The Central Council of the National Trust Party Comments on Karroubi's Resignation

Following Mehdi Karroubi's resignation from the secretary-generalship of the National Trust Party, Rasoul Montajeb-Nia, the party's deputy, also resigned from his position, expressing regret over the conflicts that occurred during the party congress. The Central Council of the National Trust Party is set to review Mr. Karroubi's resignation on Friday. According to ISNA, Rasoul Montajeb-Nia expressed 'deep regret' in a letter to Mehdi Karroubi regarding the events at the party congress, which he claimed caused 'insult and humiliation to many individuals.' In this letter, he also resigned from his position as deputy secretary-general of the National Trust Party. Mr. Montajeb-Nia's resignation must be accepted or rejected by Mehdi Karroubi, the party's secretary-general. Previously, Montajeb-Nia had resigned from his deputy position, but Karroubi opposed his resignation. Currently, Mehdi Karroubi has announced his resignation from the secretary-generalship of the National Trust Party, which must also be accepted or rejected by the members of the Central Council. In this context, Ismail Gerami-Moghadam, the spokesperson for the National Trust Party, announced that the members of the Central Council would review Mr. Karroubi's resignation in their meeting on Friday. According to Gerami-Moghadam, Karroubi's resignation occurred 'following the controversies' at the National Trust Party congress, and Karroubi believes that 'the continuation of the party's existence is difficult' in the absence of the secretary-general. For the second time, Mehdi Karroubi has asked the members of the National Trust Party to agree to his resignation request, implying in his letter that only his death or that of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, could end his house arrest. On Friday, June 4, conflicts occurred among members of the National Trust Party at the end of the party congress. Some members attribute these conflicts to protests against the 'illegal election' of the Central Council members. However, Mohammad Sadegh Javadihesar, a member of the National Trust Party, told Radio Farda that the new Central Council members have not been elected but have been retained until the next congress in six months. According to Javadihesar, the Central Council of the National Trust Party announced that due to the coincidence with Ramadan and other issues, it was not possible to hold a complete congress, and it was decided to retain the Central Council members for six months and to amend the charter through a 'standing and sitting' voting process. He stated that the amendment of the charter and the retention of the Central Council members through 'standing and sitting' was approved by the party congress. This member of the National Trust Party also mentioned that there has been a longstanding disagreement between two groups of party members, one of the reasons being the party's collaboration with the Reformists' Policy Council. Javadihesar noted that on one side, Rasoul Montajeb-Nia has called for the National Trust Party to operate separately, while some members, including Ismail Gerami-Moghadam, Ebrahim Amini, and Mohammad Javad Haqshenas, have called for 'constructive interaction' and 'critical dialogue' with the Reformists 'while criticizing them.' The National Trust Party was founded in 2005 around Mehdi Karroubi and had its office in Tehran shut down following protests against the 2009 presidential election. However, following the 2013 presidential election, senior members of the party announced its return to the political arena, and the party's meetings resumed. Mehdi Karroubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi, another leader of the 2009 protests, and Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest since February 2011.