IRGC Commander: Election of A Reformist Was a ‘Red Line’ in 2009

In a leaked video posted on the Facebook, IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari is seen discussing Revolutionary Guards’ response to 2009 elections with a group of senior IRGC leadership, including Khamenei’s representative in IRGC. During the presidential election that year year, reformist candidates Mousavi and Karrubi, who are now detained, ran against Ahmadinejad. In the video Jafari makes clear that the IRGC viewed the election of a reformist and the return to power of the reform movement as unacceptable: 

“The worry and concern which existed and the red-line that existed for the forces of the revolution was that the forces that were against the revolution and its values, which during the period of the Second of Khordad [Khatami’s reform era, 1997-2005] had found an opportunity and had penetrated the regime, would once again come to power,” Jafari said.

“This trend [victory by the reformists] was a worrying trend. All of us analyzed that if this trend continues, the election would go into a second round [between Mousavi and Admadinejad], and it were not clear who the ultimate winner [in the second round] would be.”

“In the election and the events afterward [Green Movement], it became clear why they [reformists] insisted so much that the IRGC and Basij, under the label ‘military forces’, should not interfere with the election so that they could carry out their plot and the IRGC and Basij do not bother them.”

“Many officials, many elites, and even some clergymen are unclear in relation to the events that happened (interfering in the election), and some still have objections.”

Jafari also discusses IRGC’s role in suppressing the Green Movement after Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the presidential election few minutes after the polls were closed.  

“Two very fundamental and strategic actions had an impact in clearing up this affair. One was the very widespread arrests which was carried out by the security forces, and partially the IRGC, at the level of planners and ideologues of this affair.”

“And then the confrontations which in a widespread manner, with the presence of the Basij popular forces and the IRGC, and with the assistance of the police and security organizations, took place for confronting this affair, including the most important one which took place on Saturday afternoon.”

The latter reference is to the crackdown on the Saturday following Khamenei’s Friday Prayer sermon in which he openly sided with Ahmadinejad and ordered the protesters to leave the streets. The confrontations on that Saturday led to a number of casualties, including the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, who became a symbol of the Green Movement.

Mohammad Nourizad who has posted the video on his Facebook account is a former journalist for the conservative daily Kayhan. He was arrested after writing a critical letter about the crackdown on the Green Movement to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Video: Norizad’s Facebook account - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=870388962988721

Translation: Some of the English translation of Jafari’s remarks is from IranPolitic.com blog.

File photo: IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari (IRNA)

Iran’s Opposition Leaders Detained Three Years On

Iran’s Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, and his wife Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karrubi have been held without charge or trial for three years today.

Amnesty International said today the detained opposition leaders have no possibility to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, and urged the Iranian authorities to immediately end their arbitrary detention and stop the harassment of their families. (Amnesty.org, 14 February)

Karrubi Transferred to His House in Jamaran

Iran opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi today was transferred to his own home in Jamaran district of Tehran. Karrubi has been under house arrest for more than three years in a “safe house” of the ministry of intelligence. He will still be under arrest, but in his own house.

Karrubi, along with the other leader of the Green Movement, Mir Hossein Mousavi, has been under house arrest without charge. They led the Green Movement of 2009 against what millions of protesters believed were irregularities in that year’s presidential election after Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.

File photo: Mehdi Karrubi during the Green Movement protests. (Twitter/@NegarMortazavi)

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.

Opposition Leaders Detained – ICHRI Report

Iranian Opposition Leaders Karrubi (left) and Mussavi

Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi and their wives are in grave danger after security forces transferred them out of their homes, where they were under house arrest, and taken them to an unknown location, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, when the leaders were still under house arrest, Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami had urged the authorities to release them.

"Why should people like Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi, and their wives, who have had a glorious past in the revolution and the Islamic republic, and who are loyal to the revolution and the Islamic republic, be placed under house arrest?" Khatami said [Khatami.ir, 27 February]. "I hope that with the start of the Iranian New Year (21 March) we will see the end of the house arrest, the end of restrictions, the release of the prisoners and the creation of a safe and free climate in which the people's vote will be decisive," he added.

As the news of the detention of the opposition leaders and their wives spread, the White House issued a statement condemning the arrests. In the statement, issued by National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, the White House called for Iranian leaders to allow active dialogue among its citizens, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly without fear.

The detentions are a serious escalation of the Iranian government’s efforts to silence the opposition amid the rising tide of the democratic movements throughout the Middle East.

Photo: BBC File Photo

Pro-Government Demonstrations in Tehran

Thousands of pro-government today demonstrators staged a rally at Friday Prayer in Tehran calling for execution of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi. The Friday Imam, the ultra-conservative Ahmad Janati, who also heads the powerful Guardian Council, said in his sermons that the opposition leaders are practically “dead and executed.”

"Their [Mousavi and Karrubi’s] communications with people should be completely cut. They should not be able to receive and send messages. Their phone lines and Internet should be cut. They should be prisoners in their homes," Jannati added.

Photo: IRNA. Tehran, 18 February 2011

Iran Authorities Accuse Opposition Leaders of “Treason”

Iran’s judiciary chief today accused opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi of treason and vowed to block their ability to communicate with their supporters, effectively putting them under house arrest. On Monday, the opposition staged anti-government demonstrations in Tehran and other major cities, a move that angered the authorities. The conservative members of the Majlis have already called for the execution of Mousavi, Karrubi and former president Mohammad Khatami.

"The treason committed by the movement of sedition leaders is not hidden from anyone," Iran's chief of judiciary Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani said today. "This group which has rebelled against the religious government should know that while maintaining Islamic compassion we will not tolerate the establishment being compromised" [IRNA, 17 February].

