Trump’s move puts Iranians hopeful of reform on the back foot
Dubai — Things were looking up for Iranians such as Mohammadreza Azali. Two months after the nuclear deal was struck in 2015, he started an English-language technology news website in Tehran as the reformist politicians he supported opened up the country. Then came the election of Donald Trump. The US President’s decision to withdraw the US from the agreement has given succour to the hard-line sceptics, whose mantra all along has been that you can’t trust the Americans. It leaves the Islamic Republic torn between those who want change, like Azali, and those who want to take the country down a more conservative path. Thousands of young Iranians backed President Hassan Rouhani, believing he could put an end to international isolation and sanctions that had been crippling the economy. But the moderates are under attack from those opposed to engaging with the West. The leading conservative daily newspaper in Iran, Kayhaan, railed against Rouhani for not abandoning what’s left of the nuc...
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