Rafsanjani Criticizes Calling Tehran Residents 'Kufa'

The head of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, criticized some media outlets close to conservatives for referring to Tehran residents as 'Kufa', stating, 'The remarks made about the people of Tehran these days reflect their anger and desperation.' He added that 'these individuals, thinking they were humiliated by the people's vote, are taking revenge on them.' In an interview with the Nowruz special edition of the Arman newspaper, parts of which were published on Saturday, March 12, on Rafsanjani's website, he stated, 'Their words were a historical mistake because if the people of Tehran are dissatisfied with someone, they cannot win votes in elections.' After the elections on March 7, some conservative media and political activists harshly attacked those Tehran residents who voted for the reformist list in the parliament and the list associated with Rafsanjani in the Assembly of Experts elections. Meanwhile, Jaafar Shajouni, a member of the Combatant Clergy Association, described Tehran as 'the main base of opposition to the revolution and the Supreme Leader.' Other conservative media likened Tehran to the city of 'Kufa' during the time of the first and third Imams of Shia Islam, who, according to Shia historical narratives, betrayed these Imams. This analogy was met with a reaction from Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, a member of Tehran City Council, who on Tuesday, March 2, said, 'Some tell the people of Tehran that because you did not vote for our list, you are from Kufa.' On the same Saturday, Rafsanjani also spoke to the winners of the first stage and candidates of the second stage of the 'Hope Coalition', saying, 'How can we be happy about being isolated in today's world? Why do we want to use the world's information tools and be angry with them?' According to ISNA news agency, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council also referred to the lifting of banking sanctions against Iran after the Vienna nuclear agreement, stating, 'We must enter global trade.' Rafsanjani's statements come at a time when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly emphasized 'resistance economy', which describes an economy independent of foreign countries. On March 10, during a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, Khamenei referred to remarks made by a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stating that 'even if they surround our country, this institution will not face problems in missile production,' saying, 'This means progress.' Khamenei emphasized that 'the visits of Western delegations have had no positive effect so far,' adding, 'It must be shown in practice what impact these visits have; otherwise, mere agreements on paper are of no use.' Previously, several close associates of the Supreme Leader, including Kazem Sedighi, the Tehran Friday prayer leader, referred to Western sanctions against Iran as a 'blessing' and criticized contracts signed between Iran and Western countries. 'Many of the austerity measures these days are hypocrisy,' Rafsanjani emphasized in another part of his remarks on Saturday, stating, 'Those who want to impose austerity on the people and encourage them to hardship live differently themselves.' He dismissed claims about living with 'austerity' by Ayatollah Khomeini, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, stating, 'He showed everything he had; it was not that he spread a rug in front of his house and had a carpet inside. Rather, he spread the carpet right in front of his house; he did not pretend.' In recent years, media supporting the Supreme Leader have reported that his lifestyle is 'simple and modest' and 'like ordinary people' in society. Some of these media accuse Rafsanjani of having 'an extravagant lifestyle.' In this context, Mesbah Yazdi accused Rouhani's government of being 'America's servant.' A commander of the IRGC stated: 'The enemy is after a specific class of officials in the system.' Rafsanjani: 'The people did not allow the wrong methods of the past to continue.'