Quds Force Commander Criticizes 'Oppositional Posturing' and 'Letter Writing' to Khamenei

The commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards criticized the 'oppositional posturing' and letter writing to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic by individuals 'following the line of Imam' and those who are 'sitting at the table of the system.' According to Tasnim News Agency, Qassem Soleimani, in a speech at the February 22 rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution in Kerman, said: 'I am sorry that some who have named themselves followers of the Imam's line, instead of writing open letters to the global arrogance and the enemy, write open letters to the Leader who stands at the forefront.' He added: 'Today, it is not your expectation that Islam and the Wali Faqih apologize for your sins. How can you call yourself a follower of the Imam's line? The line of the Imam is to take your dignity in hand and serve the Imam, and by doing this, increase your dignity.' The Quds Force commander also stated: 'Some people in the country, for example, compassionately argue that just as the late Imam drank the poison chalice in response to the resolution during the war, the Imam today should do the same and negotiate with America. What kind of comparison is this? This poison chalice has taken the life of Islam and will completely take the life of Iran and Shiism.' Soleimani's remarks came about two weeks after Mehdi Karroubi, a leader of the protesters against the results of the 2009 presidential election, in an open letter to the Supreme Leader, held him responsible for the current political, economic, cultural, and social situation in Iran and called for 'creating the ground for structural reform of the system.' Abolfazl Ghadiani, a senior member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, also referred to this letter, calling Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the 'dictator of today’s Iran' and urged reformist figures in Iran not to 'compromise' further on 'the rights of the nation' with the Supreme Leader. Karroubi and other forces known as 'Islamic Left' were referred to in the 1980s as the 'followers of the Imam's line,' indicating their closeness to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. In another part of his speech, the Quds Force commander said: 'You have curled up in a corner and are posing as an opposition against the system that the Imam established.' He added: 'Your action is wrong, and of course, many like foam on water could not endure and fled.' Soleimani's remarks are similar to those of the Supreme Leader, who on December 27 implicitly accused former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of 'doing the enemy’s work inside' and said: 'Those who have all the country’s resources in their hands or have had them have no right to play the role of the opposition.' Ahmadinejad, two days before the Supreme Leader's remarks, had written a letter to him stating that the Larijani brothers, including the heads of the legislative and judiciary branches, had inflicted 'irreparable damage to the trust of the people, the revolution' and the parliament and judiciary, and called for Ayatollah Khamenei to intervene in the case of Hamid Baqaei, his former deputy, and prevent 'injustice' against him. This letter was written on December 24 but was published on the government website on January 25. Soleimani's remarks also come at a time when Hamid Baqaei, Ahmadinejad's deputy during his presidency, on February 9, without referring to the details of his accusation of receiving 'large amounts of currency' from the Quds Force, considered this issue a result of internal conflicts within the IRGC. He emphasized: 'Is it that the expiration date of some has come, and soon purges will take place in the IRGC, and I must become an excuse and a victim of internal disputes within the IRGC?' He had previously denied the accusation of embezzling 'several million euros and dollars' from the Quds Force. 'Request for a total bonus payment of 300 million tomans to 16 members of the government,' 'assistance to the International University of Iranians,' 'assistance to the Iranian House Organization,' 'assistance to the state newspaper Iran,' and 'accusation of collusion in contracts and transactions of five companies' are among the accusations against Baqaei.