Khamenei and the Intensification of Power Struggle After the Nuclear Agreement

The power struggle in Iran is intensifying. The nuclear agreement and its consequences on one hand, and the upcoming elections on March 7 on the other, have exacerbated the power struggle. Ayatollah Khamenei, in a speech in September, spoke about America's intention to re-infiltrate Iran and criticized those within the country who advocate for relations with the U.S., stating: "What kind of mind and conscience allows a person to choose a power like America as a friend, as a trusted one, as an angel of salvation? ... The great nation of Iran expelled this great Satan from the country; we must not let it return; we must not allow it to sneak back in through the window after going out the door; we must not allow it to gain influence; their enmity does not end." The leader, who set the "political agenda" for attacking opponents, critics, and rivals, saw his appointed followers begin their assaults. Consider the following examples: A- Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda said in Friday prayers on September 20, 2015, that "poisoned pens" have spread three points in cyberspace: "First, that the resistance against imperialism has ended; second, that we should come to terms with the American international system and beautify America, turning the great Satan into an angel of salvation as described by the leader." He stated that Hassan Rouhani's moderation slogan should not lead to the normalization of the revolution from anti-Americanism to angel of salvation. This means the slogan 'Death to America' should be set aside, the U.S. embassy in Tehran should resume operations, and the rest of the steps should be taken. He then added: "One day we will see the president from one country and two foreign ministers from another come to Iran along with an economic group, thus this European traffic is dangerous for the people, just as we have seen from these Europeans, we have observed nothing but theft and murder." The power struggle in Iran is intensifying. The nuclear agreement and its consequences on one hand, and the upcoming elections on March 7 on the other, have exacerbated the power struggle. Akbar Ganji, in unveiling Khamenei's foolish statement about Israel's non-existence for the next 25 years, said that the leadership made the "greatest anti-normalization move" by saying this. B- The next day, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated that individuals and groups regarding the Supreme Leader are divided into three categories: supporters of the leadership, opponents of the leadership, and those who are neither. The third category: "Act under the title of independent, neutral, and moderate elements, so be aware that the danger from these individuals is greater than the danger from the opponents." It is clear that he meant Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani. To clarify for the listeners regarding Hassan Rouhani, he referred to his analogy during the elections when he said: "America is the village chief of the Europeans." Saeedi said: "Today, America seeks to move beyond the nuclear issue and under its shadow, raise issues regarding Lebanon, Hezbollah, Gaza, Iraq, and Syria, and bring it to a point where it itself is the chief." C- Kazem Sedighi, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, said on September 22, 2015: "In the incident of Karbala, some shed the blood of their Imam, Imam Hussein, to please the America of their time, and today we must be careful that some individuals do not shed the blood of the Supreme Leader of their time to please America." D- Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, said on September 23, 2015: "We must be careful that in the behavior and speech of officials, issues are raised that are in line with the enemies and Americans and provide a pretext for their infiltration... Americans have acknowledged in their talks that they want to open a new chapter in relations with Iran, and their aim is to try to bring to power those who have no connection with this revolution and are pursuing American interests." E- Ayatollah Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts and Friday prayer leader in Mashhad, said on September 23, 2015: "The enemy intends to infiltrate this system under various titles, and the issue of elections is the gateway through which the enemy wants to enter... If the enemy can infiltrate this time, it will pursue the overthrow of Islam, and if this happens, it will not even be possible to perform two units of prayer; those who seek representation in the parliament with connections and a comfortable life in European villas, like some of the past, will definitely become the tools of the enemy against Islam in the first step." Regarding these statements, several points are noteworthy: First- Recently, Saeed Hajarian stated in an article that the reformist discourse has been and remains a discourse of democratization, but the discourse of moderation by Hassan Rouhani/Hashemi Rafsanjani is a discourse of normalization. Ayatollah Khamenei and his followers consider Hajarian as a theorist of the reformist movement and a specialist in psychological warfare. They shot his brain to incapacitate him, but although they managed to physically paralyze him, they could not incapacitate his mind. Recently, Hajarian stated in an article that the reformist discourse has been and remains a discourse of democratization, but the discourse of moderation by Hassan Rouhani/Hashemi Rafsanjani is a discourse of normalization. Ayatollah Khamenei and his followers consider Hajarian as a theorist of the reformist movement and a specialist in psychological warfare. They shot his brain to incapacitate him, but although they managed to physically paralyze him, they could not incapacitate his mind. Akbar Ganji, when Hajarian raised the issue of dual sovereignty, Ayatollah Khamenei personally attacked it several times and responded. Hajarian's new article/interview was published before Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks. The leader and his followers feel compelled to attack