Khamenei: The January 9, 2009 Protests Were an Unprecedented Incident

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on Tuesday, January 7, referred to the protests by his supporters on January 9, 2009, as "one of the examples of the power of the Islamic Republic" and added: "No one was involved, and the intellectual power that is the main structure of the Islamic system brought the people to the streets, and that unprecedented incident occurred." These remarks by the leader come at a time when Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council and Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, had previously called the January 9 gathering the "art of the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council" and thanked the "organizers." Contrary to Khamenei's statements, the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council, which organizes government gatherings and marches in Iran, had announced on January 8, 2009, that it would hold a "large gathering of Ashura mourners" to condemn what it called the "disrespect to the Ashura of Hosseini in Tehran." On Ashura, January 6, 2009, a number of protesters against the results of the 9th presidential election held demonstrations in which they chanted harsh slogans against Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president. Khamenei's statements come as Ahmad Jannati had previously called the January 9 gathering the "art of the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council" and thanked the "organizers." In response to these protests, many members of parliament shouted "Death to Mousavi and Karroubi," and on January 9, another demonstration was held by supporters of the leader and the then president of Iran, which Khamenei described as a "epic" and the "end of the sedition." Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, contrary to Khamenei, considered the January 9 march "unnecessary." In another part of his speech, Khamenei referred to what he called "the enmity and malice of the oppressors against the Islamic government and their efforts and tricks to deprive the Islamic system of its power components," adding: "The enemy is like a thief who intends to seize a house but pretends that the reason for enmity is the weapon that the homeowner has for defense, and if that weapon is put down, the conflict will end. Therefore, it tries to disarm the homeowner with cunning and various methods, including talking, joking, smiling, and threatening, and to enter the house." According to reports, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, on January 6, referring to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, stated that "the sedition case is still open and must be addressed." Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest without trial since February 2010. In this regard, requests to end their house arrest have gone unanswered. Mr. Motahari is among the strong critics of the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, considering it to be legally and religiously flawed. Nevertheless, Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Hope faction in Parliament, on January 2, expressed hope that the issue of lifting the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protests would be resolved "with wisdom and patience." The children of Mehdi Karroubi criticized Hassan Rouhani, the president, accusing him of failing to adhere to his electoral promises to lift the house arrest of the opposition leaders in Iran. In this context, attacks by the heads of the judiciary and the Basij organization against the leaders of the 2009 protests, as well as attacks by Friday prayer leaders against critics of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, have been noted. Mohammad Reza Aref stated that he sees the process of pursuing the issue of house arrest positively. The Deputy of the Judiciary stated that a new sedition has started under the guise of "corruption."