REFLECTIONS

Iran's Guard Stays Up in the Face of Reform

Mar 31, 2016 | 00:13 GMT

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives for a press conference on January 17, 2016 in the capital Tehran after international sanctions on Iran were lifted. Rouhani said that sceptics who said a nuclear deal with world powers would not bring benefits to Iran were all proven wrong. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani strives to bring foreign investment to Iran, despite resistance from key political players in the country.

(ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

At the last minute, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani canceled a two-day working visit to Austria that was set to begin Wednesday, to the surprise of Iranian and Austrian observers. Rouhani's trip was intended to help Iran work out economic deals with Austria, part of an effort to bolster Iran's economic relations with Europe and gain the foreign investment that Iran's post-sanctions economy needs. The Rouhani administration explained that the trip would be rescheduled for "a more appropriate time," citing security concerns as the cause for the sudden cancellation. But whatever reasons the administration gives for the trip's cancellation, major components of Iranian society -- particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- oppose opening up Iran more fully and too swiftly to international trade and investment....

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