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Memri
2 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
The Iranian Shi'ite Regime's Built-In Religious Mechanisms For Dealing With Grave Military Threats: Tactical And Temporary Concessions – Which It Calls 'Heroic Flexibility' – That It Has Employed Seve
Under various historical circumstances over the past 30 years, the leaders of Iran's Islamic revolutionary regime have made tactical concessions when facing a genuine military threat. The regime grants these concessions religious legitimacy based on Shi'ite Islamic history. It should be clarified that the Iranian regime is a religious-messianic regime that bases its activity on a systematic ideology and religious principles that it draws on as needed to justify its actions. According to the regime, such concessions are a tactical way to circumvent serious obstacles so as to achieve its strategic goals. Tactical concessions are essential when under Western pressure, so as to continue to pursue the aims of the Islamic revolution. Iran's nuclear program, which is aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons, is a strategic goal. It is aimed at ensuring the regime's survival and security, on the path to actualize the supreme goal of the Islamic revolution: a global Islamic civilization/Islamic world order led by Iran. It should be noted that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei considers the figure of Hassan ibn Ali (625-670 CE), the Second Imam, as an role model. Khamenei draws inspiration from Hassan's actions against much more powerful political and military rivals and follows his example in similar circumstances while refraining from direct military confrontation with them. Khamenei translated into Farsi the book The Peace Treaty of Hassan[1] which analyzes the circumstances of Hassan's 661 CE concession on his demand to rule to his rival, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan. The book justifies Hassan's decision to sign a peace treaty ceding the caliphate, because he was in a much weaker position than the Sunni Mu'awiya and his forces and feared that war with them would endanger his Shi'ite community and religion. The conditions Hassan set for his concession to Mu'awiya were aimed at ensuring that the peace would be temporary. For his translation of the book, Khamenei added to the title "The Peace Treaty of Hassan" the subtitle "The Most Heroic and Glorious Flexibility [narmash-e kaharmananeh, ] in History," underlining Hassan's tactical decision in negotiating with forces much stronger than his. The following are some examples of instances in which Iran's Islamic revolutionary regime made tactical concessions to boost its position when facing a stronger force. 1. During the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Khamenei, when in prison, began collaborating with the shah's security forces. He and his followers called this "heroic flexibility," narmash-e kaharmananeh (see Name Description (Sharh-e Esm) – Biography of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei). 2. In July 1988, the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, agreed to a ceasefire with Iraq (UN Security Council Resolution 598) after eight years of war and economic devastation to Iran.[2] In October 2012, an article by Iranian Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohi Al-Din Haeri Shirazi was published on Khamenei's website; it compared Khomeini's decision to stop the war to the Shi'ite Imam Hassan's decision to cede the caliphate to the Sunni Mu'awiya. In a July 2013 interview on the anniversary of UNSC Resolution 598, Expediency Council chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was also Khomeini's right-hand man and president of Iran, compared Khomeini's decision to the Imam Hassan's decision to sign a peace treaty with the Sunni Mu'awiya. Also in 2012, Khamenei himself published several positive statements about Khomeini's decision to stop the war in 1988 due to Iran's severe economic situation, and stressed the achievements that followed this decision. 3. In 2003, as U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Iranian regime leadership began to sense that it was besieged and faced an existential threat, the regime announced that it was temporarily suspending its nuclear program and accepting security conventions that it had until then rejected. 