LATEST: Regime Uses Friday Prayer to Promote A New Head of Assembly of Experts
Iran’s regime united in a show of mourning on Thursday, with the Supreme Leader leading the delegation at the funeral prayers for the head of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani.
Ayatollah Khamenei was joined by President Rouhani; the head of the Expediency Council, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani; Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani; and the head of judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani.
The ceremony offered respite from a series of public divisions within the regime this week.
On Wednesday, President Rouhani alluded to his fight with hardliners over political and social issues:
The sacred call to virtue is not the prerogative of a select group of people, a handful taking the moral high ground and acting as custodians….
Rue the day some lead our society down the path to insecurity, sow discord and cause rifts, all under the banner of Islam.
Rouhani’s speech was spurred by a bill passed by Parliament on Sunday, ensuring protection for those who challenge “un-Islamic” behavior.
As Rouhani spoke, thousands of Iranians protested in Isfahan and Tehran over a series of acid attacks on women whose dress and behavior was deemed inappropriate.
See Iran Special: A New Wave of Protests, Spurred by Acid Attacks on Women
Meanwhile, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani’s death has opened up another front in the battle.
Worried about the political influence of Rafsanjani, the head of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 to 2011, hardliners delayed an election to succeed Mahdavi Kani as he lay in a coma after a June heart attack. Now both hardliners and the Rafsanjani camp — allied with President Rouhani — are considering their preferred candidates to lead the Assembly.
And even as the Supreme Leader was paying his respects, Iranians were discussing the rising battle over the fate of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard.
A prominent MP, former President Mohammad Khatami, reformist political parties, and senior clerics have called for an end to the trio’s 44-month house arrest.
Trying to counter the challenge, the head of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, said on Iran’s main TV channel, “[Mousavi and Karroubi] should be executed without a trial like Mussolini was.”
Regime Uses Friday Prayer to Promote A New Head of Assembly of Experts
Regime officials have used the Tehran Friday Prayer to feature Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani, seen as the choice of the Supreme Leader to become head of the Assembly of Experts.
Movahedi Kermani’s election would fend off former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and his allies, who would be opposed by regime hardliners.
Last week, the cleric consulted with Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, the leader of the hardline Endurance Front.
In the Friday Prayer, Movahedi Kermani condemned a recent series of acid attacks against women in Isfahan.
The attacks led to a revival of mass public protest in Isfahan and Tehran on Wednesday and also stoked tension between President Rouhani and MPs who had passed a bill protecting those who challenge “un-Islamic” dress and behavior.
Editor Fouladi Released on Bail After 2 Weeks in Prison
Hiva Fouladi, the editor-in-chief of the Sharnews site, has been released on bail after two weeks in prison.
Fouladi was arrested on October 9 over an article about public criticism of police conduct.
Sharnews, based in Saqqez in Iranian Kurdistan, has reported that police and “other government institutions” are making it increasingly difficult to deliver news, with restrictions imposed on publication.
Fouladi’s bail was set at 250 million Tomans ($83,333).
