Ayatollah Khamenei and the Sultanate Parliament Against the American Parliament

As usual, Ayatollah Khamenei rejected the qualifications of thousands of rivals and critics for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly through the Guardian Council, ensuring his comfort in forming 'Sultanate Parliaments.' He considered the disqualifications a 'right of the people' and continued to speak about America's goal of infiltrating the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly through elections. With all these disqualifications and the non-competitive nature of the elections, should there still be concern about American influence in these two assemblies? Why do his appointed followers continue to scare the public about American infiltration in these two assemblies? To support this claim, first look at three examples below, all stated this week - after the announcement of widespread disqualifications: A- Ayatollah Mohammadi Kermani, Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association, Tehran's Friday Prayer Leader, and member of the Assembly of Experts, reminded at the third election conference of conservatives that 'the Supreme Leader emphasized that America wants to infiltrate the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts.' He then posed the question, 'How can we block America's infiltration in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts?' He stated that conservatives will not allow such an event to happen. However, for the enemy - America - infiltration in the Assembly of Experts is more important than in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, because if Ayatollah Khamenei dies, the Assembly of Experts must choose the next leader, and 'the key to the system is in the leader's hands.' B- Ayatollah Sediqi also expressed during this week's Friday prayer in Tehran, 'We must pay attention to the issue of infiltration,' stating: 'God forbid we witness an assembly where an American statement is read; God forbid we witness experts who, instead of being 'helpers,' become 'burdens' and desecrate sanctities; God forbid the experts become a field for the power struggle between these groups.' C- Ayatollah Khamenei's website dedicated the main section of its page to the new issue of 'Line of Hezbollah,' which also focused on preventing the infiltration of American agents and enemies into the Islamic Republic system by Ayatollah Khomeini. The main goal of Ayatollah Khamenei and conservatives is to form a 'Sultanate Parliament,' meaning assemblies that are not only completely obedient to the leader's orders but also seek to discover and act upon the leader's 'desires.' The Revolutionary Guards have nominated many of their forces for the elections across the country. They also intend to gain a majority in the parliament. The Guards are the most organized force across the country. With the mobilization of the Guards and Basij forces and substantial funding, they do not find achieving their goal particularly difficult. Reformists and moderates cannot hope to form a non-conservative parliament due to widespread disqualifications. They intend to present lists to prevent the presence of extremist conservatives and military personnel in the parliament as much as possible. Thus, their main goal is to eliminate extremists, but if they find independent individuals among the approved candidates, they might be able to push aside more conservatives and form a moderate parliament through them. Khamenei and conservatives aimed at two goals with one arrow. They not only eliminated rivals but also deprived them of the opportunity to display their social base. They completely destroyed Hashemi Rafsanjani's plan in the Assembly of Experts. Hashemi intended to present a nationwide list for the Assembly of Experts, featuring photos of Hassan Rouhani, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, and himself at the top. The opposition disqualified all of them to prevent such an opportunity from arising for Hashemi and the reformists. Hassan Khomeini was also not approved. Ayatollah Alam al-Huda stated in the Friday prayer on February 9 that the Assembly of Experts' job is to identify the 'Hujjat of Imam Zaman' and pledge allegiance to him. Interestingly, the 'current Hujjat of Imam Zaman' (Ayatollah Khamenei) eliminated the companions and close associates of the 'previous Hujjat of Imam Zaman' (Ayatollah Khomeini). This means that the qualifications of that 'Hujjat of Imam Zaman' hold no credibility for this 'Hujjat of Imam Zaman.' Now, reformists and moderates intend to display their social base differently. Their goal is to ensure that in Tehran, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani win against conservatives by a significant margin. Khamenei and conservatives, in the current situation, when they speak of American infiltration into the Assembly of Experts and express concern that American statements might be read in this assembly and create problems for the leadership, they mean Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani. Indeed, they believe these two are American infiltrators. They either consider them as infiltrators of the American government or present them as such. Evidence from the statements of conservatives can support both possibilities. Hassan Rouhani stated during the election campaigns that instead of negotiating with others, we should negotiate directly with America, which is the 'big guy' of others. At that time, Qalibaf harshly criticized him as the 'servant' of the world's big guy, but Hassan Rouhani won. He negotiated with the world's big guy and implemented the nuclear agreement. Conservatives constantly spoke of his betrayal, claiming that contrary to the guidelines and conditions of the 'Supreme Leader,' he was implementing the nuclear agreement and filling the Arak reactor's core with cement. Conservatives have consistently raised the issue of compromising with the 'big guy' to attack Hassan Rouhani, claiming that Rouhani and Hashemi see the solution to domestic issues in compromising with America (they even claimed that Hashemi Rafsanjani sent his daughter, Faezah Hashemi, to America simultaneously with the elections to stir up a new sedition). Labeling Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani as American agents, whether stemming from a belief in their American affiliation or as a form of political propaganda for their elimination, has many implications. Now, reformists and moderates have the opportunity to launch a referendum against Khamenei and conservatives and their policies. If they can significantly distance Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani from hardliners like Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, Ayatollah Jannati, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, etc., in the elections for the Assembly of Experts in Tehran, the difference in the social base of the two sides will become evident. Tehran is not only the political capital of the country and the most populous province but also dominates other provinces in terms of education, middle class, and intellectual and artistic movements. Therefore, the results in Tehran have always differed from those in other cities and are of great importance to the political system and political groups. If the American infiltrators and those compromising with the 'big guy' win by a significant margin, this will have significant consequences for Ayatollah Khamenei and conservatives. The truth is that Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani support negotiation and relations with America. They consider this to be in the interest of Iran's national interests. But where does this claim stand against the claim of being 'American infiltrators' and 'servants of the world's big guy'? Suppose Khamenei and conservatives are right, meaning these two are American infiltrators intending to read American government statements in the Assembly of Experts. In that case, their significant victory in Tehran would mean America's victory in Tehran. More than that, their meaningful victory would signify the conquest of the 'capital of the Islamic Ummah' by America.