Reaction of Guardian Council Spokesman to Hassan Rouhani's Objection to His Disqualification: These Remarks Are Not New

Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesman for the Guardian Council, reacted to Rouhani's statements regarding the reasons for his disqualification, saying: "Apparently, some believe that when they are approved, the understanding of the Guardian Council members is high, but when they are disqualified, they have a different opinion." In today's press conference, Tahan Nazif addressed why the reasons for disqualification are not publicly disclosed to Rouhani or why the confidentiality stamp is not removed, stating: "The reasons for disqualification are communicated to individuals, and public dissemination requires permission and a resolution from the parliament." The spokesman emphasized that "the approval of the qualifications of the Assembly of Experts is the responsibility of the jurists of the Guardian Council. The communication has been in writing, and there have been other matters that have been communicated to him, and those matters that were announced were not accurate." Last week, following the announcement of the reasons for Hassan Rouhani's disqualification by the Guardian Council, Rouhani announced that he would publish his response to the Guardian Council's letter regarding his disqualification in the upcoming sixth Assembly of Experts elections "in the near future." According to Hassan Rouhani, the reasons for disqualification include "allegations of insulting the judiciary and the Guardian Council" and "failure to stand against the West" and "issues in implementing the JCPOA, etc." In Bahman 1402, the former president of the Islamic Republic, after being disqualified for candidacy in the Assembly of Experts elections, issued a statement calling for the announcement of the reasons. He questioned, "Why are the reasons for disqualification not announced?" accusing the Guardian Council of "strengthening the despairing current" against participating in the elections. Rouhani also requested in successive letters the written presentation of the reasons and documents for his disqualification in the sixth Assembly of Experts elections. According to Rouhani's website, he requested that the documents supporting the claims in these five titles be presented "completely, without truncation or summarization." Kambez Nourouzi, a lawyer, reacted to Rouhani's unanswered series of letters, stating that "when Hassan Rouhani or any other candidate requests the Guardian Council to announce the reasons for their disqualification, the Guardian Council cannot cite reasons such as preserving privacy and... to avoid announcing the reasons for disqualification." During the 1402 elections, Hassan Rouhani, who held the presidency in the Islamic Republic for eight years and previously served for two decades as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the highest security body of the Iranian government, was disqualified by the Guardian Council for candidacy in the Assembly of Experts elections. Many senior officials and former presidents in the Islamic Republic, including Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after holding high positions in the system, were also disqualified in various periods and no longer played a significant role in the political scene. Hassan Rouhani and the potential disqualification issue in the Assembly of Experts elections were discussed with Hamid Ayinavand.