海角大神

President Hassan Rouhani swept to election victory last year on the slogan "prudence and hope" and a wave of high expectations for cultural and political change in Iran.

But after six months in office, the centrist cleric is caught between reformists frustrated at the slow pace of change and hard-line conservatives who warn that Mr. Rouhani鈥檚聽agenda risks reigniting 鈥渟edition.鈥� The scale of criticism from opposing camps has been so great that it prompted Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to urge patience and support.

鈥淣o more than a few months have passed since the government took office,鈥� Mr. Khamenei said in a Feb. 8 speech to Air Force commanders. 鈥淎uthorities should be given the opportunity to push forward strongly. Critics should show tolerance toward the government.鈥�

Much of Rouhani's success may ultimately depend on managing the expectations of impatient supporters 鈥� expectations he helped to create with his campaign promises, which are now coming up against the reality of聽conservative pushback and the messy legacy of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

鈥淲hen Rouhani came to office, he did not understand at that time the problem in front of him,鈥� says Sadegh Kharazi, a former ambassador who now directs the IRDiplomacy website and has family ties to Khamenei. 鈥淗e wanted to reconstruct the Iranian economic system, industrial system, cultural system, educational system, service system, political system 鈥� everything. Eight years [under Ahmadinejad] was catastrophe.鈥�

Amir Mohebian, a conservative analyst, adviser and editor with close ties to Iran鈥檚 leadership circles, explains,聽鈥淵ou should say, 鈥榃e can solve some problems,鈥� not that you can solve聽all听辫谤辞产濒别尘蝉."

Facing reality

Rouhani has already brought about some change: a more stable economy, bolder newspapers, and more freedom in musical entertainment, to name a few. A dozen prominent opposition activists were released before Rouhani traveled to the United Nations General Assembly last September, and the draft of an enlightened 鈥淐itizenship Rights Charter鈥� 鈥撀爄ts creation a campaign promise 鈥� was posted last November.聽Despite some growing qualms, optimism聽prevails among his supporters.

But Facebook and Twitter remain officially blocked 鈥撀燼lthough officials from Khamenei on down all have accounts 鈥撀燼long with a host of web pages. The two former presidential candidates who led protests in 2009, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, remain under house arrest.

And this week Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran No. 173 out of 180 in press freedom, behind Sudan, saying that the 50 journalists and netizens detained at the end of 2013 made Iran 鈥渙ne of the world鈥檚 biggest prisons for media personnel鈥� 鈥撀燼 characterization that Iranian officials reject.

鈥淣ow Rouhani is beginning to feel the enormity of this task,鈥� says a journalist who works for one of Tehran鈥檚 largest newspapers, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. In two years, the real value of his monthly salary dropped from $1,500 to $600, he says.

He notes how Rouhani last week called critics of his nuclear negotiations 鈥渋lliterates,鈥� raising anger in some quarters. And how a recent government handout of food parcels to families devolved into scenes of people waiting in long lines and rushing forward with hands out, prompting sneers that Iranians had been turned into a 鈥渘ation of beggars.鈥�

鈥淗e used to be a bystander, now he is exercising power and shouldering its responsibility," the journalist says.

Fixing mismanagement and the economy are top priorities. The latter can't happen unless sanctions are eased via a nuclear deal. But those who were dancing in the streets expecting a 180-degree turn misplaced their hope, says Hamidreza Taraghi, a conservative politician who has known Rouhani for 42 years and first introduced him to Khamenei.

鈥淸Rouhani] is not the person they think he is,鈥� says Mr. Taraghi of those who celebrated Rouhani鈥檚 triumph. 鈥淗e has a firm belief in the pillars of the revolution, which are the supreme leader and the Islamic system, although his word choices are quite different from [former President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, and his friendship with reformists is much more."

鈥淏ut he鈥檚 not the kind of person to let them make decisions for him," although reformists used him to 鈥渃ome back into the political system after eight years on its margins under Ahmadinejad," he says.

The long game

With Rouhani鈥檚 emphasis on foreign policy and the economy 鈥撀爃e has brought down interest rates a few points, and stabilized Iran鈥檚 once-plummeting rial against the dollar 鈥� other aspects of his domestic agenda,聽such as increased personal freedom, remain largely聽untested.

"There is pressure from below, expectations of something,鈥� says a veteran analyst who asked not to be named. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he hasn鈥檛 done anything. This is a huge country with huge problems and on top of that you add people鈥檚 expectations."

鈥淭he direction is good, though pessimism I can see is also growing," he warns.

The pressures are evident at the Fajr visual arts competition in downtown Tehran, where exhibit halls are packed with an eclectic array of paintings, ceramics, photography and calligraphy 鈥� and where the sense of limited progress is tinged with uncertainty.

More artists and judges took part this year in the annual government-sponsored event, reversing their partial boycott聽in response to the disputed 2009 election and violent protests that followed.

鈥淎rtists are slowly聽returning鈥� to a more public role in the post-Ahmadinejed era, says Mostafa Fotoohi, an art teacher from Shiraz who brought a class of students to the exhibit. 鈥淭hey lost their confidence and they are beginning to find it again," he says.

Despite the vocal critics, Rouhani has many supporters who realize that his presidency has barely begun, and who are more understanding of the slow pace of change.聽

鈥淵ou must let Rouhani do something more 鈥撀爄t鈥檚 too soon to judge鈥�because the filters in Iran have been in place too long,鈥� says graphic designer Alireza Omrani, standing in front of a wall of paintings. 鈥淏ut he has changed the method鈥�there is a hope.鈥