New Wave of Conservative Attacks on Mousavi and Karroubi

The newspaper Shargh has reported that "with the beginning of December, some conservative media outlets have coordinated to publish daily news, reports, and discussions about the events following the 2009 elections, and in this context, new narratives about these events and the house arrest of the candidates protesting the 2009 elections have also been published in these media in recent days." The newspaper Arman has also published a report on statements made by Mehdi Taeb against Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, describing these statements as "a narrative from a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council" by "irresponsible individuals." Shargh has reported that alongside this new wave of attacks from conservative media and figures against Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, another news was published on Tuesday by the news agencies "Fars", "Tasnim", and "Mehr" indicating the "launching of caravans to narrate the events of 2009 by some individuals." The newspapers Etemad and Jahan San'at have published several reports and notes about the "decline in oil prices," identifying Saudi Arabia as the cause of the drop in oil prices, and have assessed the purpose of Ali Larijani's trip to Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq as strengthening the Shia axis in confrontation with Saudi Arabia. The newspaper Kayhan in its Wednesday issue described the statements of Mohammad Khamenei, the brother of the Supreme Leader, in an interview with the publication Ramz-e Abur as an "unintentional jab" at Ayatollah Khomeini and emphasized the need for his "repentance," stating: "Even an unintentional jab is unacceptable from anyone, especially from a religious scholar, and it requires criticism from others and necessitates repentance and correction from the one who jabbed." The newspaper Mardomsalari reported the "seizure" of the newspaper "Rozan" after publishing a front page featuring an image of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. The newspaper Arman reported the "death of three disabled individuals" due to poisoning, stating: "While a year ago, the death of 15 disabled individuals in care centers in Narmak had made headlines, according to reports that emerged on Tuesday, 30 disabled individuals in a nursing home in Pakdasht suffered from poisoning, three of whom lost their lives." According to this newspaper, "Although the cause of this poisoning is still unclear, the death of three disabled individuals due to poisoning has raised a wave of concern among the families of the disabled." This newspaper also reported, quoting "an informed official at the International Legal Affairs Center of the Presidency," that "after 35 years of legal pursuit and struggle, the Court of Appeals in Liège, Belgium, has finally ruled in favor of the Iranian government in the case concerning the antiquities of Khurvin." The newspaper Iran, while publishing "the reaction of cultural heritage to the burial of unknown martyrs in the historical Amir Chakhmaq Square in Yazd," wrote: "Cultural heritage officials reacted to the burial of unknown martyrs in the historical site of Yazd. In this reaction, cultural heritage emphasized the importance of honoring martyrs and veterans and the necessity of preserving the values of the Sacred Defense, stating that those involved in the burial program of unknown martyrs did not adhere to legal standards in their work." Mohammad Beheshti, the head of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, also wrote in an editorial for the newspaper Iran titled "How to Honor the Martyr's Status?!" that the burial of several "unknown martyrs in violation of the approved cultural heritage laws in the historical Amir Chakhmaq Square raises the question of why the martyrs sacrificed their lives?" The editorial writer of the newspaper Iran emphasized that the "unknown martyrs" are "martyrs who are honored by the entire nation and belong to all the nation, not a specific group" and wrote: "They became martyrs so that a regime would emerge based on the laws by which the country is governed. Among these laws are regulations that specify that historical artifacts and cultural heritage must be preserved. Therefore, their protection is subject to the regulations that agencies such as cultural heritage, handicrafts, and tourism are responsible for implementing." However, the newspapers Siyasat Rooz and Kayhan supported the burial of "unknown martyrs" in the middle of the historical Amir Chakhmaq Square in Yazd. The newspaper Shahrvand reported on the "risk of migration from the shores of Lake Urmia" and quoted Mehdi Eisa Zadeh, the representative of Miandoab in the ninth parliament, stating: "Reports have reached us indicating that the majority of patients visiting hospitals in East and West Azerbaijan are lung patients. This indicates that salt threatens the health of the people." This newspaper emphasized that the "shadow of threat" resulting from the drying of Lake Urmia "has grown so large that talk of migration has arisen, and it has been said that Azerbaijan will become uninhabited," writing: "Even the President, during his visit to Ardabil, considered the Lake Urmia issue a problem that would jeopardize the fate, life, and livelihood of 14 million people." The new wave of conservative attacks on Mousavi and Karroubi is led by the media organ of the