Khamenei: Judiciary Should Become the Standard Bearer of Public Rights in Society

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, called on Monday, July 3, for the judiciary to "become the standard bearer of public rights in society and to vigorously defend the rights of the people in any necessary area, confronting violators and lawbreakers." Speaking during a meeting with the head and officials of the judiciary and the heads of the judiciary across Iran, he expressed support for Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, stating: "The Constitution explicitly states that the supervision of the proper implementation of laws and the supervision of the proper execution of affairs is the responsibility of the judiciary, and the Administrative Justice Court and the General Inspection Organization are the two main arms of the judiciary responsible for these two important tasks." A day earlier, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, had said at a nationwide judiciary conference in Tehran: "If one of the duties of the President is to implement the Constitution, part of this duty involves principles related to assisting the judiciary." He added: "The President should be as concerned about the judiciary as he is about the government and executive issues." Rouhani also considered assisting the judiciary as part of the constitutional principles that "the President is responsible for implementing" and stated: "If the President sees a problem in law enforcement, he must step in and help resolve it alongside other branches." He also criticized some actions of the judiciary, emphasizing the need for an "independent and impartial judiciary" and stating that "no one should be summoned or arrested without evidence." In recent months, Rouhani and judiciary officials have criticized each other. The leader of the Islamic Republic, in another part of his remarks on Monday, considered the "revival and enforcement of public rights and support for the legitimate freedoms of the people" as important duties of the judiciary, adding: "This judiciary must be the standard bearer of these issues and confront opponents and adversaries of public rights in any position." He referred to topics such as "elections, dust storms, and scholarships." Khamenei also called for serious action against violations and reform of the judiciary, stating regarding the "dealing with and punishing violators and preserving the dignity of their relatives and family members": "Where the dignity of the system is at risk, preserving the dignity of the Islamic system is paramount and more important, because the people see the issues and understand, and it should not feel that the judiciary does not confront judicial violators." He did not provide further explanation. The "rights of enforcers of good and forbidders of evil" were also raised in Khamenei's speech. He said: "Some repeatedly say that some principles of the Constitution have been left unaddressed, but it seems they do not consider Article 8 of the Constitution, which pertains to enjoining good and forbidding evil, as part of the principles of the Constitution and do not pay attention to this obligatory matter." The leader of the Islamic Republic, in this regard, considered it the duty of the judiciary to "support both verbally and practically the enforcers of good." On June 7, he had asked his supporters to take action and make decisions when there are "disruptions and shutdowns" in central intellectual, cultural, and political institutions, using the military term "fire-at-will." These remarks received widespread attention, and some critics interpreted them as a license from the leader of the Islamic Republic to his supporters to confront opponents, deeming the consequence as "chaos." In this context, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, warned on June 13 that "political exploitation" of the leader's remarks would be a "great injustice" to him. Meanwhile, conservatives supported the leader's remarks. In this context, Khamenei stated in his Eid al-Fitr sermon that fire-at-will does not mean cursing and lawlessness and, according to him, does not mean making claims and putting the revolutionary current in debt. In this context, the government spokesman's warning regarding the "political exploitation" of the fire-at-will command was noted. Khamenei: Experiences such as distrust of America should be used in governing the country. Fire-at-will: Where and at whom to shoot? Khamenei granted "soft war officers" the authority to "make decisions and take action themselves." The implementation of UNESCO's 2030 document in Iran was halted following Khamenei's opposition. Changing the battlefield of "proxy forces"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of opponents and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis. 1300 hours of internet outages; Witkoff: A horrific massacre occurred during the protests in Iran.