TEHRAN — Neither side can drown out the other. Both so far are exercising a measure of restraint. But as authorities try to rein in Iran's most serious unrest since the Islamic Revolution, they face a diverse opposition united in its rejection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his policies.
After days of ignoring or dismissing the criticism, authorities appear to have recognized that they're unable to use their hold over electronic communications networks and state-controlled broadcasting to quell the protests over Friday's election. They have started implementing a softer approach in public. But they may not understand the depth of the problem they face.
The result Wednesday was the third mass protest rally in as many days, which witnesses said drew tens of thousands, and perhaps hundreds of thousands, onto the streets of Tehran.
And new protests are planned for today. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who lost to Ahmadinejad in an election his green-clad supporters regard as fraudulent, has asked backers to go to local mosques to pay tribute to those killed in the protests. Within a culture steeped in the Shiite Muslim mystique of martyrdom, each death may motivate rather than discourage activists.
Whether or not Ahmadinejad won a majority of votes in the election, a large segment of the population rejects his vision and leadership. Critics complain that he is popular among only a limited swath of Iranians of a certain religious and social background, the pious lower-middle class who continue to treasure their rural roots.
His modest lifestyle appeals to many who are fed up with official corruption, and he has used the country's oil wealth to finance payments to the poor. But Iran is also suffering from high unemployment and inflation, and the president's opponents fear his foreign policy will lead to isolation from, if not open conflict with, the West.
It's not just that Ahmadinejad is unpopular among middle-class urbanites, minorities, women and youths who have united against him. Unlike his reformist predecessor Mohammad Khatami, who advocated an "Iran for all Iranians," Ahmadinejad, his critics believe, rules as if only his segment of the country's diverse tapestry counts.
After Ahmadinejad dismissed the protesters on Sunday as dirt, Iranian authorities have acknowledged the discontent but are seeking to keep it within the framework of the Islamic Republic's politics.
