Khatami's Support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's Missile Program

Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, defended Iran's missile program and condemned what he termed the "insult" to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by the United States, which he referred to as a response to the IRGC's fight against "terrorists." The Khabar Online website reported on Monday (October 16) that Khatami made these remarks during a meeting with members of the Islamic Association of Students at the University of Tehran. Khatami emphasized, "Do not misunderstand this; there may be differences of opinion in Iran, but there is no disagreement in preserving Iran's dignity, the essence of the revolution, and national interests, and standing against external threats." He further defended the IRGC, stating, "How can someone insult the IRGC when it stands against terrorists and sacrifices its members?" Khatami's defense of the IRGC's foreign operations and the martyrdom of its forces, including in defense of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, comes amid severe international criticism of the brutal suppression of dissent and civilian killings by Assad's government. Former U.S. President Barack Obama also held Iran, along with Syria and Russia, responsible for civilian deaths in Aleppo, Syria. Khatami characterized the IRGC as "emerging from the revolution and a cornerstone of national security" and dismissed the new U.S. strategy that labels this force as supporting terrorist activities in the Middle East as "nonsense and threats." He added that "there is no disagreement within Iran regarding these nonsensical threats, and the IRGC, military, and our government, along with our political and social movements, stand together." Khatami, who has been portrayed by pro-government media as one of the "organizers of unrest" during the protests against the 2009 election results, continues to face pressure from reformist opponents in Iran. In this context, according to a ruling from the Special Court for Clergy, Khatami has recently been banned from participating in "political, cultural, and propaganda public ceremonies" for three months starting from October 1. Previously, Yadollah Javani, head of the IRGC's political office, stated that Khatami, along with other reformist figures, intended to establish "a non-religious regime" with the support of the West, particularly the U.S., and should be "arrested, tried, and punished" for this accusation. According to Khabar Online, Khatami also expressed support for Iran's missile program, stating that it has only a "deterrent" aspect. He said, "Do we want missiles to attack others? But in the context of ongoing wars, shouldn't we have the power to defend ourselves against existing threats? This does not concern anyone who wants to intervene." Khatami, who claims to have promoted peaceful nuclear technology during his presidency, added that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons. He stated, "Peaceful nuclear technology is our focus, and we will not abandon it to please anyone. We are always ready to engage with the whole world." His remarks come after current President Hassan Rouhani also described the IRGC as "beloved by the people" of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraqi Kurds, asserting that "there is no disagreement among our factions to counter the enemies' conspiracies." Rouhani added, "If the U.S. makes another mistake and takes action against the IRGC, that will be a mistake upon a mistake; the IRGC is not just a military unit, but it is in the hearts of these people." Following strong criticism from the U.S. President regarding the IRGC's actions in the region and beyond, which allowed the Treasury Department to add this entity to its sanctions list, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also responded. Zarif tweeted, "Today, all Iranians, men and women, young and old, are the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and stand firmly with those who defend us and the region against aggression and terror." The statements by Rouhani and Zarif in support of the IRGC have faced significant criticism from social media users in Iran, as Rouhani's government and the IRGC have had numerous visible and hidden disagreements in foreign policy, domestic economy, and cultural issues for over four years. Recently, Rouhani even indirectly criticized the IRGC's economic activities, stating, "Part of the economy was in the hands of a government without guns, which we handed over to a government with guns; this is not an economy and privatization." The enthusiastic support from Khatami, Zarif, and Rouhani for the IRGC and the Islamic Republic's missile program comes as various European countries have expressed concern over the "threats" posed by this missile program to regional peace, and the IRGC's handling of human rights issues in Iran has repeatedly been criticized by international organizations. Rouhani himself, in criticizing some aspects of Iran's missile program during the second presidential debate, stated, "The underground cities showed; they wrote slogans on missiles to undermine the JCPOA." The Iranian President's reference was to images of the IRGC's missile silos on Iranian television and the writing of the slogan "Israel must be erased from the page of time" in Hebrew on one of the tested missiles. Following this, Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, head of the Basij Organization in Iran, reacted to Rouhani's criticism of the slogan "Erasing Israel" written on one of the IRGC's missiles, emphasizing that "erasing" this country is part of the Islamic Republic's "ideals." In this context, 86 members of parliament protested against the new restrictions imposed on Mohammad Khatami, stating that "the semi-house arrest" of Khatami has been "denied by the prosecutor." The harsh criticism from Motahari regarding the Special Court for Clergy and the "imposition of restrictions" on Khatami highlights the ongoing tensions within Iranian politics.