PHOTO: Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani “We must not work with plots of the enemy”
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Iran’s regime has used the Tehran Friday Prayer to put out a hardline warning, declaring that “internal enemies” must be confronted.
Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani told the crowd in Tehran:
We have all spoken so much about foreign enemies. America, Israel, the West allied with America, and especially Saudi Arabia are all enemies of Islamic Iran….But less has been proposed to actually counter the internal enemies… We must be careful so we do not work with the plots of the enemy.
The message could be seen as another caution by the Supreme Leader’s office, which issues the guidelines for Friday Prayers, amid continuing regime in-fighting over politics, the economy, and foreign policy.
President Rouhani has been boosted by success for the centrist-reformist List of Hope in Parliamentary elections this spring. However, hardliners and conservatives have hit back by denouncing Rouhani’s attempts to open up political and social space — to the point of calling Government officials appeasers of “sedition” — and by questioning his approach to foreign affairs, including the implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal.
The Supreme Leader has stepped up pressure on Rouhani since March, rebuffing the President’s declaration that the nuclear agreement — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — will be followed by a “JCPOA 2” for economic recovery. Ayatollah Khamenei has insisted that no links be developed with a “dishonest” US and cautioned that he could take control of economic policy.
While some long-time political prisoners have been released, including reformist leader Mostafa Tajzadeh, the Revolutionary Guards has stepped up detention of journalists, activists, and artists, including the imprisonment of dual nationals visiting Iran.
Pictures: Activist Hedayat Given Furlough After 6 1/2 Years
Student activist Bahareh Hedayat has been given a four-day furlough after 6 1/2 years in prison.
Hedayat, prominent in the One Million Signatures campaign to end legal discrimination against women in Iran, was seized on December 31, 2009 amid the mass protests following the disputed Presidential election. She was given a 10-year sentence in May 2010.
Hedayat with activists:
Hedayat and her husband with former political prisoners Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Zeidabadi:
