LATEST: Official — Ahmadinejad Asked For Supreme Leader Intervention in Election
The series of messages from the Supreme Leader’s office, via Twitter, was sudden but to the point.
All should be subject to #law. In 2009, they made damage to Iran & prevented people from tasting true joy of 40 million votes because of violating law….Some violated law for materialistic desires or corrupt political goals — that we don’t want to judge now — and entered from illegal grounds….They hurt themselves, people, & country. The true path is path of law. We must all be subject to law & surrender to law….Sometimes a law may not be 100% correct but it’s better than not having any law.
Why the outburst from Ayatollah Khamenei, only a week after the surprise election of Hassan Rouhani as President?
Is it a warning to those who challenged the disputed 2009 Presidential election — many of whom are still in prison or under threat of detention — not to ask for too much from Rouhani?
Is it a warning to Rouhani himself not to go too far in his own plans, for example, fulfilling a campaign promise to release political prisoners?
Or is it a specific signal that the 2009 Presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi — held since February 2011 under strict house arrest — will not be freed, at least until they make public pledges not to “break the law” with inappropriate political statements?
Latest Updates, From Top to Bottom
Official: Ahmadinejad Asked For Supreme Leader Intervention in Election
Hojatoleslam Haj Sadeghi, the Supreme Leader’s deputy representative to the Revolutionary Guards, has claimed that President Ahmadinejad asked Ayatollah Khamenei to intervene in this month’s Presidential election on three separate occasions.
Sadeghi told a conference at Qom University “The President went to the Supreme Lader three times for a Government decree and tried to bargain with him, but the Supreme Leader did not accept his demands.” A “government decree” is a edict by which only the supreme leader can overrule decisions made by other institutions in the government.
According to Sadeghi, Ahmadinejad approached Khamenei before the Guardian Council disqualified the President’s right-hand man Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai. The Supreme Leader subsequently said to Friday Prayers leaders, I have not said anything to the Guardian Council, nor will I.”
News Footage: Iran To Build Nuclear Reactor In Fars Province
Footage from an Iranian TV news report on Thursday, which claims that plans to build a nuclear reactor in Fars province have been finalized and that construction will commence this Persian year, 1392.
Rouhani: Our Nuclear Activities Are Legitimate And Peaceful
The ISNA news agency cited excerpts from a television interview given by President-elect Hassan Rouhani a few months before the election and broadcast on Friday, in which he said the West needs to take a serious approach the nuclear talks.
Rouhani said that the West “must feel that there is a better solution than sanctions to resolve the [nuclear] issue.”
ISNA quoted Rouhani as saying that Iran’s nuclear activities are “legitimate and peaceful and we have not violated the NPT, and all our activities are under IAEA inspection.”
Regarding threats of military action against Iran’s nuclear program, Rouhani said: “War does not favor any of the parties, and I also do not think that America is thinking about war at this point. In the Bush era, America was considering war, but America now knows how devastating the effects of war can be for the region and for itself, and at this point, only the Zionists are after war.”
Russian FM Praises Rouhani, Insists He Attend Geneva II on Syria
Russia continues to attempt to ingratiate itself with the president-elect, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praising Hassan Rouhani’s willingness to “look for a solution to the nuclear problem in Iran more actively and creatively.”
Lavrov also insisted that Rouhani should be invited to participate at the forthcoming Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis, citing French President Francois Hollande’s suggestion Rouhani be allowed to attend as evidence of a changing climate of opinion.
Movahedi-Kermani: Election Turnout “Passionate Response To Supreme Leader’s Call”
Hojatoleslam Ali Movahedi-Kermani, a representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guards, said Friday that the high turnout in the Presidential election was a passionate response to the call of the Supreme Leader.
Speaking during Friday prayers in Tehran, Movahedi-Kermani added that Iran’s enemies had realized that this was a “vibrant answer” to Khamenei’s call, and that the relationship of the Iranian people with the Supreme Leader was unbreakable.
Movahedi-Kermani added that Rouhani must now choose his cabinet, and select advisers. “This work is very difficult, and we pray to God that he will succeed and that the nation will also help in this endeavor,” he said.
Glasgow Caledonian University Congratulates Alumnus Rouhani on Election Victory
The Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University, where Hassan Rouhani received his doctorate, has congratulated the president-elect on his election victory.
Professor Pamela Gillies said in her message:“I would like to congratulate our alumnus, Hassan Rohani, on being elected President of Iran, a truly significant achievement. I hope his period as a scholar at Glasgow Caledonian University will prove beneficial as he assumes office, and I wish him every success as he works towards a positive future for Iran and its people.”
Rouhani Calls on Media to Help “Promote Peace and Resolve People’s Problems”
President-elect Hassan Rouhani has called on the Iranian media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting (IRIB), to help “promote peace in the country and resolve the [Iranian] people’s problems, and media, including the IRIB, are expected to make efforts to maintain and further this opportunity.”
In a meeting with IRIB president Ezzatollah Zarghami, Rouhani said “The looks in the country must be set upon the future. Efforts should be made to realize the ideals of Iran’s Islamic Revolution through the path of moderation.”
Khatami Warns of “Misplaced Expectations” on Rouhani
During a meeting with students at Tehran University, former president Mohammad Khatami warned Iranians about the “misplaced expectations” that some may have regarding president-elect Hassan Rouhani’s election.
Khatami said, “We have to be careful not to be hasty so that misplaced expectations are not placed on the administration. The administration cannot perform miracles.” He added, “We have to move slowly. We cannot get rid of this devastating inflation and unemployment and change our foreign relations by tomorrow. We cannot have these expectations.”
Discussing the role of reformism in Iranian politics, Khatami said “I know that during these years, especially the last eight years, you have endured many hardships. … Reformism means being realistic in that other than elections, there is no other path.” He added, “After years of having Reformist discourse attacked, the people have shown that they accept Reformist discourse.”
The former president also stressed the central role of the Supreme Leader, stating “Let me say a successful president is one who coordinates with the supreme leader, and the supreme leader helps the president fulfill the promises he made to the people.”
Khatami also commented on the situation of political prisoners, including leaders of the Green Movement, saying “It’s true that many of us are unhappy with the house arrest of Mousavi, Rahnavard and Karroubi, and many of our dear ones are in prison. But those imprisoned also voted. … We want for God to free all of our dear ones.”
