Warning About the 'Specific Presence of Enemies' in Iran's Elections

The interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran warned about the 'increasing interference of enemies in the presidential elections' and stated that they have found a 'specific presence' in this election, promoting voting for a particular candidate. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Ahmad Khatami, in his sermon on the eighth of Ordibehesht, said that 'enemies' intend to expand their interference in this election. He added, 'In no election period have the enemies of this nation had such a specific presence in their media for months, telling people whom to vote for and whom not to vote for.' Khatami did not refer to the identity of these 'enemies' or provide evidence of their 'specific presence' in the elections. The Tehran prayer leader also mentioned the U.S. shift to an 'aggressive' approach, stating that a president must be elected who can respond to the threats from U.S. officials 'firmly and decisively.' Previously, some conservative websites and Telegram channels had claimed that opposition groups to the Islamic Republic welcomed Hassan Rouhani's positions and were campaigning against Ebrahim Raisi, the conservative presidential candidate. Ebrahim Raisi, a former judiciary official, had previously been a member of the decision-making committee for executions in the 1980s, and Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri referred to his role in a voice file released last year by his son, Ahmad Montazeri. The Tehran prayer leader also called for the election of a candidate who acknowledges the virtual space as part of 'a full-scale war against the morals and identity of the Islamic system,' rather than viewing it as 'cultural interaction.' In this context, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, stated that 'the cultural laxity present in the virtual space, for which no action is taken to limit it, has soured the taste of the loyal people.' In recent years, judicial and security officials have made many efforts to block social networks, including 'Telegram,' but the Rouhani government claims to have opposed these requests. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, that this ministry would not be influenced by 'pressures' and 'the efforts of a specific group' to filter Telegram, stating that this messenger would not be filtered during the 96 presidential election. Hassan Rouhani also mentioned on Tuesday, April 10, that if it were not for the efforts of the president and the government, 'you would not see a network that is alive and would sacrifice everyone.' However, previously, Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, described the Rouhani government's record on respecting legal freedoms as 'very weak' and criticized Rouhani for not making 'any changes' in the Ministry of Intelligence contrary to his electoral promises. The 'Freedom House' institute also, in its latest annual report, identified Iran as one of the ten unfree countries regarding media freedom, noting the increased pressure on media freedoms worldwide.