Criticism in the Presence of the Leader: "What is your response to the people's protests?"

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, hosted a group of students on Tuesday, June 7, where some were given the unusual opportunity to voice their criticisms of the government and the system from the podium. Among them, the remarks and criticisms of Sahar Mehrabi, a representative of responsible managers in the Central Council overseeing university publications at the Ministry of Science, received significant media attention. In her speech, which was fully published by the 'Ensaf News' website on Tuesday night, she addressed nearly all the problems and challenges facing Iran today. She began her remarks by stating: "Iran today is grappling with multiple crises; the intensification of systemic inequality among social classes, a decrease in public trust, the collapse of moral values, the prevalence of social harms, environmental crises, an increase in marginalization, and the dire state of employment have had a detrimental impact on social cohesion." Mehrabi also spoke about the existence of a crisis in the government and the country: "The weakening of legal structures through the creation of parallel political-security institutions, illegal interventions by military-security forces in the duties of elected bodies, the violation of the people's right to choose through arbitrary disqualifications, and the extrajudicial interventions of the judiciary in the duties of other branches have resulted in nothing but the increasing weakening of the people's sovereignty." She also mentioned "unrestrained privatization" and directly asked the Supreme Leader why he has supported "the implementation of these policies" [of neoliberal privatization] for three decades. This student also pointed out that there is "no practical possibility for investigation and inquiry" from the institutions and organizations under Ayatollah Khamenei's command, naming them as: "the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the judiciary, state television, the Foundation of the Oppressed, and the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command." Sahar Mehrabi described the eight-year house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, namely Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, as "illegal" and "arbitrary." Meanwhile, it seems that Ayatollah Khamenei has not yet yielded on the issue of the house arrest of these figures. In 2016, he emphasized in another student gathering that he still insists on delineating boundaries with the leaders of the 2009 protests. Before concluding her remarks, this student directly asked the Supreme Leader: "You, who some believe the powers stated in Article 110 of the Constitution are the minimum of your powers, what response do you have to the questions, criticisms, and protests of the people?" She ended by presenting herself as a defender of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing that "the solution is within the Islamic Republic"; as she stated, "there is no hope for the hollow overthrowers and opportunistic expatriates, terrorists, and the offspring of the monarchy and the agents of global arrogance." Although this is not the first time a student has had the opportunity to express their criticisms in the presence of the Supreme Leader, such instances that have been reported in the past 40 years are few and far between. The student gathering that revealed Ayatollah Khamenei's issue of "boundary-setting" with the leaders of the Green Movement in 2016 was one of these rare cases. In a meeting on July 3, 2016, with a group of students, Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, a doctoral student in law at Tehran University, criticized the treatment of students and student publications, including the "restriction of the freely chosen rights of the nation, and the disrespect and dignity of individuals," and "the attribution of falsehoods and insults to some political and social figures." In November 2009, during the height of public protests against the presidential election results, which led to the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, reports emerged of a student's critical views in the presence of the Supreme Leader. Reports from that year quoted the official website of Ayatollah Khamenei stating that a student from Sharif University named Mahmoud Vahidnia complained about censorship in radio and television and the use of violence in dealing with protests and criticism from the people. These reports also indicated that Ayatollah Khamenei responded to this student by saying, "I welcome criticism." In this context, the Supreme Leader stated in February 2018 that he is aware of the "complaints and grievances of the people" and that people may criticize him as well, but this criticism "does not contradict standing by the system." However, as Ehsan Mehrabi, a parliamentary reporter, stated in an interview with Radio Farda, following these expressions of criticism in the presence of the Iranian leader, "nothing significant happens." Supporting this, Morteza Kazemian, an analyst, also noted that Ali Khamenei's response to the students' recent criticisms indicates that high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic do not intend to acknowledge "the country's crisis in various areas." The young female student's remarks in the presence of the Iranian leader have sparked significant reactions on social media, generating both positive and negative responses. However, many have pointed out the same issue that journalist Reza Haghighatnejad mentioned in a tweet: "The relevant and main officials are precisely acting according to the leader's recommendations, which has led to this situation." On June 7, the Supreme Leader also responded to students' criticisms of the judiciary and state television, stating that although the heads of these two institutions are appointed by him, he has no role in their management. Shortly after, a message was published on the official Twitter account of the Iranian leader: "The young person who says the situation is very bad, I confirm his feelings, but I absolutely do not agree with his words."