Jannati: Some Have Issues with the Velayat-e Faqih

The head of the Assembly of Experts criticized Hassan Rouhani's remarks about the Revolutionary Guards, stating that some people "have issues with the Velayat-e Faqih" and for this reason "attack the Guards." According to Fars News Agency, Ahmad Jannati announced during a dinner for members of this assembly on Tuesday night, September 19, that "you saw what was said against the Guards in the recent elections, and they were labeled as gunmen, while I wrote a letter at that time asking, is being a gunman bad?" Jannati, who is also the Secretary of the Guardian Council, emphasized that Shia Imams were "also a kind of gunman" and "always had swords in hand and were ready for jihad." The head of the Assembly of Experts also stated that if "religious individuals in society support the Supreme Leader, they will also support the eyes and arms of the Supreme Leader." On Friday, July 27, Jannati described the criticisms of the Revolutionary Guards as "the implementation of U.S. policies" regarding this military institution. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, in a veiled criticism of the activities of the Revolutionary Guards on July 22, stated that part of Iran's economy has been handed over to a "government" that "has both guns and media" and "no one dares to compete with them." Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, called these remarks "unfair" and stated that if the government is "without guns," it will be "humiliated and subdued by enemies." Several other commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and close associates of the Supreme Leader also criticized these remarks, and the spokesperson for the judiciary predicted that "a new sedition is ahead" in reference to the "destruction" against the Guards, Basij, and judiciary. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, August 23, Hassan Rouhani met with the commander-in-chief and four senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, but the Iranian presidential office only published a brief report on this meeting without mentioning the details of the discussions. Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, the commander of the Basij, stated that this meeting was not a "protest" and was held in a "friendly" atmosphere. On May 4, Rouhani had said in the second presidential debate that "some showed images of underground cities to undermine the JCPOA, wrote slogans on missiles to undermine the JCPOA, but our people have passed all of this." Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, also stated in an interview with the 'Asr Iran' website on January 14 that "extremism" such as "attempting to prevent the JCPOA from being implemented through missile launches," "provoking the enemy to impose economic sanctions," "creating human rights pretexts for the enemy," and "labeling every protester as a seditionist" has harmed the Islamic Republic. Two days later, Ramadan Sharif, the spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards, called Motahari's remarks "offensive," "ill-considered," and "echoing the voices of the enemies." Motahari then clarified that his remarks did not deny the necessity of strengthening Iran's missile industries, "but the important thing is timely show of power." Revolutionary Guards officials have also repeatedly attacked Hassan Rouhani. For instance, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in this institution, implicitly referred to Hassan Rouhani and his close associates as the "Niyavaran circle" on June 3 and stated that pursuing the idea of "peaceful coexistence with the West" in Iran is the result of this group's activities. Jannati also stated in the opening speech of the third official meeting of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday morning that "official violations occurred in the recent presidential elections" and that it is now necessary to be cautious about what government officials are doing.