continues to elicit vocal comment, often angry. Majlis Deputy Mohammad-Javad Karimi-Qoddusi recently commented: “This poor analysis is because he is getting old and is incapable of proper thought. It is regrettable that he cannot identify what is good for him, the people and the country. Today, the Islamic Awakening [as the Arab Spring is called in Iran] has humiliated imperialism. Even in America, the people know their country is not a superpower. Even the American government knows that. In this case, how does Mr. Rafsanjani consider it to be a superpower.” Rafsanjani did not say Iran should talk to the United States because it was a superpower; he asked how Iran could justify ignoring Washington when it talks freely with China, Russia , France and other countries.
