U.S. and Israeli Policies Strengthen Iranian Hardliners; Undermine Green Movement

Interview with Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan, conducted by Scott Harris

On the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2009 Iranian presidential election, leaders of the country's opposition Green Movement, were denied government permits, and decided to cancel planned protests to mark the surge of popular dissent and the repression which followed the disputed election result. Fearing government reprisals, such as beatings, mass arrests, torture and executions seen over the past 12 months, only small and scattered protests were organized around the country.

Last year hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest what they believed to have been a rigged election - robbing the leading opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, of victory over incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In assessing the weakened state of the Iranian opposition, University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole believes the policies of both the U.S. and Israel have strengthened hardliners in the Iranian regime, while undermining the Green movement. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Professor Cole, who explains why he believes that President Obama's push for a fourth round of sanctions against Iran at the U.N. over its nuclear program -- and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continued blockade of Gaza and his government's deadly attack against the Gaza aid flotilla -- have put Iranian hardliners in a stronger position than they were one year ago.

Juan Cole is professor of history at the University of Michigan. His latest book is titled, "Engaging the Muslim World." Visit his website, Informed Comment, Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion, at www.juancole.com

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