The Eleventh Government's Complaint Against a Cleric Who Spoke 'Very Disrespectfully' About Hassan Rouhani

The legal deputy of the Iranian president states that the Eleventh Government has filed a complaint with the judiciary against a cleric who accused Hassan Rouhani of 'treason' in a 'very disrespectful' manner. Majid Ansari mentioned on Wednesday night, September 1, during the program 'Text and Margin' on Iran's Third TV channel: 'I have filed a complaint against one of the clerics who, in a very disrespectful and criminal tone, made a false accusation against the President, specifically accusing him of treason.' According to Young Journalists Club, he stated that we should not overlook the misconduct of an individual simply because he is a cleric and emphasized that 'open insults to the President in a public forum are considered a crime under Islamic penal law.' The Iranian president's legal deputy did not disclose the name of this cleric, but it seems he was referring to 'Hamid Rouhani,' who heads an organization known as the 'Foundation for Historical Research and Encyclopedia of the Islamic Revolution.' Hamid Rouhani, at a meeting titled 'From the Constitutional Movement to the Islamic Revolution,' held in mid-August in Tabriz, explicitly accused Hassan Rouhani of 'treason' regarding the negotiations between Iran and six global powers about Tehran's nuclear program. According to Shargh newspaper, he stated: 'Today we witnessed the disgrace of the negotiations and the JCPOA.' He added: 'One of Mr. Rouhani's innovations was keeping the people out of the negotiation process. Mr. Rouhani should be tried for treason against the country, lies, and distancing from the leadership.' This conservative cleric further stated: 'On the day the leadership said he deemed negotiations futile, today's Amr ibn al-As forced the leadership to negotiate. The clergy and Friday prayer leaders should have initiated a movement against negotiations with the devil; however, they fell short... If a flood of letters from the Basij and clergy had been sent to the presidency, Mr. Rouhani would not have dared to negotiate with America.' Hamid Rouhani also stated: 'The treason that Mr. Rouhani committed, even Banisadr could not have done. We must be cautious.' The negotiations between Iran and global powers, which lasted two years, resulted in the agreement known as the 'Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action' or 'JCPOA,' which led to the suspension and limitation of many of Iran's nuclear activities. In return, crippling sanctions against the Islamic Republic were lifted or suspended. This agreement, reached in July 2015, faced severe criticism from conservatives, who accused Hassan Rouhani's government of initiating a project of 'influence' and destroying the Islamic Republic's nuclear achievements. In his remarks on Wednesday, the Iranian president's legal deputy referred to these criticisms and stated that 'the Eleventh Government has faced the most criticism, destruction, and accusations during this period.' Mr. Ansari added that 'the criticisms and destructions' in this government 'especially from certain currents and media, whether official, semi-official, or affiliated with official institutions, have been much broader.' On August 9, just a few days after the criticisms from Hamid Rouhani and Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, against the Eleventh Government, he stated that the government would file complaints against several clerics who had insulted Hassan Rouhani in recent days to the Special Court for Clerics. Ahmad Alamolhoda, in his criticisms, described Hassan Rouhani as a 'simple-minded' individual and said: 'A simple-minded man says we gained dignity with the JCPOA! What dignity? Is it dignity that an Italian modeling company comes? Did you advance this in the JCPOA? Why are foreign knowledge-based companies unwilling to invest? Is this dignity?' The Friday prayer leader of Mashhad referred to the Iranian president's remarks on August 2, where he stated: 'This is dignity that we are now selling oil to the extent we want, and this is significant not only economically but also politically and in revolutionary dimensions.' The Special Court for Clerics, established in 1986 by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to address allegations against clerics, has no standing in Iran's constitution and has faced criticism from reformists over the past two decades for this reason. Reformists view the existence of this court as a sign of 'privilege' or 'discrimination' for clerics and consider it contrary to some principles of the Islamic Republic's constitution, including Article 19, which states that 'the people of Iran, regardless of their tribe, enjoy equal rights, and color, race, language, and such shall not be a cause for privilege.'