But it is said that Khatami speaks Arabic, German, AND English in addition to Persian: <http://www.irib.ir/Ouriran/mashahir/siasi/khatami/html/en/president.htm>.
What a cosmopolitan scholar!
I never cared for Khatami because of his economic policy, which was to the right of the (still Khomeinist) Guardian Council's. To give you a flavor of that, here are a few articles.
<blockquote>Financial Times (London,England) December 8, 1999, Wednesday London Edition 1 SECTION: WORLD NEWS: TRADE; Pg. 20 HEADLINE: WORLD NEWS: TRADE: Iran lifts the veil on its economic future FREE TRADE ZONES TAX BREAKS AND OTHER CONCESSIONS POINT TO REFORMERS' HOPES OF UNFETTERED ECONOMY ONE DAY: BYLINE: By GUY DINMORE DATELINE: KISH ISLAND
Tax breaks, the world's cheapest energy supplies, and even outstanding beaches are being used by reformists within the Iranian government to spearhead economic change.
The attractions, which also include excellent lobsters, have been highlighted as part of a renewed drive to draw foreign investors to three free trade zones unfettered by tough restrictions on the mainland.
Iranian officials, hosting a two-day investment conference on the Gulf holiday island of Kish, once the playground of the late Shah and his fellow casino gamblers, sought to convince the international business community that Iran was on the threshold of a new, more liberal, economic era.
"I believe the free zones have reached take-off point," said Hossein Nasiri, secretary of the High Council for Iran's Free Trade and Industrial Zones. "A national consensus has been forged and we can start a new movement," he added in an oblique reference to conservative clerics within the regime who have tried to block Iran's cautious opening to the world 20 years after the Islamic revolution.
Mohammad Khatami, the reformist president, sent a message to the conference saying the free zones could provide a model for the mainland, confirming foreign impressions that a contained experiment in almost fully-fledged capitalism could one day open the doors to Iran's virtually untapped market of 63m people and abundant natural resources.
Confirmation of Iran's new direction came recently with the passing of a new law, after a constitutional battle with hardliners, that will allow foreign banks and insurance companies to do business in the three zones.
The zones - the two Gulf islands of Kish and Qeshm and the mainland port of Chabahar near the border with Pakistan - were created in 1993 but have so far struggled to attract significant levels of foreign investment. Intended to become industrial bases that would boost non-oil exports, the zones have in fact sucked in consumer goods from nearby Gulf Arab states which are snapped up by Iranians attracted by lower import duties.
On paper, the zones offer substantial inducements - a 15-year holiday on income and corporate tax, flexible labour laws, cheap land and energy and up to 100 per cent foreign shareholding in companies. In the rest of Iran the foreign business community is subjected to taxes of up to 54 per cent, protective labour laws that make it almost impossible to sack employees, endless red tape and a provision within the constitution that bars foreign concessions.
Reaction from the 25 or so foreign companies attending the conference was one of caution and curiosity but also a nervousness over missing out on when, rather than if, Iran eventually opens up.
Kevin Kvetron, manager of new ventures for US oil giant Chevron, was one of the few Americans attending. At present the US Iran-Libya Sanctions Act prohibits investments in Iran of more than Dollars 20m.
"The free trade zones seem to be a step in the right direction. It's easy to do business, a place to enter Iran," he commented.
Edward Karr, a US manager of Parthian Securities, a Swiss financial services company, was more upbeat and is considering launching the first investment fund focused on Iran. "Foreign investment will come. It is inevitable. When it starts coming I think it will be enormous. But the Iranian government has to give some incentives and guarantees to the big name companies to get them in."
Iran this year was assigned a sovereign risk rating of B2 by Moodys, on a par with Brazil and Venezuela. One foreign participant said his shareholders would be looking for an annual return of at least 12 per cent to justify the perceived political and commercial risk of doing business with Iran.
Mohammad Behkish, a professor of economics, admitted Iran had failed as a non-oil exporting country, but insisted there had been a "revolution" in economic thinking and the next five-year plan, to start in March 2000, would break down several state monopolies. "The whole environment and atmosphere is changing," he said.
Meanwhile, Kish island offers one attraction to be found nowhere else in Iran - the only beach where foreigners of both sexes can swim together and women can take to the crystal-clear waters in swimsuits rather than the all-enveloping chador dictated by the Islamic dress code.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The New York Times March 7, 2000, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final SECTION: Section A; Page 8; Column 3; Foreign Desk LENGTH: 1332 words HEADLINE: World Briefing BYLINE: Compiled by Joseph R. Gregory
IRAN: PRIVATIZATION BLOCKED Parliament has endorsed a move by a clergy-based council to block President Mohammad Khatami's plan to revive the economy by ending a state monopoly on banks and major industries. The shift came after the Guardian Council, which reviews parliamentary legislation, rejected most privatization proposals under Mr. Khatami's five-year development plan as unconstitutional. (Reuters)</blockquote>
<blockquote> The New York Times December 7, 2001 Friday Late Edition - Final SECTION: Section A; Column 1; Foreign Desk; Pg. 8 LENGTH: 429 words HEADLINE: Ayatollah's Panel Rejects Effort to Ease Foreign Investment in Iran BYLINE: By AMY WALDMAN DATELINE: TEHRAN, Dec. 6
For a second time, a conservative oversight council here has rejected a bill that would have encouraged foreign investment, dealing another setback to both the reformist Parliament and hopes for reviving a stagnant economy.
Among other measures, the bill would have protected foreign investment from possible seizure, given foreign investors the same rights as local investors, and allowed earnings to be repatriated in cash.
The government of President Mohammad Khatami has said that the return of foreign capital is essential to create jobs for the country's growing number of unemployed and to revive decaying industries.
But the Guardian Council, whose 12 members are appointed by the country's religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and by the judiciary, pointed to 18 instances in which the bill was "unconstitutional and in contrast with Islamic law."
Among the council's concerns were that the bill would have allowed foreigners to wholly own property in Iran; that allowing foreigners to provide loans could create an international monopoly over the country's economy; and that it did not distinguish between spies and legitimate foreign agents.
In June, Parliament had passed a similar bill. The Guardian Council rejected it, saying that some of its articles could cause foreign governments to threaten Iran's independence and could encourage domination by foreign investors.
This time, members thought the process would go more smoothly. Representatives of the council were present and expressed no opposition when Parliament's Economic Commission deliberated the bill.
"If we were to include all the Guardian Council's concerns in the bill, it would not resemble a foreign investment law," one clearly frustrated member of the commission, Hussein Anvari, told the Islamic Republic News Agency this week.
If the two branches of government cannot agree, the bill will go to a mediating body, the Expediency Council, which is also controlled by conservatives.
After its Islamic revolution, Iran nationalized many industries and much property, creating a climate of uncertainty for foreign investors. Mr. Anvari and others have pushed the bill as essential in light of the struggling economy's increasing dependence on oil revenues.</blockquote>
But, for most US leftists, the rhetoric of civil liberties (which remained rhetoric during the Khatami years) and cosmopolitan dialogue of civilizations is more important than economy, so I don't see why they failed to vigorously support Khatami. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>