Islamic courts have recently been used for political purposes such as the recent extraordinary trial of the cleric and former minister, Abdollah Nouri. For a highly dubious charge of insulting Islam via his newspaper, Khordad, he has recently been sentenced to five years' imprisonment. However much of the sentence he eventually serves, he cannot now run in the elections and therefore cannot be the powerful speaker of the Majlis. Yet his recent trial and courageous castigation of the system was a high-profile event, broadcast on radio and television and featured in the international press. Such again are the contradictions of today's Iran.
Mutual respect is the key.
Iran will never allow itself to be dominated by the west or anyone else again. If we encourage a relationship of equals, economic improvement and the momentum of change can be maintained and Iran can steadily emerge into an increasingly normal relationship with the rest of the world. Peter Temple-Morris is Labour MP for Leominster.