PHOTO: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his successor Hassan Rouhani in 2013


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Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called for an investigation into his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into alleged financial mismanagement.

Rouhani said on Wednesday that the judiciary, the Supreme National Security Council, and “other relevant institutions” should investigate Ahmadinejad’s failure to recover assets during his Presidency from 2005 to 2013.

Rouhani asserted that Ahmadinejad showed “neglect” in not retrieving almost $2 billion in assets seized by the US in 2008: “Between 2007 and 2008, we had a span of ten months when we could have withdrawn all of the money… but there was negligence in this issue.”

The President issued his statement two days after Ahmadinejad posted a high-profile letter to Barack Obama, asking him to “quickly fix” a US Supreme Court ruling this spring that froze $2 billion in Iranian assets so families of victims to terrorism can sue for compensation.

Ahmadinejad said his letter “is by no means of [a] political nature”, but many Iranians believe he is preparing for a return to politics and possible candidacy in the President election next May.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Ahmadinejad has been warned that the launch of any political campaign, before an official election period, is illegal.

See Iran Feature: Ahmadinejad’s Political Move — A Letter to ObamaIran Feature: Ahmadinejad’s Political Move — A Letter to Obama

Rouhani also spoke about regime in-fighting on Wednesday:

Constructive criticism is useful, and everyone should welcome it. But degradation, defamation, lying, and creating public worry are unlawful and crimes. The Judiciary should deal with these cases not because of any particular person or party, but in order to preserve the ideals of the [Islamic] Revolution.

On Tuesday, Vice President Majid Ansari asked the judiciary to investigate “unprecedented affronts and insults” against Rouhani, as he looked towards the Presidential campaign: “Those who have saddled the electoral horse and galloped to the arena of misconduct must return to the arena of morality and observe the law.”

Months of hardline and conservative pressure on Rouhani has been galvanized by the Supreme Leader’s escalating criticism. Last Friday, prayer leaders labelled the President “Mr Gullible” for trusting the US over implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal, and criticized the Government for not ensuring the removal of all US-led sanctions and providing the economic recovery it promised.


3-Year Sentence for Journalist Saharkhiz

Prominent reformist journalist Isa Saharkhiz has been given another prison sentence, this time for three year.

Saharkhiz was convicted of “insulting Iranian officials” and “propaganda against the regime” Tuesday, according to his lawyer.

Revolutionary Guards arrested Saharkhiz on November 2 and three fellow journalists the next day, accusing them of “being part of an “infiltration network”.

In April, the other journalists were given long sentences. In April, all three were given long prison sentences, but Saharkhiz was tried separately. Afarin Chitsaz was released in July pending appeal, Saman Safarzaei remains incarcerated, and Ehsan Mazandarani has reportedly suffered a heart attack in prison.

Saharkhiz has been detained on several occasions for his journalism. He was seized just after the disputed June 2009 Presidential election and was not released until October 2013.