Reiteration of Mohsen Rezaei's Remarks on Protests in the Statement of the Expediency Discernment Council

The public relations office of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council defended Mohsen Rezaei's statements regarding the recent protests in the country, stating that Mr. Rezaei claimed based on an official report from a security official that Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law was one of the factors behind these protests. The statement from this body, published on Friday, January 12, in the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), says that 'anti-revolutionary media' intend to cast doubt on the involvement of behind-the-scenes factors in the recent unrest through 'satire and distortion' of Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council. In his analysis of the nationwide protests, Mohsen Rezaei linked the events to foreign countries and mentioned a special meeting held in Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. He stated: 'A few months ago, the head of the CIA's special operations desk in Erbil, Iraq, met with the office head of Saddam's son and Hani al-Talafih, Saddam's brother-in-law, as well as a representative from Saudi Arabia, the Barzanis, and the Mojahedin [People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran] to plan these events.' These remarks elicited a reaction from officials in Iraqi Kurdistan, who described it as 'comedic,' and among political activists and Iranian social media users, the involvement of Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law was seen as a joke. However, the public relations office of the Expediency Discernment Council stated that 'anti-revolutionary media, in a flustered manner and using diversionary tactics,' have highlighted only one of the 'members of the chaos room' to diminish the impact of the revelations. In the continuation of the statement, Mohsen Rezaei identified the 'chaos planning' agents as follows: 'Michael Andrea, head of the CIA's anti-Iran espionage and operations division, a representative from Saudi Arabia, one of the Barzanis who represented Israel, a representative of the discredited and defeated Mojahedin, and Talafih, Saddam's brother-in-law, who was released from an Iraqi prison by the U.S. a few months ago.' The statement further adds: 'The U.S., Israel, and King Salman [of Saudi Arabia] have been reconstructing the Ba'ath Party of Iraq and intend to play a negative role in the upcoming elections in Iraq, thus encouraging elements, including some close to the Saddam family, to engage in political activities in Iraq.' The statement continues: 'This group has acted as the third side of the recent unrest, alongside the Mojahedin and royalists, with the help of the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia.' Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have attributed the recent protests in the country to foreign factors, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the U.S., protests that began in Mashhad in response to Iran's economic conditions and quickly spread across the country. However, attributing these protests to foreign factors has led to many negative reactions, even among reformist factions who have called for confronting these protests, deeming the focus on foreign factors as 'an insult to society.' Additionally, the Israeli Prime Minister has ridiculed the attribution of the recent protests to his country, and the head of the CIA has denied the agency's involvement in the protests in Iran, emphasizing that the people of Iran are dissatisfied with economic conditions and have distanced themselves from the clergy.