Khamenei: The Enemy Calls Hezbollah Supporters Extremists and the Submissive Moderates

Two days before the Assembly of Experts and Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic warned on Wednesday, March 5, that the "political language of the enemy" should not be used. According to him, the "enemy" refers to Hezbollah supporters as extremists. In a meeting with a group of people from Najafabad, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated: "The enemy considers those who are more determined in the revolution as extremists, referring to Hezbollah supporters." He added that "the enemies consider moderates to be those who submit to them." The Supreme Leader also warned against using "the political language of the enemy" and noted that "the enemies of the revolution have used the terms extremist and moderate since the beginning." Khamenei further stated, "From the enemies' perspective, the most extremist was the great Imam. Today, they consider me to be the most extremist as well." The term "moderate" is typically used by officials and supporters of Hassan Rouhani's government to describe themselves. They also label some of their opponents within the principlist camp as "extremists." Many international observers and media outlets also use these labels to describe these two factions within the Islamic Republic. However, in his speech on Wednesday, the Supreme Leader said that "Islam advocates the middle path, but the middle according to the Quran is not against extremism; rather, it is against deviation." Khamenei emphasized that "being extreme on the straight path is not a bad thing" and referred to what he called "the false dichotomy of pro-government and anti-government parliament," adding: "The nation wants neither a pro-government nor an anti-government parliament. The nation wants a brave and religious parliament that is familiar with its duties and is not intimidated by America." The elections for the 10th Islamic Consultative Assembly and the 5th Assembly of Experts will be held simultaneously on Friday, March 7. In his recent remarks, Khamenei also emphasized that "when the enemy sees that after 37 years, despite all the pressure, unjust sanctions, and damaging propaganda, it has not been able to prevent the people's allegiance to the system, the greatness of the revolution appears formidable in its eyes." He stressed that "all those who care about the dignity of Islamic Iran must participate in the elections on Friday" and criticized the "explicit positions of the Americans" regarding past elections in Iran, saying: "The Americans have now learned from experience that explicit positions will have the opposite effect... Therefore, the Americans have remained silent in this election, but their agents and sycophants are engaged in implementing a new scheme in various ways." Another part of the Supreme Leader's speech on Wednesday focused on the topic of "infiltration." Khamenei criticized the "unnecessary and unjustified confusion" among some after he raised the issue of "infiltration," referencing a statement by Ruhollah Khomeini, the first leader of the Islamic Republic, that "sometimes the enemy's words are heard through several intermediaries from credible individuals." The Supreme Leader and his supporters, especially after the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, have continuously warned about "enemy infiltration" into Iran. Officials such as Hassan Rouhani, the President, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, have also reacted to these statements. Khamenei and some of his close associates have recently warned about the potential victory of what they call the "British-supported list" in the upcoming elections. In Tehran today, the President of Iran stated that such remarks are "diminishing the Iranian nation."