"They (the people) should be certain that we will block the mechanism through which the sedition leaders issue their statements," Larijani added.

Government Refuses Permission for Opposition Rally

The Iranian authorities today refused permission for a rally in support of Egyptian people’s uprising and victory over Mubarak. The rally was being organized by the opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, and was to be held on Monday in Tehran.

"These people are fully aware of the illegality of their demand and they know they will not receive a permit for staging a rally," said Mehdi Alikhani-Sadr, deputy director of the Interior Ministry's political bureau [Fars News Agency, 13 February].

Iran Celebrates Anniversary of Revolution

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered at Tehran’s Azadi Square today to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revoution which toppled the Shah. People chanted slogans in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings and against the US and Israel.

Meanwhile, the authorities placed Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi, an opposition leader, under house arrest. Karoubi as well as Mirhossien Mousavi have sought to hold a rally on Monday in support of Arab uprisings. The all-powerful IRGC have warned the opposition against holding the rally, fearing it would become the first mass anti-government protest since the defeat of the Green Movement more than a year ago.

Photo: Mahmood Hosseini / Fars news Agency

The Greens Bid to Hold Pro-Egyptian Rally in Tehran

The leaders of Iran’s opposition Green Movement have applied for permission to stage a rally in Tehran in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings, posing a dilemma for the Iranian government which brutally put down their own mass protests a year ago, but has publicly and forcefully supported the uprisings in the Arab world.

The Green’s last organized demonstration was held in December 2009 during the Ashura, when eight protesters were killed and more than 1,000 arrested. They have asked to hold their new rally on Monday 14 February.

"To announce our solidarity with the public movement in the region, especially the freedom-seeking uprising of the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt against tyrannical governments, we ask for permission to invite the people to a rally," read a letter to the interior minister, signed by opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi.

It is highly unlikely that the government would allow the Greens to hold the rally, which has the potential of becoming a huge anti-government demonstration in the heart of the Iranian capital. It was not clear if the Greens were ready to hold the rally without government's approval and risk a potentially deadly confrontation with the authorities.

Karrubi on Ahmadinejad

Fars News Agency reports that Mehdi Karrubi, one of the leaders of the Green opposition movements, seven months after the disputed presidential election in Iran has now recognized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president.

“I still believe my criticism of the election is valid. But I also recognize the president,” [Fars News Agency, 25 January].

Karrubi’s son was quoted by news agencies explaining his father’s stance.

"I am still of the same belief that the election was unhealthy and massively rigged. But since the leader endorsed Ahmadinejad's victory, I believe that he is the head of the government, meaning he is the president," Hossein Karrubi quoted his father as saying.

Angry Anti-Karroubi Demonstration at Qazvin

by Mark Pyruz

A noisy round-the-clock protest against anti-establishment cleric Mehdi Karroubi took place upon his arrival at Qazvin (in Qazvīn Province), resulting in bricks thrown and shots allegedly fired into the bullet-resistant glass of his armored SUV.

Opposition press sources and Karroubi's web site blamed FARS New Agency for publishing a story related to his travel to the city. Karroubi's son alleges that he saw several commanders of the IRGC and members of the Basij volunteer force in the crowd that numbered ~500. He went on to state that it was his belief the intent of the shots being fired was to intimidate his father, rather than a serious assassination attempt, and that his father's armed bodyguards did not return fire.

Photo Interpretations:

click photos to enlarge

Karroubi's armored SUV under assault by angry pro-government demonstrators, while IRIPF/SF police ride atop its running boards. Visible is the vehicle's heavy duty wrap around push bumper. It's likely this armored SUV is provided to Karroubi by the state. Note the rock debris and kicked-in side panels. Under a hail of thrown eggs, tomatoes and stones, and shots allegedly fired into the windshields of his armored SUVs (presumably handgun ammunition fired into bullet-resistant glass), after repeated attempts, Karroubi did finally manage to flee the demonstration.

IRIPF/SF (Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force, persian acronym: NAJA) anti-riot police line, many wearing army field jackets. The three in the center may be carrying gas mask bags. Helmets and batons are standard issue. In this instance, police do not appear to be employing anti-riot shields.

The spectrum of the IRIPF (NAJA) is evident in this police line. Visible are two IRIPF cadre officers (center), and a lineup of attached conscript soldiers and regional (or border protection) police in DCU equivalent uniforms. Police interlock arms, while protesters don't appear to confront them in the manner now shown by Green, anti-government demonstrators. There were reports of unsuccessful crowd dispersal operations in effect, but to date none are evident in available open sourced photographs. Note the lack of firearms issued to the police.

Police form up to allow passage of a IRIPF Mercedes C200 police vehicle.

An elevated protester directs all-night chanting towards the residence Karroubi is occupying. At left are IRIPF/SF police in their woodland BDUs. While non-confrontational towards the police and the police on the sidelines, the protesters appear heated and very noisy, no doubt making things very unpleasant for Karroubi and the occupants of the residence.

Photo captures the multi-force composition of the IRIPF presence. Seen are IRIPF/SF, IRIPF conscript-soldiers, IRIPF regional (or border protection) and IRIPF cadre. A demonstrator's megaphone can also be seen near the center.

Chanting demonstrators with homemade "anti-hypocrite" signs. Slogans include "Our city is no place for a traitor", "Death to hypocrites", "Death to Karroubi", "Death to Mousavi" and "Death to Khatami". The majority of protesters appear to be young men, and could be members of the local Basij as well as their supporters. Women protesters do not appear in evidence.

Photos by Rajanews.