A prominent Iranian politician: Preserving Iran is more important than preserving its nuclear gains

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The Secretary-General of the “Building Cadres” party, affiliated with Hashemi Rafsanjani’s movement and the reformists, Seyed Hossein Marashi, said that Iran needs security, the country needs a strong economy, and the country cannot be managed in light of inflation, which is currently heading towards very high levels, stressing, “We must not expose Iran and the Islamic Republic regime to real danger under any circumstances.”

He added: "It must be clear that Iran is more important than any other issue. It is more important than uranium enrichment, and more important than preserving nuclear gains. Preserving Iran and the Islamic Republic system must be a top priority."

He continued in his lengthy interview with Khabar Online news agency, saying: “People want to be able to secure their livelihoods, and they cannot be expected to continue to resist as economic pressures increase day after day.”

Hussein Marashi also addressed, in an important part of his dialogue within the agency's "Cafe Khabar" program, a number of issues, including the possibility of the outbreak of a third military war, the economic situation of the country, and an assessment of current conditions.

In response to a question: How do you evaluate the current conditions in Iran, where the country is experiencing conditions in which war is likely to break out, while a state of neither war nor peace prevails in the country? He said: “During the Twelve Day War and the Forty Day War, Iran was able to confront two major armies in the world and the region, namely the American army and the well-equipped Israeli army, which is one of the largest armies in the Middle East. They dealt with this unequal war well, and Iran was not defeated and did not surrender to their attempts to ‘destroy the country’... Iran was able to get out.” From the battlefield, “victorious,” as he put it.

Marashi stressed that victories are not achieved in the military field alone; Diplomacy also plays a role in complementing gains achieved on the battlefield.

He praised the role of Pezeshkian, Qalibaf, and Araqchi in their efforts to reach what was known as the memorandum of understanding, which had 14 items, of which, according to him, 13 items were in Iran’s interest.

Marashi wondered: Why did we return, after all that achievement, to a point where we received other strikes, and where the country returned to conditions once again approaching a state of war?

Marashi said: "We are now in war conditions, but there is an exchange of fire and there is a ceasefire, but it is not officially agreed upon. It seems that differences have emerged between the two opposing countries and their regional allies, as the Americans focus primarily on exerting economic pressure, and they are trying to influence the Iranian economy through the naval blockade. Unfortunately, the effects of this policy have begun to appear clearly."

Force Iran to make broad nuclear concessions

Marashi added: “There is a relative air blockade as well, but I do not think it is the decisive factor. As for the sea blockade, its importance is greater, because it affects Iranian oil exports, and thus the main source of foreign currency in the country, and the sharp rise in foreign currency prices over the past month was affected, among other factors, by this sea blockade.”

In addition, the imposed restrictions have gradually begun to cause problems for industries and factories, and the basic policy of the Americans at the present time is to force Iran, through economic pressure, to make major concessions to the West on the nuclear file, without entering into a new and decisive war.”

The country cannot be run with inflation heading towards very high levels

Marashi stressed that the country needs security, and it needs a strong economy. The country cannot be managed in light of inflation, which is currently heading towards very high levels, and people want to be able to secure their livelihoods. We cannot expect the people to continue to resist in light of constantly escalating economic pressures and the people’s ability to endure is limited. The government’s ability to manage the country has limits in certain circumstances, and in light of this increasing growth in monetary liquidity and inflation, along with the restrictions imposed on foreign exchange, the situation in the country cannot be managed for a long time.”

The regime must learn to make tactical concessions when necessary

Marashi cited Iranian history, especially the Shiite Safavid dynasty that ruled Iran 500 years ago and forced its Shiites, saying: “Shah Abbas the Safavid was one of the most successful kings of Iran in its history, and part of the reasons for his success were due to his ability to arrange priorities and conduct tactical maneuvers. During the reign of Shah Abbas, Iran faced three serious military threats: the Ottomans in the west, the Uzbeks in the east, and the Portuguese in the south.

These forces were constantly occupying parts of Iranian territory or threatening the security of the country. Shah Abbas did not decide to enter into a confrontation with the three powers at the same time. Rather, he arranged his priorities and began confronting his weakest enemies, which were the Uzbeks. In order to be able to focus his capabilities in the east and defeat the Uzbeks, he first concluded a truce with the Ottomans, and even retreated until Tabriz.

Tabriz remained under Ottoman control for about 18 years. After that, Shah Abbas headed to the east, strengthened the eastern borders, defeated the Uzbeks and stopped their advance. Then he returned to the west, expelled the Ottomans from Iran and defeated them.

The current borders between Iran and Turkey and Iran and Iraq were also consolidated during his reign. In the third stage, he expelled the Portuguese from southern Iran, and after these developments, the name of the port of Gombroun was changed to Port Abbas, known today as Bandar Abbas.

Recently, voices opposing the military pursuit and war promoted by extremist forces in Iran have risen.

Many of the influential political elite, such as Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, Javad Zarif, and Mustafa Tajzadeh, who held several positions in the current regime, share Hossein Marashi’s views on the current crisis, but they are outside the circle of political decision-making.

They believe that preserving Iran and its economic and security stability must take precedence over adherence to nuclear gains. Through their statements, they call on officials in Tehran to adopt a pragmatic approach based on arranging priorities and making tactical concessions when necessary, because the Iranian regime is faced with two options: concession on the nuclear file or war and the possibility of the country’s collapse and the fall of the regime, according to some Iranian analysts.

Hossein Marashi's statements carry a political message, stating that the survival of the state and the regime and the interests of the Iranian people, as important goals in themselves, must take precedence over adherence to enrichment and the nuclear program.

This opens the door to the reformist and moderate movement who believe that making calculated concessions may be less costly than entering into a new military confrontation that is losing in terms of goals and results. Also, from the point of view of this movement, concession at this difficult stage does not necessarily mean accepting the complete abandonment of the nuclear program, but rather it may mean preparing to negotiate its restrictions and future in exchange for guarantees and gains.

It is noteworthy that Mr. Hossein Marashi is considered a well-known political figure among the reformist political movement and the moderates, and the Secretary-General of the “Iranian Construction Cadres Party affiliated with the Rafsanjani Movement,” where he served as a member of the Iranian Parliament in the fifth and sixth sessions.

During the government of Mir Hossein Mousavi, and during the presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani, he held the position of Governor of Kerman in the fifth government, then he served as director of Hashemi Rafsanjani’s office in the sixth government.

Marashi was elected as a member of Parliament, representing the people of Kerman, for two terms. During the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, he assumed the position of Vice President of the Republic and the presidency of the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. On November 9, 2021, he was elected the second Secretary-General of the Iranian Construction Cadres Party.