From a former president disobeying the supreme leader to open discussion of a 1980s mass execution, Iran's presidential election is pushing the boundaries of what can be discussed in public and done online, a small but noticeable shift in the country's clerically overseen polls. The push doesn't portend a dramatic change to the structure of the republic, under which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say over all state matters and clerics determine who can run for office and what bills become law. It does, however, show that the government's ability to clamp down on criticism is waning as Iranians turn to encrypted messaging applications like Telegram and internet chats ahead of the May 19 election. "There's no doubt about the fact that the state has less control of the discursive realm. It's much easier for people to get information out," said Adnan Tabatabai, an Iran analyst based in Germany who is the CEO of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. "The social media realm is no longer just the space for, let's say, young, reform-minded moderate figures and people. The conservative and hard-line elements have (done) their homework in that regard so they can use these channels as well." The election appeared at first to be a walk for incumbent President Hassan Rohani, whose moderate administration negotiated the 2015 deal with world powers to curb its nuclear activities. But while Iran has signed multi-billion-dollar deals with airplane manufacturers, the benefits of the lifting of sanctions have yet to reach most Iranians, fueling discontent. Then came the surprise entry into the race of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Authorities ultimately quashed his bid through the clerical screening that controls who can run. However, his short-lived campaign, in defiance of Khamenei's advice that he not run, challenged the supreme leader's authority. As the candidate field firmed up, Iranians of all political stripes shared messages, photos and video across the mobile messaging application Telegram. The app's designers say some 40 million of its active users are in Iran, a nation of 80 million people. This year's vote marks the first presidential election held since the app swept across Iran. Supporters of hard-line candidate Ebrahim Raisi circulated a video supposedly shot with passers-by on the streets of Tehran looking at a picture of a car bombing. Rohani supporters also have effectively used Telegram. After state television censored part of a Rohani advertisement that included shouts supporting reformists detained after Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election, the unedited video quickly spread through the app. In another break from precedent, Rohani has increasingly criticized Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary force answering only to Khamenei. During Friday's televised presidential debate, Rouhani pointed to the March 2016 launch of a ballistic missile bearing the words "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew, accusing the Guard of trying to sabotage the nuclear deal. Rohani kept up that criticism during a campaign stop Monday in Iran's western city of Hamedan. "Tell the extremists and those who use violence that your era is over," he said. Analysts call the move risky. "The shift will surely galvanize the reformist masses that only reluctantly backed Rouhani in 2013, but it is a risky strategy given the (Guard's) knack for reprisal," wrote Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. — AP