political office of the IRGC. The newspaper Shargh has reported that "with the beginning of December, some conservative media outlets have coordinated to publish daily news, reports, and discussions about the events following the 2009 elections, and in this context, new narratives about these events and the house arrest of the candidates protesting the 2009 elections have also been published in these media in recent days." According to this newspaper, this coordinated action began with the publication "Sobhe Sadegh," the media organ of the political office of the IRGC, which published an article titled "The Sedition was the Context for the House Arrest, Not the Cause and Reason for It" in its current issue, providing "a new narrative of the house arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi and Rahnavard." The newspaper Shargh noted that the weekly Sobhe Sadegh, nearly four years after the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, wrote: "Mousavi and Karroubi were not placed under house arrest due to their protests against the 2009 elections, but due to a new plan they had to continue the Arab Spring in Iran," emphasizing that "the change in the sedition's movement and its open and reckless entry into the national security domain of the regime, which required immediate action given the situation in the region at that time, necessitated the Supreme National Security Council to enter the field to examine the angles of the threat created and to take necessary decisions." According to this newspaper, the Sobhe Sadegh weekly in its new narrative about the reason for the house arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi wrote: "The Supreme National Security Council, based on the duties assigned to it by Article 176 of the Constitution, does not have the duty to conduct judicial trials. One of the important duties of this council is to make determinations, and the determinations of this council regarding its assigned duties are equivalent to law, and this is a law higher than any other law that exists in other places. The reason for this is both the position of this council and the composition of its members. Here, in this council and by the determination of this council, the house arrest for the leaders of the sedition was decided, and as long as the Supreme National Security Council remains on this determination, the house arrest is completely legal and remains in effect." The newspaper Shargh also recalled that Saeed Jalili, the former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in statements made on November 1 of this year at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad regarding the house arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi said: "The house arrest has nothing to do with the sedition. The sedition occurred in 2009, but the house arrest was after that; those who are referred to as the leaders of the sedition are individuals who were placed under house arrest a year later because we saw that these individuals were shaping a new sedition," as "the unrest in Syria also began around that time" and "the nightmare that the enemy had envisioned for Iran through the call of February 25, 2011, and the events that followed was broader and more terrifying than what is observed in Syria." This newspaper referred to the simultaneous statements of Mehdi Taeb, Abbasali Kadkhodai, and Ismail Kowsari against Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, writing: "Following the publication of this article by Sobhe Sadegh, Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Taeb, the head of the Ammar Headquarters, also stated in an interview with Mehr that the issuance of the house arrest order for Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi should be understood as the 'understanding of the accusation' and even said: 'This court has a judge and a series of court rulings, and the judge issues an indictment based on investigations from various agencies.' According to this newspaper, Mehdi Taeb also stated: 'The issue of the sedition leaders was examined in the Supreme National Security Council, and the head of the judiciary, who is also the chief judge, was present, as well as the security agencies that were supposed to provide information about the leaders of the sedition, were present in the Supreme National Security Council, and all the decisions that the Supreme National Security Council made regarding the leaders of the sedition were communicated to them and, in fact, they were informed of the accusations that the issue of rebellion against the regime was proven to the members of the Supreme National Security Council.' According to the newspaper Shargh, Mehdi Taeb also stated: 'The crime of the leaders of the sedition is proven to the regime,' and 'if a competent court is to be established to address the crimes of the leaders of the sedition, their sentence will undoubtedly be much higher than house arrest.' The newspaper reported that Abbasali Kadkhodai, the former spokesman and current advisor to the Secretary of the Guardian Council, also simultaneously stated in an interview with Fars News Agency, providing another narrative of the events of 2009, that 'the determination of criminal instances is the responsibility of the honorable judges of the judiciary, and whenever, God willing, a competent court is established to address their crimes, we hope such a thing will be done, the titles will be clarified at