United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that remarks by former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami against "exporting the revolution" by "tak[ing] up arms" and "blow[ing] up places in other nations" and "creat[ing] groups to carry out sabotage in other countries" provoked a "furious reaction [in Iran] among conservatives, who accused Mr. Khatami of making unpatriotic comments. 'The only consequence has been to tarnish the shining reputation of the Islamic Republic system and confirm the baseless accusations of the arrogant powers,' the conservative Kayhan newspaper said, using a common epithet for the U.S."[1] ...

TEHRAN -- Iranian politicians have become embroiled in a dispute over the foundations of the Islamic Republic, centering on what Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the republic’s founder, meant thirty years ago when he talked of “exporting the revolution.”

The debate was sparked when Mohammad Khatami, a former president, said Iran was never meant to “take up arms” to spread its ideals.

His suggestion comes amid allegations that Tehran is supporting Shia militias in Iraq and is encouraging Hezbollah in Lebanon, as part of a strategy to destabilize the Middle East.

“What did Imam Khomeini mean by exporting the revolution?” the reformist Mr. Khatami, who retains significant support in Iran, especially among young people, asked in a speech to students on Friday.

“Did he mean that we take up arms, that we blow up places in other nations and we create groups to carry out sabotage in other countries? The imam was vehemently against this and was confronting it.”

His comments sparked a furious reaction among conservatives, who accused Mr. Khatami of making unpatriotic comments.

“The only consequence has been to tarnish the shining reputation of the Islamic Republic system and confirm the baseless accusations of the arrogant powers,” the conservative Kayhan newspaper said, using a common epithet for the U.S.

The Etemad-e Melli newspaper on Wednesday reported that a group of 77 conservative lawmakers planned to complain to the intelligence ministry about the comments, saying Mr. Khatami had insulted Mr. Khomeini.

But Mohammad-Hassan Abutorabi-Fard, deputy parliamentary speaker, later told reporters the MPs had withdrawn their complaint.

Mr. Khatami on Wednesday said his opponents had used his remarks for “character assassination” and rejected suggestions he was reinterpreting Mr. Khomeini’s ideas.

“The Islamic republic does not need to have physical interference in international scenes and has never had such a policy,” Mr. Khatami said on Wednesday, according to a statement. “The enemy [the U.S.] wants to cover up its own problems, or to seek a pretext to put us under pressure by claiming that Iran interferes. Where does Iran interfere? Is it us who occupied Iraq?”

The debate comes at a sensitive time as the new parliament prepares to take office and the political jockeying ahead of next year’s presidential election begins.

Many Iranians fondly remember the tenure of Mr. Khatami, who was president between 1997 and 2005, as a time of greater freedom. Mr. Khatami has not ruled out running again.