PHOTO: The Supreme Leader and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, on Saturday


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Iran’s Supreme Leader has appeared with the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder, days after the Guardian Council blocked Hassan Khomeini from standing in February’s elections.

The encounter took place on Saturday at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, in a ceremony just before the 10 days of celebration of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Last week, the Guardian Council — appointed by the Supreme Leader and the judiciary — banned 634 of 800 candidates for the Assembly of Experts, the body which chooses and can nominally replace the Leader. Hassan Khomeini, his father-in-law, and a Tehran Friday Prayer leader were among those who were blocked.

The Council has also disqualified 60% of 12,000 candidates for the February 26 vote for the 290 seats in Parliament, including 99% of 3,000 reformist hopefuls.

Hassan Khomeini announced on Friday that he would appeal his ban. Although he has not announced a political affiliation, his views are seen as close to those of President Rouhani and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

On Sunday, as he hosted a visit by President Rouhani and his Cabinet to his grandfather’s mausoleum, Khomeini said that “the wave of public determination will destroy anything which stands against them” and that they “will certainly welcome any sincere act and will destroy any obstacles on fulfillment of their demands”.

The cleric also noted the Rouhani Government had “managed to tackle economic and political problems”.

Hardliners and some conservatives are concerned that a bloc around Rouhani and Rafsanjani, possibly allied with reformists, could have gained power in the elections without the Guardian Council’s intervention. They have warned of a foreign-backed “sedition” and accused leading politicians, including Rafsanjani, of involvement.

Rouhani’s Cautious Response

President Rouhani finally reacted to the disqualifications on Saturday as he attended the ceremonies at the Khomeini mausoleum on Sunday.

Rouhani had challenged the Council’s Parliamentary bans as leading to a “one-party state”, but he was on a tour of Italy and France when the Council purged the Assembly of Experts list.

He said yesterday that people must participate in the election, “Nothing should take away our hope,” explaining that it is expected that the Guardian Council will provide “more choice and greater competition” in the ballot.

Rafsanjani, who is hoping to regain the chair of the Assembly of Experts, issued a statement on Saturday: “Setting up a sound and unbiased election will bring pride to Iran.”

In an implicit reference to the disqualifications, he said “the vital fact” was that “all parties should avoid passing over their rivals and no specific group should be backed by any individual or party”.

The former President maintained that it is the Iranian people who must be able to decide the elections and that a result should be not “imposed” upon them.


Supreme Leader Gives Medal to Revolutionary Guards Commander to Celebrate Detention of US Navy Personnel

The Supreme Leader has awarded the “Order of Conquest” medal to the Revolutionary Guards’ naval commander Ali Fadavi, celebrating the brief detention of the 10 US Navy personnel earlier this month.

The personnel and their two boats were seized when they entered Iranian territorial waters, apparently because of a navigational error, on January 12. They were released within 24 hours after intervention by the US State Department and Iranian Foreign Ministry, trying to prevent any disruption of the implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal.

Last week the Supreme Leader publicly congratulated the Guards troops involved in the interception and detention of the American sailors.