Mustafa Pour Mohammadi's Explicit Remarks on the 1988 Executions: 'I Take Pride in Executing God's Order'

After Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, requested the Minister of Justice in Rouhani's government to clarify the 'rumors regarding the 1988 executions' in a letter, Mustafa Pour Mohammadi explicitly stated that he 'takes pride' in his role in this event. Mr. Pour Mohammadi, who was a member of the decision-making committee regarding the 1988 executions, had previously described the release of a recording by Ayatollah Montazeri about the executions as an attempt to 'cleanse the bloodthirsty enemies of Iran,' but had not directly spoken about his own role in this matter. This prompted a reaction from Ali Motahari, who in his letter asked for clarification on whether the rumors about the events of 1988 regarding the implementation of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini]'s order are true or not. He emphasized that 'the problem in our country is that officials engage in sophistry instead of explaining an issue and answering a question that has arisen in some minds, exploiting the human, religious, and revolutionary sentiments of the people, and never answering the question at hand.' Now, however, statements from Mustafa Pour Mohammadi have been published by the Tasnim news agency, in which the Minister of Justice of the eleventh government stated, 'We take pride in executing God's command regarding the hypocrites and standing firmly against the enemies of God and the nation.' The Iranian Minister of Justice added in these remarks made on Sunday evening, September 7, during a meeting of the Administrative Council of Lorestan Province, that 'God said do not have mercy on the infidels because they do not have mercy on you, and do not have mercy on the hypocrites because if they can, they will drag you to the ground and blood, which they have done.' Officials of the Islamic Republic use the term 'hypocrites' to describe the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), which has been one of the main opposition groups to the Islamic Republic for nearly four decades. Regarding the 1988 executions, which involved a group of leftist political prisoners and supporters of the MEK, there has rarely been discussion from official platforms of the Islamic Republic. However, the release of the audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri's protest remarks in the presence of members of the decision-making committee for the executions has prompted both official and unofficial figures in Iran to comment on this matter. Most of these comments have condemned the actions of Ayatollah Montazeri's office in releasing this audio file and accused him of collaborating with the MEK. Perhaps Ali Motahari was the first official of the Islamic Republic to explicitly refer to these executions rather than indirectly. However, Motahari's letter also prompted other reactions. In Parliament, Mohsen Kouhkan, a principlist representative, protested why Mr. Motahari, as Deputy Speaker of Parliament, should make such a statement. Additionally, 20 representatives in this context called for an investigation into Mr. Motahari's qualifications to remain in his position as Deputy Speaker of Parliament. On Sunday, the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts also issued a statement in which the group executions of the summer of 1988 were referred to as 'a historic and revolutionary decision by Imam Khomeini in seriously and uncompromisingly dealing with the hypocrites and fairly trying the leaders and some members of the hypocritical group.' Ibrahim Raisi, who was a member of the decision-making committee at the time of these executions as the Deputy Prosecutor, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Assembly of Experts, and there has been no change in this regard since the beginning of the fifth term of this Assembly. Both Ibrahim Raisi and Mustafa Pour Mohammadi attempted to justify the actions of this committee in the meeting with Ayatollah Montazeri, but their remarks were repeatedly interrupted by Ayatollah Montazeri. Furthermore, Ayatollah Montazeri referred to this event as 'the greatest crime in the history of the Islamic Republic' and warned them that in the future they would be remembered as 'the criminals of history.' Previously, the MEK had once again called for the 'trial' of the leaders of the Islamic Republic for 'crimes against humanity' following the release of this audio file.