IRGC Denies Involvement in Preventing Ali Motahari's Speech

Ramazan Sharif, the head of public relations and spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), denied on Wednesday, December 3, reports regarding the role of the intelligence branch of this military force in preventing Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, from speaking in Mashhad. According to Sepah News, the IRGC's news agency, Sharif stated: "In a call I had with the commander of the IRGC in Khorasan Razavi, he expressed that the intelligence of the IRGC in Khorasan had no role in canceling this speech." Nonetheless, the IRGC spokesperson noted that a week before the scheduled speech, "the intelligence of the IRGC in Khorasan Razavi advised the governorate and the prosecutor's office of Mashhad in a letter that it would be better to remind the invited speaker that, considering the days of Arbaeen and the religious conditions of Mashhad, the event should be held in a way that does not create an opportunity for exploitation." He considered the purpose of sending this letter to be the "probability of statements" that "could create a platform for controversy and exploitation in the province." Sharif also added that "sometimes inquiries may be made from the IRGC's intelligence regarding programs held in provincial centers and cities that may create grounds for disrupting security, and in such cases, the IRGC expresses its opinion based on intelligence assessments regarding the holding of that event." According to him, "sometimes the IRGC may inform the responsible authorities in the province based on its inherent duty regarding the holding of an event in the province." Previously, Alireza Rashidian, the governor of Khorasan Razavi, stated on Tuesday, December 2, that the prosecutor's office of Mashhad canceled the Deputy Speaker's speech based on a letter from the IRGC's intelligence. After the cancellation of his speech, Motahari wrote in a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, that the prosecutor's office of Mashhad cited "a letter" as the reason for canceling his speech. According to the state news agency IRNA, the governor of Khorasan Razavi told reporters: "Given the Interior Minister's emphasis on resolving the issue, I personally followed up on the matter and during a phone call with the head of the judiciary in Khorasan Razavi, he stated that the prosecutor canceled the session based on correspondence from the IRGC regarding the possibility of some violations occurring." He added: "However, it was decided that the head of the judiciary would review the matter again with the prosecutor and announce the results. But after this call, we did not receive any further communication from him, and no contact was made." The news of the IRGC's involvement in the cancellation of Ali Motahari's speech is significant because Motahari had previously identified the attackers and instigators of the assault against him at Shiraz Airport on March 9, 2015, as members of the Basij and the IRGC, but officials did not confirm this. In the initial proceedings in the criminal court in Shiraz regarding this case, six defendants were sentenced to two months in prison and 10 lashes, which was suspended for two years, and for two other defendants, a sentence of four and a half months in prison and 37 lashes was issued, which was also suspended for one year. The disruption of Ali Motahari's speech in Mashhad had significant repercussions in Iranian political and media circles, with the President of Iran calling it "a source of shame" and demanding that the Interior Minister and the judiciary address the issue. Ali Larijani, the head of the legislative branch, also described this action as "regrettable" during a public session of Parliament on Tuesday. Meanwhile, conservative media and figures supported the prosecutor's decision and criticized the Deputy Speaker of Parliament.