Tabriz, Iran - For more than two years he has remained on the political sidelines, quietly observing the actions of his successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But now former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has broken his silence, returning to the political stage at the head of a reformist alliance challenging Ahmadinejad in parliamentary elections scheduled for March 14.
Khatami's comeback was officially launched in the western Iranian city of Tabriz, capital of East Azerbaijan province. As during his tenure as president between 1997 and 2005, posters of the cleric were again plastered on walls of the city, Iran's fourth-largest.
"He was invited by the East Azerbaijan reformist groups - but this is de facto part of our election campaign," Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, former vice-president and current spokesman for Khatami, said in Tabriz.
Khatami, ex-president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and former parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karrubi are considered by reformists as the central triangle of the opposition, although Karrubi's Etemad Melli (National Trust) party plans to run independently in the March elections.
"Of course we have this triangle but Khatami is the force behind the power - nothing works without him," said Karim Abedi, the head of the Azerbaijan office of the leading reformist Iran Islamic Participation Front (IIPF) party.
Abedi added that Khatami was the only person capable of uniting the different opposition groups to enable them stand against Ahmadinejad and his faction.
It came as no surprise, therefore, when the 64-year-old cleric was unanimously elected by the new reformist coalition group as its leader to run against the pro-Ahmadinejad wing.
In Tabriz, Khatami attended a two-hour session with the Azeri reformist groups and patiently listened to their questions, proposals, complaints and especially their fear that like before the 2004 parliamentary elections, a significant number of reformist candidates would once again be disqualified by the Guardian Council.
The Guardian Council, an ultraconservative senate-like body constitutionally in charge of approving or rejecting candidates for parliamentary and presidential elections, disqualified more than 2,500 reformist candidates for the 2004 elections without giving any reasons.
The disqualifications led to a low turnout - in the capital Tehran less than 28 per cent - and the pro-Ahmadinejad Abadgaran (Development Builders) party eventually won the elections.
"There should be trust and respect for people's decisions and votes and no official body should consider itself entitled to decide on people's behalf," Khatami said in Tabriz, earning himself a standing ovation from the 300 reformist activists present.
However Khatami warned that the reformists should be prepared for a worst-case scenario, adding that even if many candidates are again rejected, there would be more to take their place.
Boycotting the elections in protest would achieve nothing for the reformist movement, he said, as none of its aims could be realised while in opposition.
"We should break the global prejudice and show the world that Islam and democracy are compatible - although some give the impression that they are not," he said, referring to Ahmadinejad.
Iran's international image improved considerably during Khatami's eight-year presidential tenure, when the Islamic state employed various initiatives in an effort to open its gates to the West.
Reformists accuse Ahmadinejad of having tarnished Iran's reputation abroad and of having isolated the country, not only through its contentious nuclear programme but also through the president's Holocaust denials and statements advocating the eradication of Israel.
"We are very worried about the future of our country," Khatami said.
"We should therefore all work together to remove (Western) threats and instead attract new opportunities for cooperation."
