Iranian general criticises Rouhani government ('infected by Western doctrine')

[pampango]

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces has said that his country has been influenced by the West, in an apparent criticism of the government of Hassan Rouhani, the country's recently elected moderate president.

Major General Mohammad Jafari's comments are some of the sharpest to be made by a senior official in public since Rouhani took office in August, pledging to improve Iran's relations with regional countries and the West.

"The military, systems and procedures governing the administrative system of the country are the same as before, [but it] has been slightly modified and unfortunately infected by Western doctrine, and a fundamental change must occur," Iran’s Fars news agency quoted Jafari as saying on Tuesday.

"The main threat to the revolution is in the political arena and the Guards cannot remain silent in the face of that," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/12/iranian-general-criticises-rouhani-government-20131211159757812.html

Don't know how much we have to worry about Iranian generals, but there is certainly is resistance in conservative circles in Iran.

[Skidmore]

1. Generals all over the world

fear peace. Peace ends job security for some. And our noble "warriors " are no better.

[dballance]

2. That's a troubling sign. Upcoming Coup?

I'm not sure about how much influence the generals have in Iran but I'd guess it's considerable. Sounds like a prelude to a coup.

It will be amazing if we can actually make it through the next six months and get a deal done given the obstruction from here in the US conservative/AIPAC circles and the objections of people like the general.