Khatami's Renewed Emphasis Before Elections: "Conflicts Should Turn into Participation"

Despite the opposition from the Supreme Leader of Iran and his close associates to Mohammad Khatami's proposal for "national reconciliation," the former president of Iran has once again called for creating an environment in the upcoming elections where "everyone can participate, and conflicts turn into participation." According to Khatami's website, on Sunday, March 8, he stated in a meeting with members of the National Unity Party of Iran that in the city council elections, "less attention should be paid to political issues and more to effective urban management issues." He added, "In the elections, an environment should be created where everyone can participate, and hatred turns into empathy and cooperation, and conflicts turn into participation." Khatami also expressed hope that a space would be created where "all groups and currents and every concerned Iranian" could be active. Recently, Khatami expressed hope for the "realization of national reconciliation and internal solidarity" in Iran, stating that "now is the best time to create solidarity among all forces in the interest of national benefits and to repel and eliminate threats and conspiracies." However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday, February 27, indirectly dismissed this proposal as "meaningless," stating that "there will be no reconciliation with the seditionists of Ashura 88." Prior to him, Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, deemed the topic of "national reconciliation" as "incorrect" and emphasized that those who, according to him, "erred in 88" should return from their "wrong path." In this context, Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, also accused Khatami of proposing "national reconciliation" with the aim of "polarizing" the country ahead of the elections. Meanwhile, this topic has been welcomed by Hassan Rouhani and some reformist political activists. Rouhani warned two days ago during a meeting with election organizers about the "danger of exacerbating divisions" in society. Previously, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, in response to the opposition to the "national reconciliation" proposal, stated that people have "complaints against the government" following the events of 88, and actions "against the constitution" such as house arrest, banning from media, and imprisoning Ahmad Montazeri are "narrow-mindedness" and "should be set aside." The proposal for "national reconciliation" by Mohammad Khatami and the reactions to it have also sparked comments among some political activists and analysts abroad. For instance, Majid Mohammadi noted that the Iranian leader "sees no need for excluded reformists at all, as they have participated in various elections and government demonstrations even without national reconciliation and the lifting of restrictions and house arrests." Akbar Ganji also stated in a note that "the national reconciliation [Khatami seeks] means reconciliation between the leadership of the Islamic Republic and the principlists with the reformists," but such a goal is unattainable. This topic has also generated reactions on social media, with some users interpreting Khatami's remarks as an apology to the Supreme Leader and a forgetting of the protests against the 2009 presidential election. In this context, Khatami's dilemma for the "system": weak, less harmful, but unreliable; accusations from the Guardian Council spokesman against Khatami: an attempt to "polarize" ahead of elections; coordinated attacks by Friday prayer leaders against Khatami, two days after Khamenei's response; Khamenei's reaction to Khatami's proposal: national reconciliation is meaningless; is Khatami's national reconciliation achievable? "National reconciliation"; a hollow and fruitless plan to get closer to Khamenei.