Government Spokesman: Leadership Does Not Consider House Arrest Unresolvable

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, on Tuesday, August 1, addressed the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, stating, "The door to resolving this issue is open" and added that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic does not consider anything "unresolvable" in this regard. According to ILNA and ISNA news agencies, the spokesman of Hassan Rouhani's government expressed "wishes for health for these dear ones" and hoped that "the misunderstandings will be resolved" and "conditions will arise so that there are no concerns for their families and the people." Nobakht's remarks come at a time when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, has referred to the protests against the presidential election results as "sedition" since they began. In this context, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, former Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a conservative political figure, stated in an interview with the Tuesday issue of Etemad newspaper, "If they are tried seriously and according to the existing laws of the country, the punishment for these leaders of sedition is severe. The system does not want to do this. They ask why the house arrest is not lifted; I ask, how do we know that when the leaders of sedition come out, they won’t hold a press conference and issue statements again?" Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard have been under house arrest since February 2011. The government spokesman further stated, "We must strive to defend national interests and establish peace in society." In response to another question regarding the Minister of Health announcing that he is personally following up on Karroubi's treatment and has no official mandate from the government, he said, "The Minister of Health is not a free physician but a cabinet member, and if he is taking action in this regard, it is in line with fulfilling his commitments." The spokesman added, "We are obliged to take action for any citizen who is ill, let alone these individuals for whom we consider ourselves responsible for their health. We will discuss this with the Minister of Health, and God willing, urgent health will be provided for these personalities." In a statement from the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education of Iran, published on Monday, August 1, on the ministry's news website, it was emphasized that "so far, no responsibility has been assigned to this ministry regarding the follow-up of the treatment of those under house arrest." Previously, the daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, as well as the family of Mehdi Karroubi, have repeatedly expressed concerns about their health status in recent days. The daughters of Mir Hossein Mousavi recently announced that during their last visit with their parents, they noticed that their father was suffering from "severe fluctuations in blood pressure and severe dizziness." They also criticized the follow-up regarding the health of Mr. Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard in an interview published on August 1 in the Jomhouri Eslami newspaper. Additionally, the family of Mehdi Karroubi had severely criticized the Ministry of Intelligence regarding the treatment process for Mr. Karroubi. In their statement, the family of Mr. Karroubi also criticized Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stating that if he is "not committed to accountability" regarding lifting the house arrest due to other priorities, he is still "obliged to be accountable for the illegal and inhumane actions of his agents." The government has not yet reacted to this matter. The President of Iran has previously stated in cases such as student protests and slogans centered on the freedom of Zahra Rahnavard, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mir Hossein Mousavi that "the government is committed to all the promises made to the people" and "to achieve our goals, we need to create internal consensus." However, over the past years, there has been no change in the six-year house arrest status of Mr. Karroubi, Mr. Mousavi, and Ms. Rahnavard. The judiciary has stated that the house arrest of these three was ordered by the "Supreme National Security Council." However, Hassan Rouhani, who is also the head of this council, has denied the existence of such a resolution.