Hajarian's discourse regarding the performance of Rouhani's government - which lacks discourse-building forces. Second- There is no doubt that Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Rouhani, and the reformists support comprehensive negotiations with America and establishing relations between the two countries. Ayatollah Khamenei and his followers have been and remain extremely concerned about this process. In their view, the unintended consequences of relations with America far exceed the unintended consequences of the nuclear agreement. Third- There is no doubt that neither of the two American parties and their leaders - including Barack Obama - have been and are not supportive of the Islamic Republic regime. If they could implement "regime change," they would undoubtedly do so. The Republicans continue to pursue the threat of military action against Iran as the most important method of "regime change," but Obama, who came to power on the wave of the anti-war movement at the end of George Bush's presidency, has always sought diplomatic methods for "changing the behavior" and nature of the Islamic Republic. Obama never abandoned the threat of military action. Even after the nuclear agreement, he significantly increased the number of times he spoke about the military attack scenario being on the table - and becoming more feasible. He advanced his policy by creating a global consensus against Iran and enacting and implementing the most severe sanctions in history imposed on a country. His belief is that the nuclear agreement and its consequences will ultimately lead to the "changing of the behavior" of the Islamic Republic. These points are not secrets that need to be exposed. Obama and his colleagues - especially after the nuclear agreement - have repeatedly stated these points openly. Fourth- It is true that Ayatollah Khamenei and his intelligence, security, and military forces closely monitor these simultaneous currents, but their actual concern is the elections on March 7, not America's infiltration through the nuclear agreement. The ratification of the nuclear agreement and the implementation of Iran's commitments, which will gradually lead to the lifting of economic sanctions, will not occur before the two elections for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly. "Enemy infiltration" through elections is the code name for the elimination of opponents, critics, and rivals by the Guardian Council's supervisory oversight. Rivals are pro-American forces who are beautifying America and presenting it as an angel of salvation. They intend to ban the slogans of 'Death to America,' generalize negotiations with America to all areas, and establish relations with America. Through normalization, they aim to take away the anti-imperialist stance of the revolution and the Islamic Republic. Akbar Ganji. Fifth- "Enemy infiltration" - meaning America - through elections is the code name for the elimination of opponents, critics, and rivals by the Guardian Council's supervisory oversight. Rivals are pro-American forces who are beautifying America and presenting it as an angel of salvation. They intend to ban the slogans of 'Death to America,' generalize negotiations with America to all areas, and establish relations with America. Through normalization, they aim to take away the anti-imperialist stance of the revolution and the Islamic Republic. The repeated invitations of Saeed Jalili to the parliamentary appeals committee and the broadcast of his remarks by the Islamic Republic's television are aimed at rehabilitating the image of the Hezbollah forces that have brought the country to this day and situation. Sixth- According to the fabricated narrative that the clerics have created and attributed to the Prophet of Islam, one can lie against the innovators and slander them. For this group of clerics, lying, slandering, and insulting these individuals and groups is a religious duty and an act in accordance with the tradition of the Prophet of Islam. Look at Kayhan of Hossein Shariatmadari - who has been the representative of Ayatollah Khamenei at the Kayhan Institute for over two decades. Also, look at Fars News Agency and the Islamic Republic's television. Add the sermons of Friday prayer leaders across the country to them. All are acting according to that fabricated hadith that the clerics have created to perpetuate their economic, political, and cultural power. In this context, Ayatollah Jannati and Moslehi - Ahmadinejad's Minister of Intelligence - claimed that Seyyed Mohammad Khatami received 1 to 17 billion dollars from Saudi Arabia. Based on that hadith, they were fulfilling their religious duty with these lies and slanders, but the issue was not religious duty, but the preservation of power. Now one can understand why Kazem Sedighi - the Friday prayer leader appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei - claims that electoral rivals are willing to shed the blood of Ayatollah Khamenei to please America. As if America wants to kill Ayatollah Khamenei, as if reformists and moderates advocate violence, as if they are America's infiltrators, and so on. Now one can understand why Ayatollah Alamolhoda says that if rivals win the elections, they will not allow people to perform their two units of prayer. Seventh- A very high majority of people before the revolution recognized religion and piety as meaning honesty, piety, spirituality, and all good things. The clerics who seized power have turned these innocent perceptions into smoke and sent them into the air. Now, piety conjures up other concepts: hypocrisy, duplicity, lying, insult, slander, repression, violation, torture, imprisonment, widespread corruption, looting of national public assets, and so on. If the pious consider religion as a support for ethics, spirituality, piety, and honesty, they must save Iran from those who have reduced Islam to lying, slandering, insulting, systematic human rights violations, theft and looting, widespread corruption, and so on. The separation of religion from the state and the democratization of Iran is in the interest of Iran and Muslims.