Khamenei's Repeated Opposition to Lifting the House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders

The news website Saham News, close to Mehdi Karroubi, reported on Thursday, August 2, that Hassan Rouhani, the President, has called for the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, but the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has once again opposed this request. According to Saham News, after the issue of lifting the house arrest was raised in a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council and Rouhani's request from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei rejected this request. The report states that after the Supreme National Security Council's resolution to consult the Supreme Leader about lifting the house arrest, Rouhani discussed this matter with Ayatollah Khamenei. The website quoted Khamenei as saying, "Currently, there are many more important issues in the country than lifting the house arrest that the government and the Supreme National Security Council should pursue." Hossein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, stated on Saturday, August 27, in an interview with the website Ensaf News, citing a reliable source, that the Supreme National Security Council had approved the lifting of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard in its last meeting, and if the Supreme Leader does not comment on it within ten days after the approval, this resolution will be enforceable. However, a day later, Gholamreza Heydari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, quoted Ali Larijani denying the existence of such a resolution. Meanwhile, Saham News reported that in the Supreme National Security Council meeting, Hassan Rouhani called for lifting the house arrest, but the head of the judiciary and the commander of the Revolutionary Guards opposed this action, stating that "it is not appropriate to lift the house arrest under current conditions." According to this report, after these remarks, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, suggested that before voting on this issue, the Leader's opinion should be sought, and afterward, Rouhani inquired about Ayatollah Khamenei's opinion. This is not the first time the Supreme Leader has opposed the freedom of the leaders of the Green Movement in Iran. In recent years, several political figures, including Ali Motahari, have reported that the Supreme Leader has opposed Rouhani's request to lift the house arrest.