Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, met with members of the Assembly of Experts on Thursday. This was the first meeting of the Iranian leader with its members following the elections for this assembly. Khamenei described the elections as healthy and competitive, calling the behavior of those who were not elected on March 7 'ungentlemanly'. Without naming the leaders of the protests against the results of the 2009 elections, he referred to their actions as 'ungentlemanly'. Khamenei also stated that the elections on March 7 once again demonstrated the inaccuracy and lack of credibility of the statements made by those who claimed the elections were invalid in 2009, which he said created that 'harmful sedition' for the country. In the rhetoric of the Supreme Leader, 'sedition' refers to the protests against the results of the 2009 elections, and 'seditionists' refers to the leaders of these protests. Khamenei listed 'integrity and trustworthiness' as another characteristic of this election, asserting that contrary to the propaganda of enemies and claims from some within, elections in the Islamic system have always been healthy and there has never been an organized effort to influence the election results. While Ayatollah Khamenei speaks of the integrity of elections in Iran, it is noteworthy that prior to the elections, a large number of reformists were disqualified. Human Rights Watch, in a report published on its website, noted that about sixty percent of the candidates for the Iranian parliamentary elections were disqualified, emphasizing that with such disqualifications, 'in reality, no different candidates remain for the people to vote for.'
Ayatollah Khamenei: The Behavior of Those Who Did Not Win Votes in 2009 Was 'Ungentlemanly'
Ayatollah Khamenei met with members of the Assembly of Experts, praising the recent elections while criticizing the behavior of those who protested the 2009 election results. He claimed the elections were fair despite widespread disqualifications of reformist candidates, highlighting ongoing tensions regarding electoral integrity in Iran.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Ayatollah Khamenei met with the Assembly of Experts, praising the recent elections and criticizing the behavior of those who protested the 2009 election results. He asserted the elections were fair despite widespread disqualifications of reformist candidates.
- Khamenei referred to the 2009 election protestors' actions as 'ungentlemanly'.
- Human Rights Watch reported that about 60% of candidates were disqualified in the recent elections.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Iran's 2009 presidential election was highly controversial, leading to widespread protests and allegations of electoral fraud. The government has consistently dismissed these claims.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%