Khamenei: In 2009, We Stood Against Annulment of Elections

The leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday referred to the events following the 2009 presidential election, stating: "The reason we stood against the insistence of some to annul the elections in 2009 was to defend the rights of the people and their votes." Following the onset of public protests against the election results, which declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner, Ayatollah Khamenei defended the election outcome and rejected calls from figures like Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to annul the results. On Wednesday, September 9, he also defended the "supervisory rights of the Guardian Council," calling this right part of the "rights of the people." The leader of the Islamic Republic described the Guardian Council as the "watchful eye of the people and the system in elections." According to Khamenei, one of the "bad habits" in Iran is that "some individuals question the integrity of elections." His defense of the Guardian Council comes after recent reactions from several political figures and hardliners in Iranian politics to comments made by President Hassan Rouhani regarding the Guardian Council. Rouhani had stated that the Guardian Council is "a supervisor, not an executor," adding that "the body that should determine if someone is qualified to participate in elections is the executive committee." Following these remarks, other officials, including Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, described Rouhani's comments as "populist" and urged the Guardian Council to "stand firm on the issue of elections, which is the fate of the country." The Islamic Consultative Assembly elections will be held in two rounds in March and May 2016, alongside the Assembly of Experts elections. Khamenei also dedicated part of his speech on Wednesday to the topic of Iran's nuclear agreement with global powers. In response to statements from Israeli officials who claimed, according to Khamenei, that "after the nuclear negotiations, we will be free from Iran's concerns for 25 years," he emphasized: "First, you will not see the next 25 years, and God willing, there will be no Zionist regime by then. Secondly, during this time, the spirit of resistance and jihad will not give the Zionists a moment of peace." Khamenei also commented on Iran's relations with the United States, stating: "America does not hide its enmity; one smiles, while another prepares legislation against Iran." He indicated that he agreed to negotiate with the U.S. only on the "nuclear issue" for "specific reasons." Khamenei stressed that "in other areas, we did not allow negotiations with the U.S. and we will not negotiate with them." He lamented that some insist on portraying this "Great Satan" as an angel, recalling a statement from Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, who labeled the U.S. as the "Great Satan." He asserted that "the Iranian nation expelled this Satan; we must not allow it to return through the window after we have expelled it through the door and gain influence." Khamenei had previously urged the Rouhani administration to pay attention to what he termed the "enmity" of the U.S. and Israel, emphasizing that this "enmity" has not diminished. He had also stated that the U.S. seeks "a way to infiltrate the country through the nuclear agreement, and the Islamic Republic will not allow this infiltration." The nuclear agreement between Iran and global powers, reached on July 14, is currently under review in the special "JCPOA" commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the U.S. Senate. Despite opposition from Republican representatives who hold a majority in the U.S. Senate and Congress, the number of supporters has reached 42, which is sufficient for the U.S. President to confirm it without needing to use his veto power. However, it remains unclear how the Islamic Consultative Assembly will approach and review the "JCPOA" issue in Iran.