Uncertainty Surrounds the Clerical Society's Decision to Support Rafsanjani in Elections

Amidst a severe attack by the former Minister of Intelligence and some conservatives against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association stated that the group has not yet made a final decision regarding support for him in the Assembly of Experts elections. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani announced on Thursday, January 10, that the group's list for the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections has reached 'stages,' but is 'not ready.' The 'Payesh' website reported on Tuesday, January 7, citing an unnamed member of the Combatant Clergy Association, that the central council members of this group voted positively to support Mr. Rafsanjani in the Assembly of Experts elections. According to this member, some opponents of Mr. Rafsanjani 'are trying to hold another vote in the next meeting and, through negotiations, reverse the votes of some members.' Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Council, is a prominent member of the Combatant Clergy Association, but reports indicate that he has not participated in the group's meetings for several years. The Combatant Clergy Association and the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, which conservatives refer to as 'Jama'atain,' are the two main organizations of conservative clerics. The 'Payesh' website also reported on January 3, citing an unnamed 'close source' to the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, that the majority of the election committee members of this group opposed Mr. Rafsanjani's presence on their list for the Assembly of Experts elections. According to this report, the final decision regarding support for Mr. Rafsanjani is to be made in the main meeting of the Society of Teachers. In recent days, some conservative figures and appointees of the Supreme Leader, including Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, have severely attacked Mr. Rafsanjani. Fars News Agency also quoted Haidar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, on Thursday saying that in the Assembly of Experts elections 'some are seeking a new sedition and are raising issues such as a leadership council.' This is a direct reference to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who, among other things, stated in an interview with ILNA on December 22 that before the elimination of the 'Leadership Council' in the constitutional amendment in 1989, he believed in a council leadership, but despite this belief, he 'submitted' to the decision of the Assembly of Experts. Meanwhile, Hamid Rasai, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, also stated on Thursday that 'the future sedition has come to undermine people's faith in the Guardian Jurist, which is why issues like the leadership council are being raised.' Mr. Rasai had previously criticized Mr. Rafsanjani's actions in 2009, stating that 'the sedition is not over' and 'the main sedition' referred to as 'the greater sedition' will occur in the near future. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and his close associates refer to the people's protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election as 'sedition.' Following the candidacy of reformists for the parliamentary elections and also the candidacy of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and individuals close to him in the Assembly of Experts elections, some close associates of the Supreme Leader and conservatives, including Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, and Mohammad Hossein Nejat, the cultural deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have warned about the repetition of protests similar to those of the 2009 presidential elections. Gholamali Haddad Adel: If someone breaks the unity of conservatives, they must also pay the price. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a conference emphasizing the necessity for conservatives to reach a unified list for the upcoming elections was held, with speeches from several conservative figures, including Gholamali Haddad Adel, the head of the conservative faction in parliament, and Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association of Tehran. According to ISNA, Mr. Haddad Adel stated at this conference that 'all conservative parties must enter the coalition council in line with the goal of conservatives' victory in the elections.' He warned that 'certainly, if someone breaks the unity of conservatives, they must also pay the price.' In recent weeks, a council called the 'Coalition Council of Conservatives' has been formed, and this council has elected Gholamali Haddad Adel as its spokesperson. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party, Hossein Fadaei, Secretary-General of the Martyrs' Society, Morteza Aghatehrani, Secretary-General of the Steadfast Front, and Sadegh Mahsuli, Minister of Interior in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, are other members of this council. However, some parties and conservative figures, including Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, do not have representatives in this council. Nevertheless, according to Tasnim News Agency, the Secretary-General of the Combatant Clergy Association stated on Thursday in response to a question about this that 'Mr. Larijani is among us, and even if he has not introduced a representative, he is present among us.' Behrouz Namati, a member of the parliament's Followers of the Velayat faction, stated on Wednesday that Mr. Larijani's insistence on independent participation in the tenth parliamentary elections 'means distancing from any extremism and disgust from the misbehavior of some conservatives during the review of the Vienna nuclear agreement.' Previously, some websites and news media in Iran had reported that the reason for Ali Larijani's non-participation in the 'Coalition Council of Conservatives' is the presence of the 'Steadfast Front' in this coalition.