Mohammad Khatami Expresses Hope for Continued 'Relative Reconciliation' After Rafsanjani's Death

Mohammad Khatami expressed hope that the 'relative reconciliation' that emerged after the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani would continue, and that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic would bring everyone into a 'new realm of life for serving the people and elevating the country.' According to a report from the Baran Foundation's Telegram channel, the former president of Iran said in a meeting on Tuesday, January 28, that he hopes the relative reconciliation formed by the passing of Ayatollah Hashemi would 'continue with the leadership of Iran.' He added, 'I hope the elders of the country, especially our Supreme Leader, will lead us into a new realm of life for serving the people and elevating the country.' The former president emphasized, 'We should not remain in the past, and Mr. Hashemi wanted the same.' Khatami also stated that 'division, hypocrisy, and limiting revolutionary individuals' is not beneficial to anyone. He noted that 'the struggle to eliminate despotism' was among Rafsanjani's interests and said that he 'accepted mistakes with greatness, and the people responded to him at the funeral.' He added, 'It was these people who confirmed his qualifications like the Imam and the Leader.' On January 24, 43 former political prisoners wrote a letter asking the 'pillars of the regime' and all political factions to turn the atmosphere created after Rafsanjani's death into 'an opportunity for achieving dialogue and national reconciliation and for increasing rationality in management and addressing inefficiency, corruption, and immorality.' Among the signatories were Abdullah Ramadanzadeh, Mohsen Mir-Damadi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Mohsen Safaei-Farahani, Mohsen Aminzadeh, Bahareh Hedayat, Hassan Asadi-Zidabadi, Abdullah Momeni, Masoud Bastani, and Reyhaneh Tabatabai. During Rafsanjani's funeral on January 22, supporters of the Green Movement chanted slogans in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, prompting Iranian state television to cut the sound of the crowd in their news footage. Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the parliament, stated that these slogans indicate that 'the authorities should resolve the issue of the house arrest of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election sooner.' Since winter 2014, Mohammad Khatami has been banned from appearing in Iranian media. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have also been under house arrest without trial since February 2011. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a press conference on Tuesday, expressed regret over the non-implementation of 'some rights' in the country in response to a question about the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders and the ban on Khatami's attendance at Rafsanjani's funeral. He added, 'Resolving some issues takes time, and our capacity is limited, so we need the help of others and consensus within the system.' The children of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, as well as the children of Mehdi Karroubi, have previously criticized Rouhani's government for its 'indifference' to lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders. Hossein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son, stated on August 8 that lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders before the 2017 presidential election is 'unlikely' and said that the regime would not grant this 'privilege' to Hassan Rouhani.