Mousavi and Rahnavard Granted Permission to Meet Their Children; Amir Arjamand: No New Developments

The website 'Ruydad 24' reported, citing an informed source, that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard have been allowed to leave their home to visit their children. However, Mr. Mousavi's senior advisor told Radio Farda that this has happened before and is not a new issue. According to ISNA news agency, 'Ruydad 24' on Tuesday, August 29, viewed the permission granted to Mr. Mousavi and Ms. Rahnavard to leave their home and meet their children as a sign of the easing of some restrictions on the house arrest of political figures over the past week. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, have been under house arrest since February 2011. In this context, Ardshir Amir Arjamand, Mr. Mousavi's senior advisor, said on Wednesday, August 30, to Radio Farda that nothing specific has recently occurred and that the interpretation that 'nothing remains of the house arrest is highly exaggerated and only has a news aspect; otherwise, it does not align with the realities of the house arrest.' He also pointed out that it had previously been said that 'the house arrest would be lifted during Eid al-Adha,' adding, 'Eid al-Adha has arrived, but nothing has happened.' Mr. Amir Arjamand added that granting permission to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard to leave their home and meet their children is considered a 'positive step,' but 'the house arrest has continued for eight years and must be lifted.' He reminded that 'if individuals who made promises that they cannot fulfill should not allow the issue of house arrest to be trivialized.' Ardshir Amir Arjamand did not mention specific names, but previously, Hassan Rouhani had promised to lift the house arrest during his 2013 and 2017 election campaigns. Meanwhile, according to ISNA news agency, the President of Iran stated about a month ago in a meeting with the Hope faction that 'only the shell of this house arrest remains.' Mr. Mousavi's senior advisor noted in his conversation with Radio Farda: 'The end of house arrest means that they can freely leave their home, meet with whomever they wish, adopt their political positions, and have their social and professional lives. However, such an event has not occurred.' Ardshir Amir Arjamand expressed hope in another part of his conversation with Radio Farda regarding the prospect of lifting the house arrest, stating that 'it will happen soon,' adding, 'this depends on the decision-making of Mr. Khamenei; whether he accepts that the country is in a crisis and that all factors must be used for national solidarity to find a democratic, logical, and practical way out.' He said that if the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic 'considers his factional and party interests, he must take immediate action to lift the house arrest, and if this happens, it means that the ruling authority has accepted to take the first steps to change the way of governance.' Previously, the news website Saham News, close to Mehdi Karroubi, reported on August 2 that Hassan Rouhani had called for the lifting of the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders, but the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic again opposed this matter. Judicial officials have previously announced that the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders was carried out based on a resolution by the Supreme National Security Council, but Hassan Rouhani has denied the existence of such a resolution. In this regard, the parliament found Ali Motahari's question about the house arrest irrelevant, and 'the repeated opposition' of Khamenei to lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders 'the Supreme National Security Council has not had a resolution regarding the lifting of house arrest.' 'Hopeful expressions' by Rouhani about lifting the house arrest of the system leader and two 2009 protest candidates. Mehdi Karroubi: Apparently, the fate of the house arrest is determined by Azrael.