Tehran Prosecutor Calls Anti-President Slogans 'Manifest Crime'

The Tehran prosecutor described the slogans against the President of Iran during the Quds Day rally as a 'manifest crime' and announced that he had requested the identification of the perpetrators of this 'incident' in a letter to the police and the Ministry of Intelligence. Meanwhile, the government spokesman called for action from 'responsible entities in the system' against this act, but some principlists rejected the hypothesis that this incident was 'organized'. According to ISNA news agency, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, said on Saturday, July 3, 'Regarding yesterday's incident, since it was a manifest crime and occurred in the presence of the officers, the police were obliged to submit their report to the prosecutor's office.' Mr. Jafari Dowlatabadi announced that he sent a letter to the Tehran police commander and the deputy minister of intelligence on Saturday, requesting action to identify the perpetrators of yesterday's incident. He also expressed hope that 'this sensitivity would be raised regarding other powers as well.' During the rally on Friday, some chanted slogans like 'Death to the hypocrite' and 'Rouhani, congratulations on your connection with Banisadr.' Hours after this incident, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, ordered his security deputy to introduce the 'culprits' to the judiciary. Officials in Hassan Rouhani's government condemned this act, and Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, described it as 'a clear crime' and called for the Tehran prosecutor to take action against the sloganers. Based on published videos, some also chanted 'Death to the seditionist' against Mr. Motahari during the Quds Day rally. Supporters of Hassan Rouhani tweeted under the hashtag '#I_support_Rouhani' on Friday night, making it the top global trend. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, also called the slogans against Hassan Rouhani during Friday prayers 'a significant political error and a clear legal crime' on Saturday. He called for 'responsible entities in the system' to take action to 'prevent the recurrence' of similar incidents. Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Labor, and some members of parliament described the slogans against Mr. Rouhani as 'organized' and 'planned'. Some websites attributed this act to groups supporting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, but several figures close to the Supreme Leader and principlist media rejected the hypothesis of it being 'organized' while criticizing the act. Meanwhile, Gholamali Haddad Adel, the head of the seventh parliament, called the hypothesis of this act being organized 'illogical'. He added, 'People have the right to criticize some of the President's remarks, but they should express their views in rational and logical discourse, free from insults.' The newspaper Javan, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, also criticized the slogans against Hassan Rouhani during the Quds Day rally, emphasizing that these individuals 'cannot be considered representatives of Hezbollah.' In contrast, the newspaper Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by the Supreme Leader, published a note titled 'Unity Creation or Unity Breaking' without condemning the Quds Day incident, severely criticizing Hassan Rouhani's remarks in recent days. Several other principlist figures simultaneously condemned the slogans against Hassan Rouhani and what they called the President's 'divisive positions' in recent days. For instance, Elias Naderan, a principlist parliament member, wrote on Twitter: 'The divisive slogan was undesirable, the divisive remarks of the people's elected representative in recent days are even more undesirable.' The verbal clashes between Hassan Rouhani and the Supreme Leader have intensified since Mr. Rouhani's reelection as president. In recent years, many speeches by reformist figures or critics of the Islamic Republic have been attacked, leaving these speeches unfinished. Reports indicate that some of the attackers on these speeches, including those who attacked Ali Motahari in Shiraz in Esfand 93, were members of the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards. The Supreme Leader has had contradictory statements regarding attacks on speeches by Islamic Republic officials or political figures and other actions by groups known as 'pressure groups'. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on May 24, 2016, that he does not agree with attacks on speeches and disrupting speeches. However, after the attack on Saudi Arabia, he severely criticized the 'accusation' of 'Hezbollahis' of extremism, stating that 'just because an issue like the Saudi embassy and the British embassy arises, which is very bad and detrimental to the country and Islam, it should not be used as an excuse to attack believing youth.' The chanting of a group against Hassan Rouhani and comparing him to Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president after the Islamic Revolution, also occurred after Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks. The Supreme Leader stated on Tuesday, June 12, that the experience of 1979 should not be repeated, where 'the then-President [Abolhassan Banisadr] polarized society and divided the people into opposing and supporting groups.' After these remarks, some Telegram channels and websites supporting Ayatollah Khamenei warned that Hassan Rouhani might also face a fate similar to Mr. Banisadr. In this context, Rouhani's associates called for action against the sloganers against the President. The government rally 'Quds Day' was held with slogans against Saudi Arabia and Hassan Rouhani.