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involved in industries and the economy, and improving Iran’s relations with the West. Rafsanjani becomes known as “Akbar Shah” because his presidential style resembles that of the shah and the shah’s father; he has the same interest in the industrialization of Iran and a similar disdain for criticism and freedom of expression. He creates hundreds of new industries and builds thousands of miles of roads, but at the same time scores of student activists and opposition figures are jailed and dozens of intellectuals are mysteriously murdered.

Through unofficial channels, Rafsanjani presents himself as someone the West can work with. His government starts a strategy of rapprochement with the West and Iran’s former enemies in the region, especially Saudi Arabia. Rafsanjani tries to reverse Khomeini’s xenophobic and socialist economic policies by opening Iran’s markets to the rest of the world and encouraging foreign investment. Yet the privatization and free market benefit only a limited number of people, those referred to as Iran’s economic mafia. One of the most important achievements of Rafsanjani was helping to establish, and later expand, the Free University in 1982. This semiprivate university has educated millions of young Iranians who want to continue their education but cannot pass the extremely difficult entrance exams of the national universities. This has helped to create a generation of politically aware, educated Iranians who will demand their rights as citizens in post-2009 elections.

Rafsanjani’s reconstruction also means the return of consumerism to Iran after ten years of revolutionary idealism. While some technocrats and retired Revolutionary Guards who are hired by the government or have started their own businesses become enormously wealthy, many war veterans find themselves dispossessed. In order to gain more power, Khamenei taps into the nostalgic anguish of this war generation and builds a powerful base that will become increasingly strong in the next two decades.

1997: MOHAMMAD KHATAMI, THE REFORMIST PRESIDENT

Radical supporters of Khomeini’s, including many of the students who took over the American embassy, are removed from positions of power during Rafsanjani’s presidency. Ostracized from the government, they study and criticize their past actions and create the Iranian reformist movement. During the 1997 presidential elections, they support Mohammad Khatami in a contest against Khamenei’s preferred candidate, Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri. Khatami wins by a landslide. The majority of Iranians hope that the more honest, anti-establishment Khatami will bring an end to eight years of Rafsanjani’s corrupt rule.

Khatami promises to establish a civil society in which debates are tolerated and people with different viewpoints and from different backgrounds can express themselves. Almost three years later, Khatami’s supporters take over the Majlis. With the help of the Majlis, Khatami attempts to expand the responsibilities of the president and curb the power of the supreme leader. But by the time of Khatami’s election, Khamenei has already developed a broad base of support among ideological religious Iranians, who regard him not only as their leader but as Allah’s representative on earth. He also has the courts and the armed forces under his control. While Khatami’s government tries to make Iran a more open society, Khamenei’s judges and security forces work to suppress any voice of dissent. Dozens of newspapers are shut down, and many reformists are imprisoned on fabricated charges.

When, in the summer of 1999, a group of students protest against the closure of a newspaper, they are brutally beaten by pro-Khamenei vigilantes. Many students are disappointed that President Khatami remains quiet while atrocities are committed against his supporters and that he prefers to use a back channel to reach an agreement with Khamenei.

Khatami’s tenure coincides with the decreasing price of oil in the international markets, which hits the Iranian economy hard. Iranians become poorer, and hard-liners blame the government