Rasayi: 'The Greater Sedition Aims to Destroy the Guardianship of the Jurist'

On Saturday, January 5, 2016, the newspaper Resalat reported that Hamid Rasayi, in a speech in Qazvin, described Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's statements regarding the necessity of oversight by the Assembly of Experts over the institutions under the Supreme Leader as 'the Greater Sedition' and stated: 'Although past seditions have been overcome, the sedition is not over, and the main sedition ahead is the Greater Sedition.' Reformist-leaning newspapers welcomed the increase in the number of candidates registering for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, while newspapers close to the principlists, including the newspaper Javan, described it as 'dangerous.' The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page the registration of several other reformist figures and described it as 'completing the caravan of reforms,' while Shargh wrote: 'The last day; the day of reformists.' Shargh also noted that 'the number of registrations for the tenth parliament is more than twice that of the ninth.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described the 'increase in the number of candidates' in the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections as a 'dangerous movement' stemming from the 'evil goals' of the registrants. This newspaper also characterized the efforts of women's rights activists and some reformist women to increase female representation in the Islamic Consultative Assembly as part of the 'enemy's planning' and stated: 'This enemy's multi-year designed scenario has faced failure, and no campaign can lead the religious community of Iranian women towards the un-religious and instrumental path of the West.' The newspaper Bahar published a report about the 'behind-the-scenes concerns, both apparent and hidden,' regarding the Assembly of Experts elections, stating: 'According to the Minister of Interior, registrations for this year's Assembly of Experts have increased by 62%, an increase that seems to have been concerning for some political figures in the country, but it appears that these concerns have deeper reasons than the number of candidates.' The newspaper then reminded that 'the concern about the registrants for the Assembly of Experts was initiated by Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, who warned about infiltration in the Assembly of Experts,' and noted: 'One of these sensitivities is the entry of a young figure named Seyyed Hassan Khomeini into the election arena for the Assembly of Experts.' The newspaper Qanoon reported on its front page the registration of Ali Larijani from the Qom electoral district, stating: 'Larijani announced his independence.' According to this newspaper, 'While Ali Larijani headed to Qom to once again take a seat in the Majlis and perhaps the presidency, the Qom electoral district sends three representatives to the Islamic Consultative Assembly,' but his statements during registration should be considered 'his independence from political factions.' The newspaper wrote that in response to the question 'Which political group will you belong to in the elections?' Larijani said: 'Of course, I have entered the elections independently, but what is important to me is to properly pursue the principles and goals of the revolution.' The newspaper Kayhan dedicated its front page to Ahmad Jannati and his statements at Friday prayers in Tehran, quoting the Secretary of the Guardian Council as saying: 'Some candidates for the Assembly of Experts cannot even read an Arabic sentence correctly.' According to this newspaper, Ahmad Jannati criticized the increase in the number of candidates for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: 'What do some of these candidates really expect?! Some say the qualifications of candidates should be determined by the people. I don't know where this culture has come from? They say that if people vote for anyone, it means they have accepted that person's qualifications, and not voting for someone means they do not accept that person's qualifications. What does this mean? This means that the law should be set aside, and the Guardian Council should not be involved, but we should leave it to the people's discretion,' while 'the right of the people is to prevent those who work against the people's interests from entering the parliament. The supervisory oversight of the Guardian Council is the right of the people; the Supreme Leader has stated that supervisory oversight is one of the lofty examples of the people's rights.' Kayhan quoted Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in this newspaper, as saying: 'Reformists enter the elections empty-handed and want to return with full pockets.' The newspaper Abrar emphasized that 'the deviationist circle dreams of the parliament' and reported on 'the registration of half of Ahmadinejad's cabinet and Mashaei.' This newspaper wrote: 'Mohammad Nazemi Ardakani, Minister of Cooperatives, and Mohammad Soleimani, Minister of Communications in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, registered for the elections on the last day of candidate registration at the Tehran governorate.' Abrar reminded that 'in addition to this, Parviz Davoodi, the first vice president of the ninth government, Parviz Kazemi, Minister of Welfare, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, Minister of Health, Mohammad Hosseini, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Sadegh Khalilian, Minister of Agricultural Jihad, Fereydoun Abbasi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Hamid Sajjadi, proposed Minister of Sports, and Mohammad Abbasi, Minister of Sports, and Masoud Mir Kazemi, Minister of Oil' had previously registered. The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on the closure of a private hospital, stating: 'An order to close a private hospital in Tehran has been issued. This order was issued by the head of the Medical and Health Crimes Prosecutor's Office following one of the surprise visits to medical centers. The hospital, which is said to be located in the Imam Khomeini street area, must be closed due to non-compliance with treatment standards and failure to separate waste and environmental issues.' Shahre Vahdat also reminded that 'this is not the whole story; in news published yesterday, it was mentioned that the head of the Medical and Health Crimes Prosecutor's Office encountered other blatant medical and health violations during this visit, including the fact that there was no anesthesiologist present in the ICU of this private hospital, and its pharmacy was run by a young person with less than a diploma.' The newspaper Jahan Sanat published a photo of Mohammad Javad Zarif, showing him losing his balance on the steps of one of the Foreign Ministry halls, alongside which it wrote: 'The Global Risk Insight Institute has introduced Mohammad Javad Zarif as the 'political risk-taker of the year 2015.' The registration phase for the elections has ended; 'the last day; the day of reformists.' The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page the registration of several other reformist figures and described it as 'completing the caravan of reforms,' while the newspaper Shargh wrote: 'The last day; the day of reformists.' According to the newspaper Etemad, 'Mostafa Mo'in, Mohsen Hashemi, Mohsen Rahami, Fatemeh Hashemi, Ebrahim Amin, Ghodratollah Ali Khani, Ahmad Khorram, Alireza Mohajoub, Morteza Moballegh, Tahereh Rezazadeh, Akbar Alami, Najafgholi Habibi, Afshin Alaa, and Yadollah Tahernejad' are