Mohammad Reza Aref: We Never Committed to Lifting House Arrest

Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Hope faction, stated on Tuesday, March 12, that the 'Hope List' in the 10th parliamentary elections did not promise to lift the house arrest of Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the Green Movement. According to IRNA, Aref made these remarks during the third press conference of government officials and parliament representatives with student publication activists in response to students' questions. In response to criticisms from reformist students that the Hope List promised to lift the house arrest, but it remains in place, Aref said, 'We never committed to lifting the house arrest; rather, we said we would pursue it, and currently, the restrictions on the detainees have significantly decreased compared to before.' The head of the Hope faction also noted the reduction of restrictions, stating, 'Currently, Mr. Karroubi can go to his yard, a newspaper has been provided for him, and he can hold meetings; in fact, the restrictions have decreased.' Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since February 2011, although reports about the lifting of some restrictions on them have emerged in recent months. Events such as the visit of Mehdi Karroubi's relatives during Nowruz, the 'opening of the welded windows' of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard's home, and allowing them to meet their children and Mousavi's brother are among these occurrences. Zahra Rahnavard had reported in May that she had recently been verbally offered 'limited travel rights' with the knowledge of security agents, which she rejected. In this meeting, in response to a student's question about the conservatism of the Hope faction, Aref said, 'For political activity, we must consider the country's conditions. The conditions of the 90s are different from the 80s.' He continued, 'In these conditions, there are restrictions that have led us to pursue matters with a strategy of calm. As you know, our slogan has been hope and prudence, and we have not compromised our principles; we are not conservative but are advancing our work with prudence.' While Mohammad Reza Aref made these statements, Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, recently warned about the lack of real reforms in Iran and stated that it is becoming difficult to invite people to participate in future elections. The former president said, 'Today, I am faced with the question from the people: You brought us to the ballot box; show us one instance that aligns with real reforms.' Iran was the scene of widespread protests last December, which affected over a hundred small and large cities. Those protests, initially directed at the economic policies of Hassan Rouhani's government, quickly shifted focus to target the entire Islamic Republic system. 'Reformist, principlist, the story is over' was one of the famous slogans of those protests.