Iran's Judiciary Chief: People Need a Listening Ear

Following protests in Tehran and several cities in Khuzestan province, Iran's Judiciary Chief, Sadeq Amoli Larijani, stated on Tuesday, July 2, that "people, in addition to meeting their needs, need a listening ear and their voices must be heard." In a meeting with senior judicial officials of the Islamic Republic, he emphasized that the President, his first deputy, and other officials "despite their numerous commitments" must strive to ensure that the people's voices are heard in a timely manner and take steps to resolve problems. He also warned that "in cases where the negligence of executive bodies could be considered a criminal act, a case must be filed." In the past two weeks, following a new wave of price hikes and a sudden surge in the dollar's value, the central streets of Tehran and several other cities witnessed protests that initially began with economic slogans but quickly turned into political demands targeting the domestic and foreign policies of the Islamic Republic. Before the unrest spread, some conservatives harshly criticized President Hassan Rouhani's government, with Yahya Rahim Safavi, an advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, stating, "Sometimes it seems that the country would be better managed without the government." Kazem Sedighi, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, along with several other current and former officials of the Islamic Republic, also called for changes in Rouhani's cabinet. However, after the protests erupted in Tehran and other cities, the tone of many Iranian "principlists" shifted to support Rouhani's government, and Rahim Safavi claimed that his remarks had been "misrepresented." In his remarks on Tuesday, the Judiciary Chief also stated, without naming anyone specifically, that officials, in addition to listening to the people's words, must "with utmost humility," honestly share "what cannot be done" with the people. On the other hand, he accused the United States and the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization of intending to "change the regime" by exerting economic pressure on the people and the Islamic Republic. Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, tweeted on June 21, referring to the unemployment rate of 30% among Iranian youth and the livelihood problems of families, stating that the Islamic Republic has plundered the national wealth of the country for proxy wars and enriching the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly pointed to economic problems in Iran but has called the solution to these problems "resistance economy," the meaning of which is unclear. The main cause of the new wave of price hikes and the sharp increase in the value of the dollar and gold in Iran is cited as the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA.