Ezzatollah Entezami: Mr. President, Fulfill Your Promise to Lift the House Arrest

Ezzatollah Entezami, a famous Iranian actor, in a letter addressed to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, has urged him to 'resolve' the issue of the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard. The letter was published on Wednesday, March 16, by Khabar Online, a website close to Mir Hossein Mousavi. The letter states: 'Dear Mr. President, by fulfilling one of your electoral promises, you managed to lift the ominous shadow of sanctions from the nation through negotiation and dialogue. Is it not time to fulfill another electoral promise of yours, namely the lifting of the house arrest from the three esteemed individuals – Ms. Zahra Rahnavard and Messrs. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi?' Hassan Rouhani had promised during his campaign for the Iranian presidential election in 2013 that he would take action to resolve the house arrest issue. Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, two candidates who contested the results of the 2009 presidential election, along with Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi's wife, have been under house arrest since February 2011. In another part of his letter, the Iranian actor stated that the 'greatest achievement' of resolving the house arrest issue would be an increase in national trust and unity. Ezzatollah Entezami posed the question, 'Why are you hesitating to fulfill this promise?' and emphasized: 'How can one sit at the negotiating table with the great powers of the world to negotiate national interests and ultimately reach a conclusion, but cannot negotiate with the country's officials over national interests? How can such an important issue remain unresolved?' He added: 'You have tirelessly pursued the resolution of the sanctions issue for over two years with commendable effort. Now, exert the same effort to resolve this important domestic issue. Which official in the country wants issues to remain unresolved? Can an issue of such importance be ignored while also calling for national solidarity? Ignoring facts and turning a blind eye to them only leads to making their resolution more difficult.' In conclusion, the actor stated: 'I, Ezzatollah Entezami, at the end of my long life of over ninety years, hope that with wisdom and rationality, this issue, like the sanctions issue, will also come to a good end. Because I expect you to resolve the house arrest issue as we approach Nowruz, so that national unity in society can be fostered.' Previously, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government, stated that the government is not the final decision-maker regarding the 'house arrest' issue. On February 25, he said: 'I have witnessed many efforts being made, and we are trying as much as we can. In some cases, we have even tried more than we are capable of, but the final decision-maker in this matter is not the government.'