Khamenei's Reaction to Khatami's Proposal: National Reconciliation Has No Meaning

In response to Mohammad Khatami's proposal for "national reconciliation," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday indirectly and harshly dismissed the former president's plan as entirely "meaningless" and warned that "the people will not reconcile with the seditionists of Ashura 88." The state news agency IRNA reported that Khamenei, during a meeting with a group of people from East Azerbaijan, stated that the term "national reconciliation does not make sense to me." Without mentioning Khatami by name, he addressed him by saying, "The people are united; why do you say reconciliation? Are the people at odds with each other?" Khamenei further warned, reflecting his unwillingness to retreat from his stance against the protests of 2009, that "the people are angry with those who came to the streets on Ashura and brutally and shamelessly beat a young Basij member in the street; they will not reconcile." The renewed discussion about increasing relations between reformists and the Supreme Leader and the proposal for "national reconciliation" came back to the forefront of Iranian reformists' agenda following the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Khatami also expressed hope on January 28 that the "relative reconciliation" that emerged after Rafsanjani's death would continue, and that the Supreme Leader would allow everyone to "enter a new phase of life to serve the people and elevate the country." Meanwhile, the discussion of "national reconciliation" has also elicited reactions from political activists abroad, with Ali Afshari, a political activist in the U.S., stating to Radio Farda that Khatami's call in this regard is "in effect an oath of allegiance to the leadership and has no capacity for national reconciliation, nor does it alleviate external threats." This political activist believes that "national reconciliation is achieved through imposing the will of the people on the autocratic power, not through begging... [therefore] the government must take the first step and end its oppressive policies." Khatami also expressed hope that the "relative reconciliation" that resulted from Ayatollah Hashemi's passing would continue under the leadership of the Supreme Leader. The former president added that "we should not dwell in the past, and Mr. Hashemi wanted the same." Following these statements, Mohammad Hashemi, the brother of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, reported on the "efforts and intentions of reformists to establish direct and independent communication with the Supreme Leader." Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a member of the Supreme Council of Reformists, also spoke about the "necessity of increasing relations between reformists and the leader," adding that "we must strive for this close connection to happen." Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Hope faction in parliament, also stated on Thursday, February 10, during a meeting with Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, that "in the current sensitive conditions and the special situation of the region, we have no way but unity within the family of the revolution." Majid Ansari, the parliamentary deputy of the president, in an interview with Mehr News Agency spoke about the "necessity" of increasing relations between reformists and the leader, adding that "this relationship is currently not at the necessary and deserving level." However, from Khamenei's perspective on Wednesday, it appears that he is not particularly interested in this "close relationship" and considers himself outside this circle, which is perceived as a one-sided proposal for national reconciliation. On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei only spoke of "the people." Reformists and some government officials are pursuing the discussion of "national reconciliation" and the necessity of increasing relations with the Supreme Leader, while conservatives and some of Khamenei's supporters are proposing conditions for the realization of these two reformist demands. In this regard, Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, stated that "national reconciliation makes sense when we have fundamental disagreements, which we do not have." Mohammad Nabi Habibi, the secretary-general of the Islamic Coalition Party, also described the topic of "national reconciliation" as "beating water in a mortar," stating that what is presented under the title of national reconciliation is to transform the face of a "seditionist" and "combatant" into a "reform-seeking debtor." Additionally, according to Rouhollah Hosseinian, the head of the Islamic Revolution Document Center, "the reformists' intention behind proposing national reconciliation is the freedom of the leaders of the sedition." Hassan Rouhani and his government have faced sharp and explicit criticism from conservatives close to the Supreme Leader over the past three years. The JCPOA agreement, foreign policy, the implementation of the "resistance economy" program, and the government's cultural policies have formed the main topics of conservative criticism of the eleventh government in recent years. The Supreme Leader also, in his speech on Wednesday regarding the implementation of the "resistance economy," urged officials to show what they have done for action and not just say what should be done. Khamenei added, "The grievances of the people cannot be ignored; the issues of inflation, unemployment, and recession are important; officials must strive, and today the enemy is trying to put pressure on the country's economy to create problems for the people and make them disillusioned." In response to the claim that "if there was no JCPOA, war in Iran would have been inevitable," he stated that this is "sheer nonsense." In his view, "the real war is the economic war and sanctions and the taking away of the space for work and activity and technology in the country; the real war is the cultural war; they are directing us to military war so that we overlook this."