among the reformist figures who registered on the last day of candidate registration for the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections. Nahid Molavi, a reporter for the newspaper Etemad, emphasized that reformists 'have come for the majority in the parliament,' stating: 'Reformists have entered the election arena with their generals and in the first step have managed to reveal their impact on the country's electoral atmosphere. The electoral atmosphere in this round is not comparable to the previous round, and this is the same impact that the Minister of Interior also referred to on Friday in a gathering of journalists, saying: We are not worried, unlike some; rather, we are happy with the presence of all tastes in the election arena.' According to the newspaper Etemad, on Friday at the National Election Headquarters, every official who attended the gathering of journalists spoke of the massive wave of registrations, and 'this is precisely the wave that reformists have launched across the country, tripling the registration statistics for the 94 elections compared to the 90 elections,' and now 'it is only necessary to take a look at the names of reformist figures to realize that reformists have designed a calculated plan for March to end 94 with a sweet victory and welcome the new year. A goal that has been repeatedly stated by Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Reformists' High Policy Council. Reformists are targeting most of the green seats in the Majlis and will not be satisfied with less.' The newspaper Etemad emphasized that 'now figures who had been discussed regarding the possibility of disqualification have set aside all doubts and have taken action to register. Figures such as Mostafa Mo'in and Mohsen and Fatemeh Hashemi, who entered the National Election Headquarters in the last hours of registration, changing the calm atmosphere of the last hours of the headquarters and creating news in the afternoon on Friday,' and now 'we must wait and see what fate will be determined for the country and, of course, for the reformists who have entered the election arena at the invitation of the President and their influential figures on the afternoon of March 7.' This newspaper wrote: 'What is clear so far is that reformists have come to the field with everything they need for victory in March, but 'after this, there are other players who will play a role in the historic March of Iran and will be influential; the Guardian Council, which is responsible for reviewing qualifications, and of course Hassan Rouhani, who has called everyone to the field and has repeatedly injected hope into reformists through his Minister of Interior that they will insist on restoring their weakened rights and will not allow anyone's rights to be weakened.' The newspaper Shargh also reported with the headline 'The last day, the day of reformists,' stating: 'On the last day of registrations, the number and weight of reformist figures outweighed those of the principlists. Mostafa Mo'in, the Minister of Science in the reformist government, was the most prominent reformist figure who registered at the Ministry of Interior for the tenth parliamentary elections; he, who also ran for the ninth presidential election in 2005, intends to run from the Shiraz electoral district for the upcoming elections, and Ahmad Khorram, the Minister of Roads in the reformist government, was another figure who registered to run from the Isfahan electoral district. Akbar Alami, a former member of parliament, Hossein Kashafi, a member of the United Front of the Nation, Najafgholi Habibi, a university professor, and Davood Hormidas Bavand were among those who registered on Friday. Reporter Mohammad Hassan Najmi of the newspaper Shargh also referred to the registration of Mohsen and Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, stating: 'Gholamali Rajei, advisor to Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hossein Naqashi, a member of the Central Council of the United Front of the Nation, Mohsen Rahami, Secretary-General of the Islamic Association of University Instructors, and Rasoul Montajebnia, a member of the National Trust Party' are other reformist figures who registered in the last two days for the elections. The newspaper close to the IRGC: The increase in candidate registrations is due to 'evil goals.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described the 'increase in the number of candidates' in the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections as a 'dangerous movement' stemming from the 'evil goals' of the registrants. This newspaper, in an article titled 'Behind the Scenes of the Registration Movement,' particularly described the increase in the number of candidates in the Assembly of Experts as a 'dangerous movement' and wrote: 'In this round of the Assembly of Experts, unlike the fourth round, which had 493 registrants, this round has seen 801 registrants, which is double the number. In some provinces, where two or three representatives should be elected, more than 60 people will compete. In other words, for one seat in these provinces, 20 to 30 people are competing, and in general, this round of the Assembly of Experts has an average of 10 candidates competing for each representative seat. This action signifies the beginning of a dangerous movement and falling into a path that was never expected.' Hassan Rashvand, in a commentary for the newspaper Javan, wrote: 'The fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has such capacity that more than 800 people consider themselves qualified as a jurist and have exposed themselves to the acceptance of the people for such an important position is a positive and noteworthy matter, but the question arises as to what happened in the eight years that the registration for such a position has doubled, and young people in their 30s are placed alongside seasoned 70- and 80-year-olds.' The newspaper Javan further emphasized that 'this action should be seen as part of a fabricated movement that some have been beating the drum for months, and the version that was designed and implemented for the parliamentary elections in previous rounds has been implemented for the Assembly of Experts in this round. Unaware that the perspective on the Assembly of Experts should be different from other elections.' This newspaper, close to the IRGC, explicitly accused Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of having a role in increasing the number of candidates for the Assembly of Experts elections by 'adding to the heat of the election atmosphere' and wrote: 'When Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani repeatedly emphasized in interviews with those who had no inclination to run for candidacy that everyone should come and with the addition of scholars regardless of the scientific status of that individual, which we are not in a position to judge, by consulting and insisting on the candidacy of these individuals for capacity-building for their improper future goals in the Assembly of Experts, we should have guessed that the number of registrations for the Assembly of Experts in this round would differ from the previous round.' The newspaper Javan then emphasized that 'one of the evil goals pursued in this round of elections for both the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Consultative Assembly is the issue of qualifications, predicting that the Guardian Council will disqualify most of the candidates in its review of qualifications and examination of the jurisprudence of the candidates for the Assembly of Experts.'