teach them to fish

Khatami has introduced bills into the Iranian parliament that would give the President (him) the power to overrule judicial decisions. In other words, remove the theocratic veto.

In a dramatic move drawing attention throughout Central Asia, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami submitted two bills to Parliament on September 24 that could curb the political power of Iran�s conservatives. The first bill will expand the president�s constitutional powers at the expense of the hardliners' veto power. The second would make elections more direct.



The embattled Khatami pledged in an August 30 press conference that he would take a new approach to his feud with his conservative opponents. "I am announcing today that the President must be able to perform his duties within the framework of the constitution," he said at the time. Maneuvers by the hardliners have stalled Khatami�s efforts to broaden Iranian democracy, reformists say. The president himself said he had made his decision to introduce the two bills after his warnings had been repeatedly ignored by the conservatives.



In his press conference, Khatami singled out the hard-line Guardian Council, a 12-member watchdog group appointed by the country�s Supreme Leader, for a showdown over the two bills. "The Guardian Council should not reject the bills because they are logical and none of them are against the Constitution or the Islamic law," he said, "unless it intends to violate the Constitution." He said he had repeatedly warned them of the violations, but "unfortunately I have had no success," he added. "My warnings have been ignored, and the president�s duties, which are clearly stated in the Constitution, have been suspended."

the article notes Khamatmi's heavy reliance on constitutional arguments - playing within the system as best he can. That is (as history has shown) the most successful route to reform - that arising from within. Contrast this with the approach favored by neocons like Michael Ledeen, who advocate direct intervention into Iranian affairs (as well as threats).