Borzin: Khatami Placed the Burden of Lifting House Arrest on the Leader

Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, on Sunday urged the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran to issue an order for the "lifting of the house arrest" of the leaders who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election. Khatami also praised the government of Hassan Rouhani for facilitating the promise to end the presence of security forces at the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi. At the same time, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, called the reports about this matter a "complete lie." Radio Farda began a conversation with Saeed Borzin, a sociologist and political analyst in London, asking whether Khatami's public request from Ayatollah Khamenei to lift the house arrest indicates an agreement on this issue or not. Saeed Borzin: I doubt that any agreement has been reached. Given the evidence at hand, it seems unlikely that any discussions have taken place behind the scenes, or that any agreement has been made or that a deal is to be struck. Considering the statements made by Mr. Ejei, it appears that the problem still exists and no behind-the-scenes agreement has been reached. Previously, Mr. Khatami had asked President Hassan Rouhani to create the conditions for lifting the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi. Now, Khatami's request from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday for the lifting of the house arrest of Mr. Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard—three prominent figures who are under house arrest—indicates what? Khatami is effectively placing the burden of responsibility correctly on Mr. Khamenei. This means that the responsible and decision-making authority in this matter, as the evidence suggests, is Mr. Khamenei, and if there is a request, it ultimately must be directed to him. This public request [by Khatami] naturally alleviates some pressure from [Rouhani's] shoulders while simultaneously placing Khamenei in a more precarious situation; if he agrees (which seems unlikely), it will be said that he has made some sort of compromise, and if he does not agree, it will become clear that ultimately Mr. Khamenei is responsible for the matter and he is the one who decides. You say it is unlikely that the house arrest will be lifted. If that is the case, why has Mr. Khatami, the former president who reportedly is himself banned from appearing in media and traveling, felt it necessary to discuss the lifting of the house arrest of Mr. Karroubi, Mr. Mousavi, and Ms. Rahnavard this time with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran? I feel that Khatami has deemed it necessary to emphasize the positions of reformists that this house arrest is a serious issue for us and we are seeking to lift and resolve it. This is a renewed emphasis on the positions that reformists have taken regarding the necessity of lifting the house arrest. This action [by Khatami] in a sense meets the expectations of a significant part of the reformist social base. This social base expects that every once in a while this issue will be raised, and the leaders will bring it up and emphasize the necessity of lifting the house arrest. Reformists have always pursued this demand and have never forgotten it, and they have raised it every so often, stating that we will not neglect pursuing these goals. It seems that Mr. Khatami has deemed it necessary, after the recent developments regarding Mr. Karroubi, to officially raise this issue again and emphasize to his social base that we are still seeking to lift the house arrest and this is one of our important political goals that is officially stated.