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- <text id=89TT2285>
- <title>
- Sep. 04, 1989: World Notes:Iran
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1989
- Sep. 04, 1989 Rock Rolls On:Rolling Stones
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- WORLD, Page 23
- World Notes
- IRAN
- Edging Toward Rationality
- </hdr><body>
- <p> Are there any moderates in the government in Tehran? That is
- still uncertain, but there were signs last week that something
- akin to pragmatism is beginning to show itself. New President
- Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani nominated a 22-man Cabinet that
- leaned toward technocrats and away from fanatics. Out were three
- of the most extreme radicals in the old Cabinet, notably former
- Interior Minister Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, the reputed backer of
- terrorist groups holding Western hostages in Lebanon. In as
- First Vice President was Hassan Habibi, a French-educated lawyer
- who could bring a more Western orientation to the Cabinet.
- </p>
- <p> Middle East analysts expect that the new government's top
- priority will be to repair Iran's war-devastated economy. Such
- an economic program might eventually imply a political warming
- to the West, but not quickly. Nor do the experts foresee a push
- to release hostages held by Shi`ite factions in Beirut.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-