Newspapers' Reactions to Hassan Khomeini's Candidacy

The newspaper Shargh, in the front page of its Sunday issue titled "Khomeini of the Experts," published the news of Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, announcing his candidacy for the Assembly of Experts, stating: "This is the first official presence of one of the Khomeinis" after Ayatollah Khomeini and his son Ahmad in the political arena. This newspaper also reported that immediately after the announcement of Hassan Khomeini's candidacy, "the Telegram channel of the Ammar Headquarters published news related to Hassan Khomeini's presence in the Assembly of Experts elections with the hashtag 'Great Sedition.'" The government-aligned newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to President Hassan Rouhani's trip to Khorasan Razavi province, quoting the president as saying: "Individuals interested in serving should participate in the elections." The newspaper Kayhan, in its Sunday front page titled "Playing with Names: A Code for the Destruction and Distortion of Imam," wrote: "Playing with the name of Seyyed Hassan Khomeini on the eve of the registration of candidates for the Assembly of Experts is an action to obscure the main game of the reformist current and the new hypocrisy that has been linked with foreigners and suffered a heavy defeat in the proxy chaos of 2009." This newspaper described Hassan Khomeini's candidacy as a "trap" and referred to his participation in the elections as "Khomeini against Khomeini and Khamenei," implicitly calling for the Guardian Council to scrutinize Hassan Khomeini's qualifications, stating: "These individuals must measure themselves within the framework of red lines and qualifications, not that red lines and principles are measured against them." Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a former parliament member, evaluated Hassan Khomeini's candidacy in the Assembly of Experts elections as a cause for "increasing the dignity of the Assembly of Experts," writing: "Dynamic jurisprudence is one that only some scholars who are knowledgeable about the time can walk in its path; therefore, the presence of jurists who, in addition to understanding the traditions of jurisprudence, have a high level of expertise in understanding time and place is essential for preserving and continuing the Islamic Republic of Iran." The economic newspaper Ebrar Eghtesadi reported on its front page about the continuation of "water and fuel price hikes until 2020" based on the proposed Sixth Development Plan, stating that in this bill, "the Management Organization has proposed to the government that the energy sector be separated from the Ministry of Energy and after merging with the Ministry of Oil, a new Ministry of Energy be formed." The newspaper Etemad also reported that according to the proposals of this draft, ten changes will occur in the government, and in addition to forming a "Ministry of Energy," the increase in water and fuel prices will continue until 2020. The newspaper Ghanoon published a legal perspective on a specific medical case regarding "the painful story of a child with a neutral gender" in Iran, stating: "Neither a girl nor a boy, not even transgender. Only three other children like him with neutral gender live in Iran and are all deprived of their minimum human rights, although none are in as bad a condition as 11-year-old Nazanin Zahra." The newspaper Resalat quoted Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a principlist figure, stating: "We are taking the last steps for the final coalition." Bahonar emphasized that "moderation has not been abandoned." The newspaper Ghanoon, in its front page titled "Global Shock from an Anti-Iranian Plan," wrote: "In the past few days, while we have gone through a few days of holidays in the country, representatives of the US Congress passed a plan that easily targeted the tourism industry, right at a time when international institutions introduced Iran as the number one destination for tourists in the world; now a quasi-sanctioned situation will prevent significant foreign income from reaching our country." The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also pointed out the "approval of a travel restriction plan for Iranian nationals and 37 countries to the US with 407 votes," stating: "On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved a plan with 407 votes in favor and seven against, which, if it becomes law, citizens from countries with visa waiver programs with the US who travel to four countries, including Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan, must obtain a visa before entering the US." This newspaper also reported the funeral of 11 Iranian military forces in Syria as "defenders of the shrine," stating that the ceremony was held in Tehran and five provinces of Iran. Khomeini of the Experts; Beginning of the Wave of Destruction Against Ayatollah Khomeini's Grandson with the Hashtag 'Great Sedition.' The newspaper Shargh, in the front page of its Sunday issue titled "Khomeini of the Experts," published the news of Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, announcing his candidacy for the Assembly of Experts, stating: "This is the first official presence of one of the Khomeinis" after Ayatollah