Tension and Controversy at Amir Kabir University Due to Rafsanjani's Speech

The presence and speech of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, at Amir Kabir University in Tehran escalated into tension and controversy. Mr. Rafsanjani, who attended the university for a speech on Tuesday morning, May 14, along with his wife, Afsaneh Marashi, was confronted upon arrival by dozens of students holding photos of two leaders of the Islamic Republic and chanting against him. Images and reports published by news agencies such as Mehr, Fars, IRNA, and the Rajanews website indicate that these students shouted slogans and struck the convoy of vehicles accompanying Rafsanjani, expressing harsh criticism against him. These students attempted to prevent the head of the Expediency Discernment Council from entering the university, thereby obstructing his speech as well. Students holding photos of Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei chanted slogans such as 'Death to the seditionist', 'Seditionist, have some shame, leave the university', 'Mousavi and Karroubi must be executed', 'Amir Kabir University is not a place for the pillars of sedition', and 'The people do not forget your treachery in 2009'. Reports from Mehr news agency and the Khabar Online site also noted the presence of some reformist students and supporters of the Green Movement at the event, who chanted slogans in favor of figures from this movement. According to Khabar Online, these students shouted slogans like 'Ya Hossein, Mir Hossein', 'Our message is clear: the house arrest must be broken', and 'Political prisoners must be freed', while holding photos of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two candidates who protested the results of the 2009 presidential election and are still under house arrest. The uproar and tension around and inside Amir Kabir University occurred while, according to Mehr news agency, Rafsanjani's speech was held without the presence of students, and nearly two-thirds of the hall was filled with university professors. In recent months, the obstruction of speeches by political figures such as Hassan Khomeini and Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, by groups affiliated with the government, often referred to as 'plainclothes' agents, has made headlines. These groups, who usually introduce themselves with titles like 'Families of Martyrs', 'Ummah of Hezbollah', and similar names, have for years disrupted speeches and events across Iran by creating uproar and sometimes attacking individuals. The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Rafsanjani's speech, quoting him as saying, 'Amir Kabir brought Naser al-Din Shah from Tabriz to Tehran and brought him to power, but despotism was ungrateful and due to the conspiracies of Naser al-Din Shah's entourage, Amir Kabir was martyred.' Mr. Rafsanjani also called for the improvement of teachers' conditions in Iran, adding, 'Unfortunately, we have problems in the country that need to be solved. Our teachers these days are protesting for their rightful demands by suspending classes, and no one is bothering them. I emphasize that teachers should be so vibrant that they can gift vitality to our children.' Hashemi Rafsanjani stated, 'One of our most important duties in the Islamic government is to respect the deserving status of teachers; in this case, we will become the forefront of knowledge in the world.'