that time, but what we currently understand from the penal code is a criminal title that is very serious, an action against national security. The punishment for actions against national security is also determined in the penal code and varies according to the case, reaching up to execution.' Shargh also referred to the publication of 'a series of interviews by media aligned with [Fars News Agency]' and reported that 'in this context, the news site Dana also published the statements of Ismail Kowsari regarding the events following the 2009 elections, quoting this conservative representative as saying: The fact that these individuals are currently under house arrest can only be attributed to Islamic clemency. The decision for house arrest was also made by the Supreme National Security Council, and if this council also concludes that the leaders of the sedition should be tried, this action will certainly take place. If they are tried, due to their serious crime of endangering national security and being the main perpetrators that led to the deaths of dozens of fellow citizens, they will certainly not receive any sentence other than execution.' The newspaper wrote that Ismail Kowsari also stated about Mohammad Khatami that 'we should not forget that individuals like Mohammad Khatami are also among the main perpetrators of the sedition who today, under the shadow of some mismanagement, are freely expressing their opinions in the media. Today, if individuals like Khatami do not watch their movements, both the regime and the people will no longer tolerate such mysterious and anti-regime activities.' 'Narratives of Irresponsible Individuals' from the Meeting of the Supreme National Security Council The newspaper Arman also published a report on Mehdi Taeb's statements against Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, describing these statements as 'a narrative from a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council' by 'irresponsible individuals.' Ali Zamani in the report of the newspaper Arman wrote: 'In all that was searched, there was no indication of the position of Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Taeb that could qualify him to explain the details of the Supreme National Security Council meeting.' The reporter of the newspaper Arman introduced the current members of the Supreme National Security Council and wrote: the members of this council include the heads of the three branches, with Hassan Rouhani also serving as the head of the executive branch and the presidency of the council, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as the head of planning and budget and the strategic planning and oversight deputy of the president, Brigadier General Shamkhani as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili as the representative of the Supreme Leader, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi as the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Ataollah Salehi as the commander of the army, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari as the commander of the IRGC, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli as the Minister of Interior and head of the National Security Council, Mohammad Javad Zarif as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hojjatoleslam Alavi as the Minister of Intelligence.' The newspaper Arman, referring to Mehdi Taeb's narrative about the Supreme National Security Council meeting regarding Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, wrote: 'Certainly, each of the members of this council has more decision-making power regarding the communication of the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council than others, and it does not seem necessary for individuals whose factional and political views are clear to convey sentences under the title of the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council to the media.' This newspaper emphasized that 'regardless of what Mehdi Taeb has said to Mehr, the truth or denial of it is beyond the responsibility of a media outlet, but the expression of issues by individuals who do not have legal responsibility occupies the minds of society, whether opponents or supporters, and this is inconsistent with the slogan of the necessity of strengthening tranquility in society' and even 'if what Taeb has stated is true, naturally other institutions in the country are responsible for communicating it, and if such a decision has not been made until now, they have certainly considered the interests of society. If Taeb's statements are not confirmed by responsible officials, then there will be no further discussion, and public opinion is the best judge.' The newspaper Arman also wrote: 'Sometimes the narrative of what occurs in the Supreme National Security Council meetings may not be approved, as earlier this year, Mahmoud Nabavian, one of the conservative representatives of the ninth parliament, reported the Supreme National Security Council's complaint against himself and another representative.' 'Formation of New Caravan of Light' for 'Narrating the Events of 2009' The newspaper Shargh has reported that alongside the new wave of attacks from conservative media and figures against Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, another news was published on Tuesday by the news agencies 'Fars', 'Tasnim', and 'Mehr' indicating the 'launching of caravans to narrate the events of 2009 by some individuals.'