4. In September 2013, Khamenei used the term "heroic flexibility" – narmash-e kaharmananeh – to allow talks with the Obama administration despite Iran's nonrecognition of the U.S., the "Great Satan." This was aimed at obtaining international recognition for, and upgrading, Iran's nuclear program, and at getting the nuclear sanctions on Iran lifted. On Khamenei's website, the term "heroic flexibility" was explained as follows: "We do not oppose correct and logical diplomatic moves... I have for years believed in what is called 'heroic flexibility.' Flexibility is highly essential in certain places; it is very good. There's nothing wrong with it, but this wrestler, who is fighting against his rival, and in certain places shows flexibility for technical reasons, must not forget who his enemy is and what he is doing. This is the main condition [for concessions]." Khamenei made these statements to IRGC commanders on September 17, 2019. "Heroic flexibility means artistic navigation to achieve the goal. This means that if you walk in the path of God, you must... use various methods in all forms and all possible ways to achieve the Islamic goal and ideals... Some have interpreted this [term] to mean compromising on the Islamic regime's ideals and goals... This is a mistake... There are goals. The Islamic regime works to achieve these goals at every stage, to advance, to reach the excellent points and the summit, to create a great Islamic civilization... Of course, this is a gradual, piece-by-piece approach." Khamenei made these statements to 50,000 Basij operatives on November 20, 2013.[3] 5. In 2023, Khamenei again used the term "heroic flexibility" to allow talks with the Biden administration, with the aim of obtaining a lifting of all the American sanctions and U.S. recognition of Iran as a nuclear threshold state. On his website, he explained the term as "finding a way to overcome all the difficult obstacles and to continue on the path to achieve the goal." Khamenei said this on May 20, 2023.[4] 6. In February 2017, Iran removed a long-range ballistic missile that it was about to launch after the Trump administration issued an official warning. See MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1305, Facing Trump Administration, Iran Shows Fear And Military Self-Restraint, Halts Provocations, Threats, And Incitement – While Boosting Morale At Home And Delegating The Bulk Of Conflict To Its Proxies, March 20, 2017. It should be noted that now too, in the nuclear talks amid American and European pressure and President Trump's threats, Iranian negotiators are using ambiguous conciliatory statements, for example, that Iran "will not accept demands without something actual in exchange" and that "America has no choice but to recognize Iran's right to enrich [uranium] to the agreed percentage." At the same time, Iranian spokesmen have announced several times that "we have no intention of leaving the negotiating table." * Yigal Carmon is Founder and President of MEMRI; Ayelet Savyon is Director of the MEMRI Iran Media Studies Project.
Memri
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Dearborn, Michigan Shi'ite Islamic Scholar Usama Abdulghani Calls For Increased Attendance At Quds Day Rally: The Enemy Is Measuring Our Response – Remember Last Year, When They Said Dearborn Was The 'Jihad Capital Of America'?
In a video posted on the Instagram account of Light of Guidance on March 22, 2025, Michigan Shi'ite Islamic scholar Usama Abdulghani called for increased attendance at the upcoming Iranian International Quds Day rally in Dearborn. He stated that the "enemy" would be observing the 2025 Quds Day rally to determine whether President Trump's policies had caused fear that resulted in lower attendance. He reminded his listeners of the op-ed by MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky in the Wall Street Journal, which referred to Dearborn as the "Capital of Jihad." It is worth noting that in the April 2024 Quds Day protest in Dearborn, Michigan, in which Abdulghani spoke, a protester led the crowd in the chant: "Death to America!" This video was compiled from a speech delivered by Abdulghani at the Hadi Institute on March 18, 2025, with added graphics, including a screenshot of Stalinsky's Wall Street Journal piece and student anti-Israel protests on university campuses. Usama Abdulghani: "Brothers and sisters, for the Day of Quds this year, it's different. The enemy is measuring the response. You and I remember last year, when the word that they put out was that Dearborn is the Jihad capital. "They're watching our protests this year. Is it going to be the case that Trump was able to put the fear of God in the believers, when the enemy is actually weaker, when the university students are not intimidated, when they're actually having emergency rallies already for Palestine. "Do we start to fail? What you and I need to keep in mind is this iron fist of the empire is not a sign of strength. This is weakness. This is not that the empire is so strong, we better back down, we better not show our faces. Israel is now weaker than they have ever been. Militarily, how is Israel? Can they bring up military reserves? What is their economy like? What is their world standing like? Can things ever go back to like how they were before October 7th? So inshallah brothers and sisters, tonight, the night of Qadr, because Allah can see your hearts, make that firm intention that in addition to worshipping, you're going to have that stance."
