The strongly conservative newspaper 'Kayhan', which seems to find Ali Khamenei's recent remarks to the members of the Guardian Council not in line with its preferences, published the news of those remarks in a marginal manner, contrary to its usual practice. Yesterday, Ali Khamenei called for a reconsideration by the Guardian Council regarding the widespread disqualification of candidates for the seventh term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. The supervisory boards of the Guardian Council have disqualified about 4,000 out of 8,000 candidates for the elections, among which more than seventy of the disqualified are current representatives of the Iranian parliament. The newspaper 'Kayhan', which always places the statements of the Islamic Republic's leader as its main headline, apparently in reaction to Khamenei's remarks yesterday, published the news of his speech in the left column of the front page with the subheading 'Effective Guidelines from the Leader Regarding Qualifications', for the first time using the title 'Leader' for Ali Khamenei, whereas previously it used flattering phrases such as 'Supreme Leader', 'Leader of the Revolution', 'Guardian of Muslims', and 'Commander-in-Chief'. According to the news agency Baztab, this newspaper, while it usually publishes the full text of the Iranian religious leader's speeches, refrained from doing so today. Of course, 'Kayhan' is not alone in this approach, as the extremely radical newspaper 'Jomhouri Islami' also did not pay attention to Khamenei's remarks, placing it in the upper left corner of the newspaper.
Kayhan's Indifference to Khamenei - 2004-01-15
The conservative newspaper Kayhan has downplayed Ali Khamenei's recent remarks about the disqualification of election candidates, marking a shift in its usual practice of prominently featuring his statements. This comes after Khamenei called for a review of the Guardian Council's disqualifications, which affected many current parliament members. The change in coverage raises questions about the internal dynamics within Iran's political landscape.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
The conservative newspaper Kayhan downplayed Ali Khamenei's remarks urging the Guardian Council to reconsider the disqualification of numerous election candidates. This marks a departure from Kayhan's usual practice of prominently featuring Khamenei's statements.
- Khamenei called for a review of the disqualification of about 4,000 candidates.
- Kayhan placed Khamenei's remarks in a marginal position on its front page.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
The Guardian Council's role in vetting candidates is a critical aspect of Iran's political system, often leading to controversies over electoral fairness.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%