Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Warns Election Candidates: You Do Not Have the Right to Harm the Islamic System

The Friday prayer leader of Tehran warned about the enemy's attempts to create tension and repeat the events of 2009 in the upcoming elections, urging candidates to 'submit to the people's vote.' According to Fars News Agency, Ahmad Khatami stated in his sermon on March 4 that 'the enemy seeks to create tension in the Iranian electoral arena.' He emphasized that the election atmosphere should not be 'a space for venting frustrations against Islamic values,' and that candidates and their supporters do not have the 'right to harm the Islamic system' in their electoral speeches. Khatami referred to the widespread protests that followed the announcement of the 2009 presidential election results, insisting that candidates must 'believe in the culture of submission to the people's vote.' The temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran also stated: 'Lies, deception, and insults to others and other candidates are not befitting the atmosphere of the Islamic system and are characteristic of the U.S. and Western countries, which hold little value for ethics.' Just days before the Tehran Friday prayer leader's remarks, Hossein Zolfaqari, Deputy Minister of Interior for Security, announced the 'fundamental considerations' of the ministry for holding the 2017 presidential elections. These considerations include a ban on announcing election results before the Ministry of Interior's declaration and 'arresting specific political individuals and closing campaign headquarters' only with consultation from the provincial or national security headquarters. Much of these 'fundamental considerations for elections' remind one of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results and the arrests and events that followed, the aftershocks of which continue to this day. Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary, also stated on Tuesday, March 27, that some are using 'anti-revolutionary tools' to advance their electoral agendas, which is a 'criminal' act. The activities of Persian-language media outside of Iran have become one of the main concerns of the Islamic Republic officials and conservatives during this election period. Meanwhile, Ahmad Khatami emphasized on Friday that 'foreign media have already taken steps and established several networks,' claiming that these media aim to repeat the events of the 2009 presidential elections. He urged users of social media to 'confront them aggressively wherever they see them trying to oppose our Islamic values.' The Tehran Friday prayer leader also stated that candidates should not 'support or provoke certain nationalities in their campaigns and seek to gain votes by creating division.' The use of the term 'nationalities' in the Tehran Friday prayer leader's remarks is notable, as Islamic Republic officials typically use the term 'ethnicities.' In recent months, the formation of a 'Turk-speaking regions faction' and efforts to establish a Kurdish representatives faction in parliament have received significant attention. In another part of his remarks, responding to Mohammad Khatami's proposal for 'national reconciliation,' the Tehran Friday prayer leader stated that 'our entire being longs for reconciliation, but national reconciliation carries the burden that there seems to be a national dispute in this country, which is a lie; there is no national dispute in this country.' Referring to the protests following the 2009 presidential election, he said that 'the nation is deeply resentful of this group, and until they repent, there will be no reconciliation with them.' Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, recently expressed hope for 'the realization of national reconciliation and internal solidarity' in Iran, stating that 'now is the best time to create solidarity among all forces in the path of national interests and to repel and eliminate threats and conspiracies.' However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, indirectly dismissed this proposal as 'meaningless,' stating that 'they will not reconcile with the plotters of Ashura 2009.' Before him, Sadeq Larijani had deemed the topic of 'national reconciliation' as 'incorrect,' emphasizing that those who, in his view, 'erred' in 2009 must return from their 'wrong path.' In contrast, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, responding to opposition to the 'national reconciliation' proposal, stated that the people have 'complaints' from the government following the events of 2009, and actions 'against the constitution' such as house arrest, banning images, and imprisoning Ahmad Montazeri are 'narrow-mindedness' that 'must be set aside.' Dozens of parliament representatives visited Khatami on Tuesday, March 27, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Hope List's victory in the 10th parliamentary elections. Two days before this visit, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran, stated that he had spoken with the leader of the Islamic Republic about the reformist movement, and Ayatollah Khamenei had said he is 'interested in all political currents.' Nevertheless, Javad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from Mashhad, stated in a speech in Qom that Khamenei rejected Jahangiri's request for Khatami to meet with him and to discuss the topic of national reconciliation, emphasizing that he 'absolutely cannot return.' This is a subject that the office of the leader of the Islamic Republic has yet to respond to, maintaining complete silence in the face of Qodosi's revelations. Several Friday prayer leaders also criticized recent remarks by President Hassan Rouhani. Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, stated that 'enemies are trying to polarize society, placing anti-revolutionary and anti-leadership forces on one side and pro-leadership forces on the other.' He added: 'One of our responsible friends said last Saturday that some thought a fire pit had been created to throw the JCPOA into it; this statement from a responsible person in this system is surprising and what does it mean?' Hassan Rouhani stated on Saturday, March 4, that 'some thought there was a fire pit and we would throw the resolution into it, and it would burn and be over, but the resolution had to be annulled by the council itself, which we did.' The next day, Rouhani also stated at the National Health Assembly that 'we must have joy in society; how is it that every sorrow and grief is permissible, but one minute of laughter is forbidden?' In response to this point, the Friday prayer leader of Isfahan criticized Rouhani's remarks, stating: 'Holding concerts and opening mouths is not joy; joy is not when people gather in Isfahan and someone sings and laughs.' He added: 'We must know what joy is. Which prophets defined joy in this way? Rather, solving people's problems is joy.' The issue of concert cancellations during Hassan Rouhani's administration has always been newsworthy and was one of the reasons for the resignation of Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture.