Member of Parliament: No Breakthrough in House Arrests for Now

One day after the remarks of the Iranian President's advisor stating that only a shell remains until the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, a member of parliament said that currently there will be no "breakthrough" regarding their house arrest. Mojtaba Zolnouri, a member of the Stability Front in Parliament, emphasized in an interview with the Etemad website on Tuesday, December 10, that "as long as there is no apology from the detainees, there can be no expectations from the system." He added, "Currently, there will be no breakthrough regarding the house arrest because no positive action has been taken by those individuals." This conservative parliament member also stated that after Mehdi Karroubi's letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, "all breakthroughs" regarding the lifting of the house arrest have "hit a dead end." In the mentioned letter, Mehdi Karroubi held Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, responsible for the current political, economic, cultural, and social situation in Iran and called for creating the grounds for structural reform of the system. Zolnouri had previously also stated that the lifting of the house arrest stopped after Karroubi's letter to the Supreme Leader. However, Hossein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, rejected this claim and said that his mother had told security officials: "If there is sincerity in your words, then end the house arrest of Mr. Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard, who have not written a letter." Previously, the families of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, as well as Mehdi Karroubi and several reformist political figures and members of parliament, criticized Hassan Rouhani for not pursuing the issue of house arrest. However, Hessameddin Ashna, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani, said in a speech on Sunday: "The conditions of the house arrest have changed; what should have happened by the government and the President as the head of the Supreme National Security Council has occurred." He referred to "some facilitations and breakthroughs" regarding the conditions of the house arrest and added that "only a shell remains until the lifting of the house arrest." Reports have emerged in recent months about the lifting of some restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard. Events such as the meeting of Mehdi Karroubi's relatives with him during Nowruz, the "opening of welded windows" of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard's home, and allowing them to meet with Mr. Mousavi's children and brother are among these occurrences. Ismail Doosti, a member of the National Trust Party, and Mojtaba Zolnouri, a member of the Stability Front in Parliament, have also met with Mehdi Karroubi at the place of his house arrest. Zahra Rahnavard reported in Ordibehesht that she had recently been verbally offered "limited right of movement" with the knowledge of the agents, which she rejected.