Mehdi Karroubi's Son: My Father is Happy with the Path of Nuclear Negotiations

The eldest son of Mehdi Karroubi states that his father is pleased with the direction the government of Hassan Rouhani has taken in nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 group. However, he criticized the Iranian president's policies regarding the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, stating that Mr. Rouhani has been indifferent to those under house arrest. On Sunday, April 16, in an interview with the 'Ensaf News' website, Hossein Karroubi announced that after about four months of being banned from visiting, he was allowed to meet his father for three hours on the first day of Farvardin, along with his brothers and family, without the presence of security agents. Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, had reported in October 2014 that Hossein Karroubi was deprived of weekly visits with his father. Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest since February 2011 without trial. After three years of 'detention' in a 'safe house' of the Ministry of Intelligence, Mehdi Karroubi was transferred to his home in Jamaran in February 2014 and is currently under house arrest at his residence. Hossein Karroubi further stated, 'My father has never asked anyone about the house arrest, but I am surprised why Mr. Rouhani, as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, has been so indifferent to those under house arrest.' He added, 'Shouldn't their visits with their families occur naturally after two years of the presidency?' The son of Mehdi Karroubi referred to the assault by what he called 'non-self-directed thugs' on Ali Motahari in Shiraz and also mentioned Hassan Rouhani's order to follow up on this matter, expressing the expectation that Mr. Rouhani should defend the 'basic rights of those under house arrest, rather than allowing the conditions of house arrest to remain unchanged from the previous government.' During the 2013 presidential election campaign, Hassan Rouhani had stated that the future government could create a 'non-security environment' to free those under house arrest and those imprisoned due to protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election. On December 7, 2014, in response to students' chants at the Student Day ceremony for lifting the house arrest of the leaders protesting the 2009 election results, the Iranian president said, 'Our path and our direction are the same as we promised you from the very beginning. Our covenant with you is unbreakable.' Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government, had previously announced that Rouhani's cabinet was quietly pursuing the lifting of the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi. However, on the other hand, Fatemeh Karroubi stated, 'It seems that the house arrest and illegal detentions are not a priority for government friends.' Nevertheless, 'Saham News,' a website close to Mehdi Karroubi, reported on Saturday, January 31, 2015, that at Hassan Rouhani's order, the issue of lifting the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi, Mr. Karroubi, and Ms. Rahnavard would be on the agenda of the next Supreme National Security Council meeting. This report was later denied by Keyvan Khosravi, the spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council. Mehdi Karroubi's eldest son also said that his father is 'very happy' with the path the Rouhani government has taken in nuclear negotiations, wishing success for the government officials and the negotiating team. According to Hossein Karroubi, the Rouhani government has 'drawn a line through the wrong policies of the previous government in confronting the world and plundering the country's wealth.' Regarding his father's mental and physical condition, he stated, 'Mr. Karroubi, even during the period of house arrest when his living conditions were very poor, walked about two hours a day inside the apartment, but after consecutive surgeries and severe knee pain, he is no longer able to walk, but he is very good and strong mentally.' He also mentioned that Mehdi Karroubi was 'very affected' by the death of his brother Hassan Karroubi. Hassan Karroubi passed away in March 2015. Additionally, three of Mr. Karroubi's sisters also passed away during his house arrest.