Iranian minister says government should focus on ‘national accord’

After nearly two weeks of repetitive speeches in the Iranian parliament, where most ministers had little to say about their plans, one minister finally made remarks that resonated within the context of Iran's political impasse.

Abbas Salehi, nominated for the position of Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, emphasized the need for “national accord” between the government and the people, calling for a restoration of trust in the government. He was endorsed in parliament on Wednesday, along with others proposed by Pezeshkian.

Addressing President Masoud Pezeshkian’s vaguely defined concept of national accord, Salehi argued that it should be established on two levels: among Iran’s political factions and, more importantly, between the government and the public.

Salehi was alluding to the deepening fragmentation within Iranian society, where trust in the government has eroded due to the regime’s heavy-handed response to public dissent, beginning with the aftermath of the 2009 disputed presidential election and intensifying with the protests that have persisted since 2017, which intensified in 2022.

Additionally, Salehi urged greater attention to the demands of Iranian women, noting that the situation for women in Iran has evolved in recent years and that the government must recognize and adapt to these changes.

However, the government continues to imprison women activists, disregarding their demands. Meanwhile, despite Pezeshkian’s promises to rein in the Morality Police and curb the violence of hijab enforcers, Iranian authorities have aired the forced confession of a woman who was shot and paralyzed by police in northern Iran.

Apart from that, while the government was busy introducing the new ministers to the parliament, the authorities issued scores of death sentences and executed at least eight prisoners on Monday. This was a few days after Iran executed Reza Rasaei, a 34-year-old dissident who was arrested during the 2022 protests.

The new minister warned that the Iranian government must not overlook the demands of women. Salehi emphasized that the government is facing a significant decline in social capital, with research from the past decade highlighting this issue as a serious concern.

He also noted the growing divide between officials and the public, including the estrangement of artists and media activists, whose demands for freedom of speech have been consistently ignored by the government. Whether the new Culture Minister can, or will, take meaningful steps to bridge this divide remains to be seen.

In recent years, officials have lamented that the public's primary sources of news and information have shifted abroad. Meanwhile, media activists have pointed out that hundreds of Iranian journalists have fled the country following nationwide protests and the government's crackdown on press freedom.

Salehi pledged to contribute to fostering national accord, but observers are skeptical. Even if his promise is sincere, decisions about media freedom in Iran’s tightly controlled environment ultimately rest with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Whether Khamenei views increased media freedom as a threat to his government remains highly debatable.

The new minister highlighted that the percentage of Iranians with university degrees has risen from 2% in 1976 to over 20% in 2024, signaling the emergence of a middle class well-versed in critical thinking and culturally connected to the global community. He also noted that Iran now has 1.5 million female university students—a fiftyfold increase since 1976. “We simply cannot ignore that vast number,” he emphasized.

Salehi added, “Women have their own expectations and demands regarding their lifestyle and their individual and social rights, and this must be taken into account in shaping the relationship between the government and society.”