Mural of Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Ayatollah Khamenei gave a speech on September 17th, in which he referenced a passage in a book he translated 40 years ago “on the revered second Shiite Imam Hassan’s peace treaty with Muawiyah, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty — a treaty the likes of which Khamenei had once vowed Iran could never be pressured into again. The treaty was entered into under great duress: Hassan agreed to it when faced with superior forces on the field of battle. Its outcome was at best mixed: The line of descent was preserved (Hassan was the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed), but Hassan gave up rule over the Muslim community to Muawiyah and was years later almost certainly poisoned on Muawiyah’s orders. But speaking on Sept. 17, Khamenei took a rosier view of the seventh-century peace deal: ‘I agree with what I called ‘heroic flexibility’ years ago, because such an approach is very good and necessary in certain situations, as long as we stick to our main principles.'” — quoted from Foreign Affairs
Now, many are left wondering if this religious appeal to the past may prompt Khamenei to give “Hasan” Rouhani–Iran’s new president–the green light to pursue a more flexible approach when resuming negotiations in the near future…
Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
