Iran's Assembly of Friday Prayer Leaders: We Do Not Seek Government Approval for Our Warnings

In response to the government's spokesperson's criticism of the remarks made by Friday prayer leaders regarding the implementation of anti-money laundering regulations, the Assembly of Friday Prayer Leaders in Iran has stated that they will not wait for government permission for their "benevolent warnings." Recently, several Friday prayer leaders from various cities joined the opposition against the enforcement of money laundering regulations and expressed strong criticisms in this regard. In Mashhad, Ahmad Alamolhoda accused the government of "deceiving the people" and referred to the "JCPOA," "oil contracts," and the "money laundering issue" as a "sinister triangle" that has led to the loss of the country's independence. In Tehran, Ahmad Jannati attacked the government of Hassan Rouhani, threatening that "this matter will be stopped in any case," but "there should be a lesson for them to consider God, the revolution, and the people's oversight before doing anything they want." Similar statements were made by other Friday prayer leaders, prompting the government spokesperson to request on Tuesday that the Friday prayer leaders "respect the discussions raised in the Supreme National Security Council." However, the Assembly of Friday Prayer Leaders has emphasized in a statement that "Friday prayer leaders do not seek permission from any government official in expressing their benevolent warnings." The assembly noted that their policy is "fair criticism and realistic defense," and the recommendation of Friday prayer leaders for "dignity" and against "submissiveness" is a moral duty. The statement also emphasized that the "pride" of Friday prayer leaders is to "maintain intellectual independence, solely in the direction of executing divine orders and the leader's directives." The Assembly of Friday Prayer Leaders is an institution under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, established to create coordination among Friday prayer leaders in different cities, and it communicates its political positions to them weekly in the form of bulletins. The powers of the Iranian leader in appointing and relocating Friday prayer leaders in various cities have been delegated to this assembly. The composition of this assembly, which has been headed by Seyyed Reza Taghavi in recent years, has always included a range of principlist clerics close to the Supreme Leader, and thus, over the past three decades, the way this assembly has interacted with various governments has been subject to the views of Ayatollah Khamenei. The Friday prayer pulpits, which during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency primarily reflected the Supreme Leader's support for his government, have become a platform for criticizing the government since Hassan Rouhani took office and have repeatedly confronted the government over the past three years. The most significant scene of this confrontation was the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, but in recent months, the government's cultural policies, specifically the holding of music concerts, have been the main subject of criticism from Friday prayer leaders against the government. In this context, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, and several other Friday prayer leaders from other cities have called for music concerts not to be held in their cities, while Hassan Rouhani has pointed out these criticisms, stating that "anyone who wakes up in the morning and finds a podium cannot legislate."