as president, has been trying to coax the powerful conservative establishment, which controls the security forces and the judiciary, to go along with public calls for democratic reforms. A series of disturbances have erupted in Iranian provinces in recent month, including two violent ones in the past week. On Wednesday, rioters protesting at a shortage of drinking water broke windows and set tyres on fire in the southwestern city of Abadan. The riot followed two days of unrest in the northwestern town of Piranshahr.
Reformers believe they are prompted by pent-up frustration at years of repression.
The president also said the Islamic state should further open up to the outside world to keep pace with modern developments. If we want to be strong, we should not shut our doors to foreign countries. To be strong, we must offer a new face of ourselves, one which lives up to the exigencies of the time. We must be equipped with new science and technology. Using the first visit to Germany by an Iranian leader in 33 years as a platform to direct remarks across the Atlantic, Khatami said problems between Tehran and Washington were known and the U.S. leadership held the key to resolving them.