Criticism from Several Iranian Parliament Members on Rouhani's Delay in Lifting House Arrest

A member of the House Arrest Removal Committee in the Iranian Parliament reported on the 'implicit agreement' of the Supreme Leader regarding the lifting of house arrest for the leaders of the 2009 protests. At the same time, several members of this committee criticized Hassan Rouhani's performance and called for him to take more serious action on this issue. In an interview with the newspaper Shargh published on Sunday, April 21, Gholamreza Heydari, a member of the Hope faction and the House Arrest Removal Committee, stated: 'Now that there are whispers indicating the Supreme Leader's implicit agreement to lift the house arrest, it is better for the President to enter this matter with the necessary precision and speed so that the issue reaches a conclusion.' He emphasized that 'no excuses from the President are acceptable anymore.' Concurrently, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Vice President of the Hope faction, referred to the delegation of decision-making regarding the lifting of house arrest to the Supreme National Security Council, stating that the head and secretary of this council are 'decisive' in this matter. Abdul Reza Hashemzadeh, a representative from Tehran, also mentioned that Hassan Rouhani has not fulfilled his legal duty as President and executor of the Constitution to lift the house arrest of Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi. These parliament members also criticized Rouhani for not meeting with the members of the House Arrest Removal Committee, unlike the heads of the other two branches. Since the beginning of 2018, criticisms from reformist figures regarding Rouhani's inaction on the house arrest issue have increased. Mohammad Khatami, the former President of Iran, stated on Tuesday, April 9, that the 'system' and the Supreme Leader 'want' the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders to be resolved. Khatami added that 'the organization that should resolve this issue is either sluggish or incapable, and this is where the President and other friends must become active and resolve it.' Following this, Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, also criticized Rouhani in a meeting with several former parliament members, stating that he has not secured the rights of the house-arrested individuals 'against his oath.' Additionally, according to ILNA news agency, Khatami and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri expressed their grievances to Rouhani about his inaction on the house arrest issue during a meeting. Reports indicate that this meeting took place at Rouhani's house with the presence of Khatami, First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri, and Nategh Nouri, a supporter of Rouhani in the elections and former head of the Supreme Leader's office inspection. Previously, Ali Motahari, the Vice President of the Parliament, without mentioning details, cited 'differences of opinion among judicial and security officials' as one of the reasons that have prevented the lifting of house arrest for the leaders of the 2009 protests despite some promises. Behrouz Namati, a member of the Parliament's Board of Directors, also stated on the first of Farvardin that Mehdi Karroubi's letter to the Supreme Leader has caused a delay in the process of lifting the house arrest. This issue was also confirmed in an interview with Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, who said that 'three members of the security apparatus' informed his mother that Mehdi Karroubi's letter to the Supreme Leader has hindered his house arrest being lifted. According to Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, Fatemeh Karroubi told these security officials, 'If you have any sincerity in your statements, then end the house arrest of Engineer Mousavi and Mrs. Rahnavard, who have not written any letters.' Officials in Hassan Rouhani's government have repeatedly promised to pursue the lifting of house arrest, but this issue, which was also part of Rouhani's electoral slogans, has not yet been realized. Only in recent months have there been changes in the status of house arrest, and in addition to several political activists successfully having individual meetings with Mr. Karroubi, the restrictions on the scheduling of meetings between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard with their daughters have also been lifted.