NEW YORK TIMES: There was a time when Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani seemed to have it all. A founder of the Islamic Revolution, he headed a family empire that owned the second biggest Iranian airline, Mahan, had a near monopoly on the lucrative pistachio trade and controlled the country’s largest private university, Azad.
But then things started to go wrong. Iranians, angered by his wealth, back-room dealings and supposed involvement in the killing of dissidents, nicknamed him “Akbar Shah,” after the old Persian rulers who sat on velvet cushions in lush courtyards. Political rivals, jealous of his grip on the economy, seized on his support for reformists and labeled him an “aristocrat,” a “capitalist” and a supporter of “American Islam”…
Tired of Iran’s stumbling economy and galloping inflation rate, most Iranians yearn for policies that stimulate business while lowering the prices of staples, real estate and foreign exchange. While generally fed up with politics, many in Tehran say that Mr. Rafsanjani, whose policies as president formed the basis for Iran’s modern day middle class, is the man for the job… (more)
