Khamenei's Reaction to Allegations of 'Partisan Use' of the Issue of Influence

While the President and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran have warned about the 'partisan use' of the issue of 'influence', the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic emphasizes that 'one should not downplay the essence of influence and the importance of this issue by citing potential partisan misuse'. According to the state news agency IRNA, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, December 4, also linked the Basij to the issue of influence and stressed that 'those who accuse the Basij of extremism and radicalism complete the enemy's influence project'. He advised those who 'weaken and criticize the supporters of the principles and foundations of the revolution' and implicitly defended individuals and institutions accused of 'partisan use', stating: 'No one who speaks of the values and fundamentals of the revolution and Imam should face accusations of partisanship and extremism.' This was the utmost condemnation and reproach that Mr. Khamenei had for those accused of 'partisan use', where he said: 'They say they used influence for partisan purposes, well, they shouldn't; they should not mention the name without the necessary content and factions should not accuse each other, but the fact that some individuals want to use influence for partisan purposes does not diminish the importance of the enemy's influence discussion.' It seems this statement by the Supreme Leader is a response to the criticisms and positions of officials like Hassan Rouhani and Ali Motahari, who indirectly accused the IRGC of partisan actions following the arrest of several journalists. Hassan Rouhani, the President, immediately warned that 'the word influence should not be played with' in reference to these arrests. Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, also expressed clear concern in statements published on Tuesday, saying: 'The issue of influence should not be used as a tool to say that some are seeking influence and are foreign agents, thus paving the way for the elimination of our rivals from the political scene.' Mr. Khamenei also took the discussion of influence a step further on Wednesday, dividing it into two categories: he considered 'networked influence' to be more dangerous than 'individual influence' and described this type of 'influence' as 'networking within the nation through money and sexual attractions with the aim of changing beliefs, ideals, perspectives, and lifestyles'. According to Mr. Khamenei, in 'networked influence', a group of individuals 'are connected in various ways so that their views on different issues gradually change and resemble the enemy's perspective'. He refrained from providing examples or further explanations about these 'methods'. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the target and focus of 'networked influence' is not ordinary people, but 'elites, influential individuals, decision-makers, and decision-takers'. The Supreme Leader has repeatedly warned about America's attempts to influence Iran following the nuclear agreement in Vienna last summer. In recent weeks, several journalists, including Eisa Saharkhiz, a reformist journalist, and Ehsan Mazandarani, the editor-in-chief of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, have been arrested by the IRGC's intelligence, and the IRGC has also announced that it has arrested 'members of a network of Western government influences'. Meanwhile, Ebrahim Raisi, the Attorney General of Iran, referred to these journalists as 'a network of influence in the media and social networks' as well as 'spies and mercenaries working for the Americans'. Alongside Hassan Rouhani and Ali Motahari, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also confirmed on Saturday, November 15, that the aim of these arrests was 'political settling of scores' and emphasized that the worst way to confront influence is 'to politicize it'.