Al-Monitor | Rohollah Faghihi: Hassan Rouhani's recent toughening of his posture toward the United States and Israel has led his conservative rivals in Tehran to embrace him and stop their onslaught on the moderate Iranian president.


On July 5, Rouhani received an unexpected letter from Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, in which the president was praised for his stance against Israel and the US reimposition of sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports. Soleimani wrote, "This is the same Dr. Rouhani whom we knew and know, and who must be," adding, "I will kiss your hand for your timely, prudent and correct statement, and we are ready for any policies that are in the interest of the Islamic establishment."

Observers view the letter as highly important in terms of domestic politics since Rouhani and Soleimani have not exchanged such cordial words since the moderate president first took office in 2013. In fact, leading conservative analyst Abbas Salimi Namin claimed July 7, without elaborating, that Soleimani had recently criticized Rouhani over one of his stances at a gathering and that the president had apologized to the major general.

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