Concerns Raised by Khamenei's Representative in the IRGC Regarding Changes in Parliament Composition

The representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described the transformation of the principlist parliament into a "different parliament" as a "threat" to what he called the "interests of the system" and the "ideals" of Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei. Ali Saeedi, in an interview with the Fars news agency published on Tuesday, June 9, also stated that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is concerned about the "process and outcome" of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 group. Saeedi emphasized: "There are many efforts to transform the principlist parliament into another parliament, which poses a threat to the ideals of the Imam and leadership and the interests of the system." He added: "Therefore, the Guardian Council has responsibilities, and the elites must introduce the criteria for representatives in line with the revolution so that the people vote for representatives who will implement the leadership's ideal demands." He urged the people to consider the so-called "interests of the system" when voting and added: "A parliament in line with the revolution is one that can stand against the excesses of imperialism and create the ideal conditions for realizing the Imam's and leadership's ideals." In recent months, several reformists have reported plans by this group to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. However, Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, announced on Saturday, June 9, that in reviewing the qualifications of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections, serious attention would be paid to their roles in the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, which he referred to as the "sedition." Meanwhile, Najatollah Ebrahimian, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, also stated on Saturday, November 17, 2014, that protesting the results of the 2009 election is a "red line" for granting positions to individuals in the Islamic Republic, stating that even the "repentance" of the 2009 protesters is not sufficient for "great trusts" such as parliamentary representation. Saeedi had previously stated on Wednesday, January 8, 2013, that "the inherent duty of the IRGC is to logically and reasonably engineer elections." These remarks sparked significant protests, including from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then President of Iran, who said on Thursday, January 9, 2013, "Anyone who wants to manage the people will be managed by the people." The Guardian Council has set March 7, 2016, as the date for the upcoming elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts. In another part of this interview, Saeedi commented on the "recollections" of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, about Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, saying: "I do not understand what these words are and why they are being said?" He emphasized, referring to the period after the Prophet Muhammad, that "leadership cannot be divided so that part is transferred to the companions and part to others. The mistake of that period was granting immunity to the companions; this same mistake has been repeated in our time." In recent years, the recollections of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani about Ayatollah Khomeini have repeatedly drawn criticism from close associates of the Supreme Leader and some principlist figures. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the "distortion" of the behavior and words of Ayatollah Khomeini as a "great danger" and a "deviation from the straight path of the Iranian nation" on Thursday, June 4. The representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC also stated that Iran needs solid fuel for its "long-range missiles or submarines," but nuclear bombs are not part of Iran's "doctrine." He referred to the existence of "some discourses" in the past regarding Iran's need for 60% enrichment to supply fuel for its submarines, adding: "They felt that we have the capability to enrich more than 20%, which was, of course, at the level of discourse, and the system was not seeking to go beyond 20%." Saeedi also called for "conditions" to be placed on accepting the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He emphasized that "what we repeatedly witness in the statements of the Supreme Leader is that he is concerned about the process and outcome of the work, and the negotiating team must exercise the necessary caution so that negotiations only revolve around nuclear issues and do not harm national interests and security." In another part of his remarks, Saeedi stated that during Ayatollah Khomeini's time, Iran's borders were "Shalamcheh and Haj Omran," but during Ayatollah Khamenei's leadership, "the border of the Islamic Revolution is the Mediterranean coast and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait." He also mentioned that the Islamic Republic has disagreements with the United States regarding Latin America, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, as well as "Islamic interests and human rights and all issues." The representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC described Iran's support for Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon as "spiritual support" and added: "This spiritual support is the same discourse exchange, the same that we tell them not to fall into the trap of the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey." Saeedi had previously referred to Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and Latin America as the "strategic depth" of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, stated on Tuesday, April 26, that the "ideal of the Islamic Revolution" is to create an "Islamic civilization." This comes at a time when Iran's actions in the region have caused protests from some Arab countries and Turkey, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Friday, March 26, accused Iran of trying to dominate the Middle East, stating that this action by the Islamic Republic has "exasperated" Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Arab states. In another part of his remarks, Saeedi identified one of the "consequences" of what he called "extreme Shiism" as "provoking Sunnis" and added: "Another factor attracting ISIS groups is that they say Shiites insult the caliphs; thus, these are fault lines that do not need to be provoked, and this means misidentifying the enemy." Some officials of the Islamic Republic have warned in the past year about what they describe as "divisive actions," and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence reported in August 2014 the closure of several satellite network offices due to "creating religious differences and exacerbating divisions in the Islamic world and damaging the image of Shiism."