Iran's Foreign Ministry: House Arrest Issue Not Related to Foreign Countries

Hosseini Jaberi Ansari, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, announced on Monday, February 15, during his weekly press conference that the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard is an internal issue of Iran and is not related to foreign countries. The United States, on February 14, condemned the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protests and called for their release. In a statement released by Mark Toner, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, it was mentioned that the United States will continue its efforts to persuade the Iranian government to adhere to its international commitments, including ensuring a minimum of fair trial guarantees and avoiding arbitrary detention of its citizens. Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Reformists' electoral policy council, stated on February 15 at Amir Kabir University that lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard is a 'demand of the youth and students.' He added, 'However, we live in a country with military and supervisory institutions, and we hope this issue will be resolved legally.' Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since late February 2011 without trial. Mehdi Karroubi, after three years of 'detention' in a 'safe house' of the Ministry of Intelligence, was moved to his home in Jamaran in February 2014 but remains under house arrest. Lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi was among the electoral promises of Hassan Rouhani before he was elected president. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government, said on February 25 that the government has tried 'as much as it can and even more' regarding the issue of lifting the house arrest of these three, but it is not the final decision-maker. However, Ardshir Amir Arjamand, advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, have stated that there has been 'no serious and noticeable change' in the situation of the house arrest and 'no official or unofficial news about effective action' in this regard. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and his close associates refer to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election as 'sedition.' In recent months, some of the leader's appointees, including Mohammad Hossein Naghdi, the cultural deputy of the Revolutionary Guards, and Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, have warned about the possibility of a repeat of the protests against the 2009 presidential election in the upcoming elections. In response to these warnings, Ali Yunusi, advisor to Hassan Rouhani and former Minister of Intelligence, stated that this 'prediction' is based on 'pessimistic views and has no external reality.'