Clash Between Supporters and Opponents of Ahmadinejad During His Visit to Malard

Young Journalists Club, affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, reported a "clash" between supporters and opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, during his visit to the city of Malard, near Tehran, on Thursday, July 15. In his speech in this city, the former president criticized the "defamation of others' reputation" and indirectly responded to accusations against himself, accusing politicians in the country of making "defamation" a part of their behavior. He stated that "defaming others to prove oneself" has become "institutionalized" in the behavior of activists and politicians in Iran due to the "designs of the oppressors." Ahmadinejad, who popularized the phrase "I will say it, I will say it" during his eight years in office, added: "Instead of stating their own positives, they constantly defame others with the worst methods, insults, and slanders, concluding that they themselves are good." The Young Journalists Club reported that "it seemed that the shouts of one of Ahmadinejad's opponents triggered the clash." According to this report, supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded to the opponents' slogans with chants of "Death to the hypocrite," but "the clash ended with police intervention." This website also published a video of this "clash" in which the voices of Ahmadinejad's opponents chanting were removed, and only the slogan "Death to the hypocrite" from his supporters was audible. The Young Journalists Club also published images of placards carried by Ahmadinejad's supporters and opponents. Some young opponents of Ahmadinejad held placards that read: "You are the debris" and "Did you see the halo of light, but not your corrupt cabinet?" Supporters also carried placards with his photo, one of which depicted Ahmadinejad pointing his finger at Barack Obama, the President of the United States, with the caption: "Even a bigger servant than you could not do anything." Ahmadinejad's speech in Malard was supposed to take place before the second round of parliamentary elections, but the county security council decided that the event would be held after the elections "to ensure necessary measures for maintaining order and security during the event." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had previously traveled to Zanjan in June and to Amol in April. In this context, some Iranian media have interpreted the start of his travels as an attempt to return to Iranian politics and run again in the 2025 presidential elections, a speculation he has neither confirmed nor denied. Meanwhile, Akbar Turkan, a senior advisor to Hassan Rouhani, referred to Ahmadinejad as a "spent force," and Ali Motahari, a Tehran representative, stated that he should be "tried before running for office." Even some principlists, like Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Engineers Society, have implicitly announced that they will not support Ahmadinejad in the presidential elections. In his remarks at the Jameh Mosque of Malard, Ahmadinejad considered "opulence," "misappropriation of public funds," "injustice," "self-superiority and arrogance," "lying and deception," and "defaming others to prove oneself" as consequences of the "lack of dignity and honor" in society. Some of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's close associates are among the first officials of the Islamic Republic accused of embezzlement and widespread corruption and have even been convicted in court.