It included summary trials and executions, the seizure of the U.S. Embassy and holding of 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, and an eight year war with Iraq costing 500,000 Iranian lives. Act II covered the next eight years, beginning with the selection of Ayatollah Khomeini s successor as supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khainenei, a dedicated opponent of reform, more political hack than revered theologian. The action continued through the two-term presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjam and his unsuccessful attempts to create a more pragmatic economic and foreign policy. By mid-1997, Iran was more corrupt than during the years of the shah. Act III opens with the surprise election as president of a little known, reform-minded cleric, Mohammed Khatami.
Repression breeds reaction.
The more tightly the regime clings to power. But the more it loosens its grip, the grea ler the call for even more freedom. The right-wing ideologues in Iran have consistently underestimated the forces for change. They were shocked that their handpicked candidate lost the presidential election, but not too concerned because they continued to dominate the local councils and the Parliament. Now, in successive elections, the so-called conservatives have lost their majorities in both.