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Iranian President Hasan Rouhani seems to have reached the end of his tether with hard-liners who oppose and obstruct his agenda.

This week, Mr. Rouhani accused unnamed people ofopposing an agreement on Irans nuclear program because they do not want sanctions to be liftedan indirect echo of the widely held view that many powerful business concerns linked to the regime benefit from the black market the sanctions have fostered. In August, Mr. Rouhani said that critics of his negotiating strategy could go to hell.

Mr. Rouhani was elected last year on promises of relief for everyday Iranians from political and social restrictions, a curb on Irans ubiquitous security agencies, an end to arbitrary arrests, and greater access to the Internet and social media. A centerpiece of his agenda was an agreement with the West on Irans nuclear facilities and consequent lifting of the severe sanctions the U.S. and its partners have imposed on Irans economy. Mr. Rouhani held out the promise of an end to Irans international isolation.

But hard-liners in Irans political establishment have repeatedly warned nuclear negotiators against conceding too much. And there continue to be signs of a deliberate attempt to undercut the president.

Since Mr. Rouhanis election, executionsostensibly on drug chargeshave averaged one a day.

The Washington Posts correspondent in Tehran, Jason Rezaian, an Iranian American, was arrested in July even as Iran was negotiating with the U.S. and its partners. Arrests of dissidents and journalists have continued, as have newspaper closures by Irans Intelligence Ministry and judiciaryorganizations Mr. Rouhani does not control.

In a direct slap at the presidents attempt to rein in the morality police who harass women on city streets and who attempt to keep young men and women from mixing, parliament recently passed a law strengthening the police and allowing any citizen to enforce the Islamic injunction to promote the good and to prevent what is forbidden. The head of the morality police, Mohammad Zahedian, announced new restrictions on womens public attire.

The morals police seem obsessed with womens dress. One season, the problem was painted toenails and fingernails; another season, it was eyes and lips; not long ago, the problem was leggings and jeggings. This winter, the issue has been tall boots, tights and short coats. The morals police chief has ruled that hats are improper head coverings (they leave the neck and ears exposed). Meanwhile, the police have yet to arrest anyone in connection with the acid attacks against women in Isfahan this fall.

Recently, the usually mild president has begun to strike back at those who would challenge his agenda and authority. He wants to make clear that he has only one boss: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He warned recently that social morality could not be imposed by the lash of a whipa view quickly challenged by a conservative clerical leader. Last week, he said in a speech that the concentration of guns, money and media control inevitably leads to corruptiona thinly disguised reference to the Revolutionary Guards, who run a range of businesses and construction companies and play a role in the media. The Revolutionary Guards commander quickly asserted that President Rouhani was making a general statement, but it is hard name another organization that controls guns, wealth, and media resources in Iran.

Despite his inability, so far, to deliver on his promises, Mr. Rouhani remains a beacon of hope for the young, and there are signs that, despite widespread fear of Iranian security agencies, some are willing to speak up. In a speech at Tehran University last week, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the rabidly right-wing newspaper Kayhan, once again tried to discredit the two opposition leaders who are in their fifth year of house arrest. He alleged that they were in the pay of the U.S., had suggested that the U.S. impose sanctions on Iran, and were intent on overthrowing the Islamic Republic. Some students in the audience shouted Shame on you, liar! and held up posters saying Get lost! and Dictatorship will not endure!

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Irans Rouhani Pushes Back