Attorney General Responds to Ahmadinejad's Remarks: We Will Address This Abscess Too

The Attorney General of the country, in a veiled reaction to the protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech in Ahvaz, promised that the 'turn' to address these remarks will come and 'this abscess (sore point) must be addressed so that we can deal with them too.' According to the IRIB news agency, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General, said on Wednesday, April 23, in a speech in Yazd: 'Sometimes we are told that a certain gentleman in Khuzestan has said certain things, and in another place, he has said different things; we say their turn will come too, and this abscess must be addressed so that we can deal with them.' He also announced that the actions of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic are based solely on law and that this power 'never acts without reason and evidence' against individuals. The Attorney General's reference to a political figure's speech in Khuzestan could be about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech in Ahvaz, which has led to protests and criticisms in recent weeks. On the second of Farvardin, in a speech, he said: 'Those who think the nation does not understand are the most ignorant people on earth. What kind of monarchy has emerged in some people's existence... a strong mobilization to tell the nation that subsidies are bad and do not do it? 97 percent want something, why are you against the nation? 80 million people do not understand; you understand, this very nation brought you to power.' While some close associates of the former president of Iran, including Ali Akbar Javanfekr, have identified Hassan Rouhani as the audience of these remarks, some principlists, including Mohsen Rezaei, believe the audience of these remarks is the leader of the Islamic Republic. Following these comments, Ahmadinejad refrained from providing a clear response regarding interpretations of his recent speech in Ahvaz in an interview with a reporter from the Spanish news agency EFE. Ahmadinejad's candidacy, contrary to the 'recommendation' of the leader of the Islamic Republic, has also led to protests from principlists, who have spoken of the possibility of his disqualification. In contrast, Abdolreza Davari, a close figure to the former president, has stated that the deprivation of his candidacy rights can only occur with a 'government decree.' The Attorney General also addressed the protests regarding the arrests of managers of Telegram channels close to Hassan Rouhani's government, stating, 'We have documents and evidence that they have been planning for the elections.' He added, 'It is not the time to disclose these documents because we cannot make public matters that violate public morality and security issues.' Montazeri also stated that 'the enemy is focused on the issue of elections in Iran,' and the judiciary is monitoring this issue to prevent 'abuse' from social networks. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Tuesday, April 21, criticized the arrests of managers of several Telegram channels close to the government and threatened to publish the Ministry of Intelligence's report on this matter. Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of Iran, also announced that the government opposes the arrests of Telegram channel managers. In contrast, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, responded to these comments on Wednesday, stating that there are 'issues concerning the Minister of Intelligence himself' in this case, and he cannot prepare a report on this case. On the same day, Mahmoud Alavi responded to this statement, saying, 'I do not recognize a crime for the admins that I could be complicit in; it seems they are my accomplices. Defending the government is not a small crime.' The office of the spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government also stated that Mr. Mohseni Ejei made these remarks due to 'fatigue and pressure of commitments.' In Esfand of last year, managers of several Telegram channels and a number of journalists, including Hengameh Shahidi, Morad Saghafi, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Ramin Karimi, a researcher and translator, were arrested. Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, Hesameddin Ashna, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani, and several members of the Hope faction in parliament reacted to these arrests, linking them to the 2016 presidential election.