3 hours ago
By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall
DUBAI/LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Iran's theocratic rulers have seen off a U.S. military campaign but their real problems may be about to begin: managing the competing demands of hardliners buoyed by surviving the onslaught and those of an impoverished, angry people.
Iran's powerful hardliners are energized by a three-month confrontation they feel Iran has won. They want the leadership to take a tough stance in coming talks with the U.S. and prioritise rearming, confident they can halt any internal dissent with force.
Ordinary Iranians, however, are desperate for any peace dividend or financial relief to be used in raising living standards and offering better prospects after a destructive war that has followed years of painful sanctions.
Both camps have high expectations, conflicting demands and little patience. Looming in the background is the spectre of renewed mass protests like the unrest authorities quashed in January by killing thousands of demonstrators.
DUBAI/LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Iran's theocratic rulers have seen off a U.S. military campaign but their real problems may be about to begin: managing the competing demands of hardliners buoyed by surviving the onslaught and those of an impoverished, angry people.
Iran's powerful hardliners are energized by a three-month confrontation they feel Iran has won. They want the leadership to take a tough stance in coming talks with the U.S. and prioritise rearming, confident they can halt any internal dissent with force.
Ordinary Iranians, however, are desperate for any peace dividend or financial relief to be used in raising living standards and offering better prospects after a destructive war that has followed years of painful sanctions.
Both camps have high expectations, conflicting demands and little patience. Looming in the background is the spectre of renewed mass protests like the unrest authorities quashed in January by killing thousands of demonstrators.
