What is a ‘Reformist’ in the Context of Iranian Politics?

By Reza Parchizadeh

When talking about politics in contemporary Iran, Western media tend to divide the Iranian political sphere into two distinct hemispheres, namely the “Reformists” and the “Hardliners.” In this division, the Reformists are supposed to be the “good guys” and the Hardliners the “bad guys.”

Here I am going to tell you why this division is misleading. Not that it is completely nonexistent.   Rather, the manner of its application by Western media and the implications it makes are misleading. There is indeed a difference between the Reformists and the Hardliners.

The difference is that they belong to two major classes of the Islamic Republic. It is not necessarily the core ideology, but personal affiliation and power politics that make the difference. Simply put, while the Reformists belong to the Khomeinist faction, the Hardliners belong to the Khameneist faction of the Islamic Republic..... both the “Hardliners” and the “Reformists” stem from the same ideological springhead of Islamism, Anti-Westernism, and Export of Revolution, whatever appellation they give themselves will make no difference in practice: it’s a deadlock. That is why, as I predicted a long time ago, the much-eulogized Nuclear Deal was doomed to failure even before it had been concluded. That reality is now only being laid bare before our eyes.....

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