Khomeini and his son Ahmad in the political arena. This newspaper also reported that immediately after the announcement of Hassan Khomeini's candidacy, "the Telegram channel of the Ammar Headquarters published news related to Hassan Khomeini's presence in the Assembly of Experts elections with the hashtag 'Great Sedition.'" The newspaper Shargh then recalled "the first official political presence of Ahmad Khomeini in the second term of the Assembly of Experts from 1990 to 1997," stating that Ahmad Khomeini "was present in this Assembly from Tehran, although his life did not last until the end of the term and he passed away in 1994," but now "almost twenty years after his father's death, the eldest son has finally made his decision and intends to enter this arena from Tehran like his father." Marjan Javaheri, in a report for the newspaper Shargh, noted that Ali Khomeini, the youngest son of Ahmad Khomeini, "announced the news of his elder brother's candidacy for the Assembly of Experts" at the end of the month of Safar in the Toheed Center in Tehran, stating that Ali Khomeini reported that his elder brother Hassan Khomeini, after "extensive invitations from various groups and classes" and "considering consultations with elders and thinkers," will independently participate in the Assembly of Experts elections from Tehran. This newspaper also reported the candidacy of Kazem Mousavi Bejnoury, a senior cleric and father-in-law of Hassan Khomeini, for the Assembly of Experts elections, stating: "Ayatollah Mousavi Bejnourdi is one of the students of Ayatollah Khomeini and a friend of Ahmad Agha, who alongside his teaching experience in the law faculties of Beheshti and Tarbiat Modares universities and the theology faculty of Tehran University, teaches two advanced courses in jurisprudence and principles in the seminary." The newspaper Shargh simultaneously reported on "the beginning of the wave of attacks," stating: "With the finalization of Seyyed Hassan's decision, supporters and opponents of his presence lined up in the virtual space. From the widespread welcome of reformists to Telegram channels that immediately entered the phase of destroying the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini," and even "in the phase of destruction, they tried to advance several channels simultaneously. From raising the issue of Seyyed Hassan's jurisprudential exam to attempting to instill division and discord in the Imam's household." This newspaper emphasized that "the jurisprudential exam is a test that some jurists whose jurisprudential competence has not been established must take before announcing their candidacy for the Assembly of Experts," stating: "Established jurists also must obtain permission from some jurists in the seminary to prove their jurisprudential competence, and otherwise, candidates for the Assembly of Experts must attend the jurisprudential competence exam." Shargh pointed out that criticisms from some figures close to the principlists regarding Hassan Khomeini's candidacy have been raised, even emphasizing that "this action is a kind of pressure on the Guardian Council to review qualifications" and "a type of aristocracy and family rule," stating that these criticisms "are made at a time when Hassan Khomeini has 20 years of teaching experience at high levels" and for the past six years, since October 2010, he has held his advanced jurisprudential course at the Dar Al-Shifa School in Qom and "since 2013, he has been teaching advanced jurisprudence alongside his advanced principles course." This newspaper reminded that "for teaching at this level, the Secretariat of the Seminary Teachers, which is managed under the supervision of Qom's authorities, must issue a certificate for the teacher, which Seyyed Hassan has naturally obtained this certificate to conduct his teaching over the years" and "he has also received his jurisprudential permission, although he has not yet announced from which authorities he received this permission" and perhaps he intends to announce it with the increase in the wave of attacks. Kayhan's evaluation of Hassan Khomeini's candidacy; "Khomeini against Khomeini and Khamenei." The newspaper Kayhan, in its Sunday front page titled "Playing with Names: A Code for the Destruction and Distortion of Imam," wrote: "Playing with the name of Seyyed Hassan Khomeini on the eve of the registration of candidates for the Assembly of Experts is an action to obscure the main game of the reformist current and the new hypocrisy that has been linked with foreigners and suffered a heavy defeat in the proxy chaos of 2009." This newspaper pointed out that "registration for candidates for the Assembly of Experts will start on December 17," emphasizing that "playing with names is to obscure the larger plan," writing: "The advertising game of a faction of extremists and seditionists about the Experts has started several years ago. This game, which has a lot of symmetry and overlap with some political and intelligence circles in the West, has a larger plan, where individuals and persons, if recruited, will only be one of the dozens or even hundreds of pieces of this overall puzzle, and the overall goal is even beyond ordinary political opposition, but opposition to Imam Khomeini and the fruits of