Advisor to Rouhani: Those Who Have Issues with Four Principles of the Constitution Must Pay the Price

Hossam al-Din Ashna, an advisor to the Iranian President, referring to the 'revision of the Constitution on the condition that the four unchangeable principles remain' stated: 'If anyone has a problem with these four principles, they should be prepared for tougher confrontations for the changes they desire and bear the costs of it.' The advisor to Hassan Rouhani, speaking on Sunday, December 9, at the 'Student Day' ceremony at Tehran University, declared these four 'unchangeable' principles as 'Islamicity, Republic, Guardianship of the Jurist, and the government's attention to the people's votes,' adding: 'Theoretically, there is the possibility of changing the Constitution apart from these four general principles.' Mr. Ashna did not provide further explanation regarding his statements about 'tougher confrontations for changes' and 'the costs of it.' However, in response to a student's question about 'when the people's suffering will end and how long we must witness the presence of people like you,' he said: 'As long as there is no better choice.' Over the past year, especially after the protests in December 2017 in Iran, several political activists have pointed to the 'unchangeability of the Constitution and the current Islamic Republic system' and called for 'overthrow.' The so-called principlist and reformist factions in Iran have also frequently referred to 'overthrowers' in recent months. For instance, Saeed Hajarian, a reformist political activist, stated about three weeks ago in an interview with the newspaper Etemad: 'Currently, the rival of reform is not the right wing but the overthrowers.' Protesters during last year's December protests chanted slogans such as 'Reformist, principlist / the story is over,' 'May the spirit of Reza Shah be blessed,' and 'O Shah of Iran / return to Iran.' While officials and political groups within the Islamic Republic system announced after these protests that the 'voice of the people must be heard,' they attributed the responsibility for the cultural, political, social, and economic problems and disorders in Iran to each other. In his remarks on Sunday, Hossam al-Din Ashna referred to the amendment in 1989, which added the possibility of 'revision' to the Constitution and said: 'Even apart from revision,' the current Constitution has 'many capacities for change.' Nevertheless, the advisor to the Iranian President pointed out that 'the power relations in Iran are very complex' and said that presidents or senior figures 'after leaving their positions realized that they did not know many issues.' Mr. Ashna referred to specific budget lines and said: 'Behind each budget line is a tribe and a parent' and 'every president thought they had friends and should strengthen them.'