海角大神

It was Hossein Dehbashi鈥檚 magic touch that added some of the inspirational glitter to Hassan Rouhani, when the cleric promised Iranians a new era of moderation and hope, and won the presidency by a landslide in 2013.

Not only did Mr. Dehbashi create the candidate鈥檚 two campaign videos, but he added a passion project of his own: An emotional Iranian version of President Obama鈥檚 鈥淵es We Can鈥� video, which portrayed Mr. Rouhani as an inclusive, modern leader and brought tears to many Iranian eyes.

That video, 鈥淣ew Voyager,鈥� marked Rouhani鈥檚 first 100 days in office and scored half a million hits in the first 48 hours it was posted online.

But as Iran prepares for parliamentary elections on Feb. 26, Rouhani鈥檚 shine has faded for Dehbashi and other disgruntled supporters who say he has failed to keep promises of loosened restrictions and an improved economy.

Even as Rouhani faces relentless pressure from hard-liners who accuse him of selling out Iran鈥檚 1979 Islamic revolution 鈥� by too much openness at home, and by his outreach to the West 鈥� he is also under attack by many in his own camp.

鈥淢any of us are happy because of the Iran deal and negotiations,鈥� says Dehbashi, a reform-leaning candidate for parliament. 鈥淏ut politically, inside, on freedom of speech, for example, or art, or relations between girls and boys, and the economy of course 鈥撀爉any of us do not have the same hope as before.鈥�

Powerful talk, no action

Back in 2013, Dehbashi said he was proud of a new president 鈥渨ho understands the power of art.鈥� He told the Monitor then that the aim of the 鈥淣ew Voyager鈥� video was to show Rouhani was 鈥渘ot a conservative person.鈥�

But today Dehbashi says he feels used and 鈥渋s not hopeful anymore鈥� because of the president's failure to deliver on his promises.聽Rouhani 鈥渋s the president of Iran, [and] all of us know he doesn鈥檛 have all of the power,鈥� he says in an interview at聽his unmarked office above a mall in central Tehran. 聽

鈥淏ut at least he has some of the power and he doesn鈥檛 want to use that. He just has a beautiful speech, a powerful speech, but in reality he鈥檚 not doing anything.鈥�

To be sure, Rouhani presided over the nuclear deal agreed to last July that began lifting crippling sanctions in January. And at times he has sounded tough, too, even challenging the views of Iran鈥檚 supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Recently, after thousands of candidates for parliament were initially rejected, including 99 percent of reformist candidates, Rouhani issued a robust appeal: The 290-member assembly was 鈥渘ot the house of one faction,鈥� and another faction of 10 million could not be ignored, he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not make people hopeless.鈥�

One-term president?

Dehbashi was among those initially disqualified in a vetting process dominated by hard-liners. He has now been allowed to run along with 1,500 others reinstated this week. The political mix of that group is not yet clear.

Rouhani, speaking Thursday to large crowds to mark the 37th anniversary of the revolution, called for national unity and a large voter turnout. 鈥淚f people have an issue with the political system and government 鈥� they must not take out their anger at the ballot box.鈥�

And yet despite the broad residual support for Rouhani, hard-line pundits speculate he could become the Islamic Republic鈥檚 first one-term president when he stands for reelection next year.

鈥淲hen Rouhani was chosen we were hopeful; we didn鈥檛 think change could not happen,鈥� says Grand Ayatollah Yusef Saanei, a reformist senior cleric in the religious city of Qom.

鈥淩ight now, I think it will not happen. There is no hope,鈥� the octogenarian says, chewing on dried mulberries in his small, book-lined meeting room. 鈥淭hey [hard-liners] have all the posts and critical decision centers 鈥� and their hunger [for this power] will never end.鈥�

As a candidate, Rouhani promised greater political and social freedoms, a prospect that led some young Iranians to dance in the streets. He vowed to resolve the nuclear deal, lift sanctions and improve the economy, and release from house arrest two former presidential candidates who encouraged street protests in 2009 and are reviled by hard-liners for 鈥渟edition.鈥�

'Signs of giving up'

Yet by one count, Rouhani has achieved just 15 percent of his campaign promises, 38 percent were still being pursued, and 47 percent were 鈥渘ot fulfilled or pursueable,鈥� according to a report last fall on the reform-leaning Iran Andish website.

鈥淚n an absolute way he鈥檚 popular, but things haven鈥檛 really changed,鈥� says a veteran analyst in Tehran who asked not to be named. For many Iranians, he says, the economic situation has become worse.

鈥淧eople must look away from their problems to say, 鈥楽omething will change,鈥� 鈥� says the analyst. 鈥淢any of my friends aren鈥檛 voting. The signs of giving up and losing hope are there.鈥�

The swing from joy to anger has been painful for Dehbashi, who asserts that Rouhani knows reformists and moderates have no other choice but to back him, so he no longer courts them. Dehbashi in fact created a second inspirational video, called 鈥淕reen, White and Red,鈥� which made reference to the so-called Green Movement protests in 2009. Rouhani did not approve of the video, and it has never been made public.

鈥淢any of us understood that Rouhani used us just to [become] president,鈥� says Dehbashi.

鈥淒ay by day he is becoming more conservative about culture,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hese days I feel he does not care about his relations with the people, but about [conservative] grand ayatollahs in Qom and the supreme leader.鈥