his decades-long struggle for the guardianship of the jurist." Kayhan pointed out that "if some are tempted by Seyyed Hassan, it is only to borrow his family name," writing: "The main opposition, regardless of individuals, is the one that was once stated by the Green Sedition organization in London; Ayatollah Khomeini against Ayatollah Khomeini" and "with this in mind, one should not fall into the advertising trap of the opponent regarding the game of names and addressing this or that individual as a scholar or Ayatollah." This newspaper, which is published under the supervision of the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, emphasized that "the Assembly of Experts elections have their own mechanism and are conducted under the supervision of the Guardian Council," writing: "The qualifications of candidates must be verified by this council in terms of scientific and jurisprudential, political and revolutionary, and piety and insight, as the Assembly of Experts is the assembly that safeguards the leadership as a cornerstone of the revolution and the Islamic Republic. Therefore, anyone who steps into the arena as a candidate must naturally be evaluated in this regard, whether the jurist is a competent jurist and whether his practical and political obligations with the system and the revolution, especially with the opponents and enemies, for example, in the case of the 2009 sedition, are clear or not, and "this evaluation must be complete, precise, and without pretense so that no disruption occurs in the authority, cohesion, and credibility of the Assembly of Experts." Kayhan also described Hassan Khomeini's candidacy as "the opponent of Khomeini against Khomeini and Khamenei," posing the question: "What is the goal of this complex plan beyond the names of individuals?" It wrote: "Although some individuals unknowingly and out of negligence or the assumption of political or electoral polarization enter such circles, like the presence of Nateq Nouri and Seyyed Hassan Khomeini in the advisory council mechanism of Hashemi and Khatami in the 2013 elections, the goal of the designers and directors and players beyond the borders is beyond the imagination of the players and pawns." It added: "What has tempted the old combatant and hypocritical currents is some traditional connections of some members of the Imam's household with seditionists like Seyyed Mohammad Khatami." Kayhan then emphasized the existence of "four individuals" as "leaders of the sedition," stating: "Khatami among the four leaders of the sedition is someone who has privately stated several times in private circles that the fraud was a lie and did not exist, yet he has maintained an organizational relationship with the sedition network to this day, and his crime of concealing the truth and inciting chaos that caused the sacrifice of dozens and heavy blows to national security has made it even heavier." This newspaper emphasized that "the sedition is the red line of the system" and that "the system and its pillars will not yield an inch from this line, which is the boundary of pure Islam; American and eclectic Islam," writing: "These individuals must measure themselves within the framework of red lines and qualifications, not that red lines and principles are measured against them." "Increasing the Dignity of the Assembly of Experts with the Presence of Hassan Khomeini." Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a former parliament member, evaluated Hassan Khomeini's candidacy in the Assembly of Experts elections as a cause for "increasing the dignity of the Assembly of Experts," writing: "Dynamic jurisprudence is one that only some scholars who are knowledgeable about the time can walk in its path; therefore, the presence of jurists who, in addition to understanding the traditions of jurisprudence, have a high level of expertise in understanding time and place is essential for preserving and continuing the Islamic Republic of Iran." The editorial writer of the newspaper Bahar evaluated "Hassan Khomeini's presence in the Assembly of Experts elections," stating that Hassan Khomeini, not because he is the son of the household of Ayatollah Khomeini, "but because he is a professor who is engaged in teaching advanced courses, meaning the highest scientific levels in the seminaries, and in addition to that, familiar with contemporary issues, can play a significant role in flourishing jurisprudential ideas consistent with the transformations of today and tomorrow in the Islamic Republic of Iran." According to Mohammad Kianoush Rad, "Hassan Khomeini's personality has been such that he has been able to create a considerable base for himself among politicians on one side and among various social classes on the other," and although "today he is closer to a reformist outlook, he still has acceptance among a wide range of principlists, and of course, it is natural that the extremist principlist faction will confront the presence of individuals like Hassan Khomeini for various reasons in the elections in Esfand." The editorial writer of the newspaper Bahar pointed out that Hassan Khomeini, in addition to "having a base among politicians, has friendly and cordial relationships based on understanding the activities of various social groups, including...