Anti-U.S. signs show Iran conflict

TEHRAN, Iran - Banners that have popped up throughout Tehran in the past week depict an American diplomat dressed in a jacket and tie, while under the negotiating table he is wearing military pants and pointing a gun at an Iranian envoy.

The anti-American images were ordered taken down Saturday by Tehran authorities. But they made their point.

It was another salvo by hard-liners who are opposed to President Hassan Rouhani’s pursuit of better ties with Washington and worry that Iran could make unnecessary concessions in its nuclear program in exchange for relief from Western sanctions.

The banners and posters were something of a warm-up to the main event: Rouhani’s critics are planning major anti-U.S. rallies - and amped-up “Death to America” chants - next Monday on the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution.

Anti-American murals have long been part of the urban landscape in Iran, and include images of the Statue of Liberty transformed into a creepy skeleton and bombs raining down from the Stars and Stripes. The storming of the U.S. Embassy is marked every year with protests outside the compound’s brick walls.

Now, however, the images reflect internal divisions in Iran and suggest more intrigue ahead.

Rouhani’s groundbreaking overtures to the U.S. appear to have the backing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This means that - at least for the moment - he has the ultimate political cover to try to reach a nuclear deal and perhaps find other ways to cross the 34-year diplomatic no-man’s land between the countries.

However, the criticism and protests by hard-line resisters, led by the Revolutionary Guard, are as much directed at Rouhani’s government as they are intended as a message for the supreme leader.

The Guard and others know that Khamenei does not want to risk an open confrontation that could sow further discord in Iran. The subtext of the posters and banners is that more pressure could come if Rouhani’s government is perceived as moving too fast toward concessions when nuclear talks resume next week in Geneva with the U.S. and other world powers.

The signs had an ad-agency quality that is rare compared with the usual anti-American fare of simple fliers and hand-lettered placards.

“American Honesty,” read one in Farsi and slightly mangled English, showing the U.S. negotiator with the gun under the table.

Another depicted an American negotiator in a suit, with a black attack dog by his side. The third one showed an open hand facing the open claws of what appeared to be an eagle, the symbol of the U.S.

The high production values of the banners and posters suggest possible connections to the powerful propaganda machinery of well-funded groups such as the Revolutionary Guard or its nationwide paramilitary network, known as the Basij.

Mohsen Pirhadi, head of Basij’s Tehran branch, said he ordered the posters put up, but gave no further details on the designers or financial backers.

“These posters were in line with the interests of the (ruling) system,” the Bahar newspaper quoted him as saying Saturday.

Also in Iran, the country’s parliament on Sunday rejected a close ally of Rouhani’s for a ministerial post.

In the Sunday vote, 141 out of 261 lawmakers present voted against Reza Salehi Amiri, whom Rouhani nominated as sports and youth minister.

Opponents said Salehi Amiri lacked experience for the post, mismanaged other positions he served in and had a role in unrest after the country’s 2009 presidential election. Salehi Amiri, a member of Rouhani’s presidential campaign, denied the allegations.

Rouhani will propose a new nominee for the post in the forthcoming days.

Meanwhile, an Iranian state-owned newspaper reported that the Revolutionary Guard clashed with a Kurdish rebel group near the Iraqi border, killing three.

The Sunday report by Iran Daily said the fighting with the PEJAK group took place near the Iranian Kurdish town of Baneh, about 305 miles west of Tehran.

The clashes late Friday were close to where rebels were reported to have killedfive Guards earlier this month, in an area that sees occasional clashes between PEJAK, which claims it is fighting for greater rights for Iran’s Kurdish community, and government troops.

Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press.