Iran Presidents ranked from worst to best ... and why?

lumphammer2

I was meeting a couple of Iranian pals earlier and we discussed the presidents they remembered .... with what they said in mind and with other reasoning here are my rankings ....

#8 Ebrahim Raisi

The worst president is by far the current one .... he has been a total 'yes man' for the regime and has not once addressed the social reform needs of his people ... if that wasn't enough he has let the economy slide and has often been silent and non existent ... his past is mired in bloodshed too and he is too close to corrupt elites ... Iran's current regime seems obsessed with Hijab and other such trivial issues ... Raisi and his govt seem to be incompetent and not in tune with the needs of their citizens .... they grandstand on world issues while Iran's people often cannot put bread on the table ....

#7 Ali Khamenei

The current Shah or whatever he calls himself .... once was president from 1981 to 1989 .... over his watch he saw compulsory Hijab made mandatory everywhere in 1983 and he abused the ill health of 1980s Shah Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and cemented his own powerbase when Khomeini was absent due to heart disease, cancer and depression ... Khamenei's presidency consolidated what Iran has become ...

#6 Mohammad-Ali Rajai

Basically not in long enough to make any impact ...

#5 Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Rafsanjani was a mixed bag ... a steadfast revolutionary starting out who pushed to continue the Iran-Iraq war and took a hawkish view of that war ... Rafsanjani's presidency was introduced to the world of he being a sort of Iran answer to Gorbachev ... Rafsanjani ultimately did not do much for social freedoms but his economic reform enriched Iran .... in later years he advocated for social freedoms and was an ally of reformist politicians ... he has been accused of being corrupt and his legacy is the wealth divide between regime insiders and the people ....

#4 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad stood up against the West ... is most famous for emphasising Iran's nukes .... he was for a time loved by poorer Iranians and delivered when Iran's economy was doing well enough .... like all economies Iran suffered from the 2008-2009 crash and a controversial second election win brought people onto the streets ... Ahmadinejad's govt was a mix of pragmatists and hardliners ... the latter formalised the socalled morality police .. but Ahmadinejad stated he had no interest in the Hijab issue and in later years went against the regime ... today he remains sidelined ....

#3 Hassan Rouhani

The second last president to date achieved the 2015 JCPOA and Iranians' lives eased somewhat for a time .... he was attempting to roll back on oppressive laws like the Hijab and also opened doors to the world .... then Trump and his imbecilic policies came knocking and allowed hardliners to consolidate power ....

#2 Mohammed Khatami

A similar story to Rouhani and like him a moderate ... Khatami beat the regime favourite to be president in both 1997 and 2001 ... and nearly mended relations with the world ... until 9/11 happened giving the proto-Tea Party/Trumper types in the Republicans a cause to go to 'war with the world' ... Khatami's Persian Spring was ruined and the ill advised 2002 'Axis of Evil' speech did more damage to Iran-US relations bar the Trump era mis-steps ....

#1 Abolhassan Banisadr

The first president was probably the best .... looking not unlike an Iranian Elvis it is clear Banisadr was no friend of clerics and campaigned to stop the clericalisation of Iran ... sadly Ali Khamenei and other clerics arranged to impeach him and he was exiled to France ... Banisadar had the right ideas and could have been the instigator of the kind of revolution Iranians wanted had he not the Khamenei camp won ....