Iran Warns Opposition against Protests

The Iranian government today warned against any public protests marking the yearlong house arrest of reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karubi. The two leaders were placed under house arrest on 14 Februay last year.

“We will confront such moves with full preparation and all kinds of security apparatus,” said Morteza Tamaddon, the governor of Tehran.

In anticipation of the protests, the government has restricted public access to the Internet, practically cutting off access to popular email and text message services and to a number of websites.

The government denies any fraud in the 2009 presidential elections when Ahmadinejad was elected to a second term, running against Mousavi and Karubi. However, the government has not explained why it needed to put the opposition leaders under house arrest if the vast majority of citizens supported the government as claimed.

Dozens of people were killed and thousands arrested during the post-2009 election demonstrations in major towns and cities in what it became known as the Green Movement, referring to green banners used in the opposition rallies and the head and wristbands worn by the young protesters.

Khamenei Voices Support for ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protests

Iran’s Supreme Leader Denounces 2009 Street Protests in Iran, Calling on People to Follow Legal Channels during Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today told a large crowd gathered in Kermanshah’s sports stadium that the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests in the US show that 99 percent of the American people are not supporting their government and only one percent of the country is imposing its rule over the people, using their treasure to wage wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and in support of Israel. Ayatollah Khamenei predicted that the capitalist regimes in the US and in the West will collapse.

Pointing to street protests in Tehran and other cities in Iran after the June 2009 parliamentary elections, Ayatollah Khamenei said the “troubles” (the Green Movement) were dealt with powerfully by the people and were defeated two days after the Ashura demonstrations. The ayatollah was referring to the day when he made a major speech at the University of Tehran’s Friday Prayer two days after one of the largest pro-Green demonstrations, during which he denounced the street protesters and publicly sided with the sitting president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) in the disputed election.

Ayatollah Khamenei called on people’s vast participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2 March 2010. Referring to the experience of the 2009 presidential election, Khamenei said even if some people would object to the outcomes of the 2012 parliamentary elections, they should channel their objection through legal means.

The supreme leader was clearly discouraging any future anti-government street protests in Iran, especially during the upcoming parliamentary elections, while wholeheartedly supporting the anti-government street protests in the US.

Ayatollah Khamenei, in a pointed and threatening remark, said if an official of the Islamic Republic wants to take a path opposed to the ideals of the Islamic revolution, the people will eliminate him.

In another part of his speech, Khamenei again called on the heads of three branches of the government to pursue the case of the recent multi-billion dollar banking embezzlement in the country to the very end by prosecuting all the guilty parties. He again emphasized the importance of waging a campaign against financial and official corruption in the country.

For a report on Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech, in Farsi, please see the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.

Iran Parliamentary Elections Set for March 2012

The campaign season for Iran parliamentary elections will begin on 24 December when the candidates will have one week to register to compete for Majlis seats. The hopefuls, however, will be vetted by the government’s election supervisory body, the Guardian Council, which will release its own list of approved candidates to compete in polls, now scheduled to be held on 2 March 2012.

The 2012 elections for the new Majlis (the Ninth Majlis) are the first since the controversial June 2009 presidential race that gave rise to the Green Movement. It is not clear if the reformists would field any candidates for the upcoming elections. The leaders of the Greens, Mr. Mousavi and Ayatollah Karrubi, have been kept isolated and under house arrest for more than eight months. Many other movement activists are in prison or freed on bail, unable to run. It is not also clear if the Guardian Council would even allow members of the opposition who were not jailed to run for Majlis.

Ironically, the supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, himself a beneficiary of the controversial 2009 elections, might themselves be vetted out of running for Majlis by the Guardian Council. They are branded “deviationists” by the conservatives who have called for the arrest of their political leader, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff and son-in-law.

In some conservative circles, however, there are voices favoring tolerance towards the participation of a select group of reformist candidates. They fear a “one-party” election, conservative candidates running against other conservative candidates, would split their ranks and could lead to victories by the “deviationists,” if they were allowed to remain in race.

Chairman of Assembly of Experts Calls for Unity

Mahdavi-Kani Concerned over Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

Chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani said today politicians should avoid creating tension ahead of the country's Majlis elections next March.

Mahdavi-Kani became the second senior Iranian official in as many days to raise concern over the upcoming parliamentary elections. Yesterday, the Minister of Intelligence Hojantoleslam Moslehi warned the nation of the formation of an alliance between what he termed “seditionists” (supporters of the Green Movement) and “deviationists” (circles close to President Ahmadinejad) to oppose the established order and the supreme leader and his policies.

"We should never abandon our friendship and mutual respect over group or individual aspirations," Ayatollah Mahdavi-Kani said. “We still can achieve some kind of unity in our shared aims, and the next elections should be the start for that," he added [Press TV, 7 September].

Mahdavi-Kani emphasized the critical importance of different political groups and factions not to let the elections turn into a “challenge to national security.”

"Every time there has been a political dispute in Iran, foreign powers have put more pressure on the country. They always take advantage of our internal disputes, but the moment they find out we are still united, they leave the scene," he explained.

More than 4000 candidates will be running for 290 seats in Majlis. But the eligibility of the candidates and their unwavering belief in upholding the established order must be proven before the Guardian Council, itself a key institution of the current establishment, can approve their candidacy.

Iran Intelligence Minister Warns of Attempts to Change Established Order

Alliance of Greens and Circles Close to Ahmadinejad Opposing Supreme Leader

Iran’s Minister of intelligence Hojatoleslam Moslehi addressing the Assembly of Experts said the “seditionists” (supporters and the Green Movement) and “deviationists” (a political circle close to President Ahmadinejad) have secretly formed an alliance for the upcoming parliamentary elections in early March. He called the new alliance the most complex problem facing the Nezam (“established order”).

“The Ministry of Intelligence is highly vigilant and it will not allow this alliance (of seditionists and deviationists) to derail the Majlis elections,” Hojatoleslam Moslehi said [ISNA, 6 September].

“The seditionists and the deviationists, each with its own peculiarities, are working to seriously undermine the established order and Velayat Faghih (the rule by supreme leader),

“The seditionists and the deviationists regard winning the parliamentary and the presidential elections as the only path to change the established order,

“They are capitalizing on people’s grievances, they are using scare tactics, and they are calling for normalization of relations with the US as means to find support among the public,

“They are opposing the policies of the supreme leader, emphasizing ultra nationalism, emphasizing so-called modernity, emphasizing the defeat of Islam and the cleric (in governing the country),

“By using a reformist language, they are trying to gather the support of all the reformists in the country,” Hojatoleslam Moslehi said [ISNA, 6 September].