No one doubted that Khamenehi’s comments were a direct put-down of Ahmadi-nejad, who had had just publicly lambasted Iran’s Judiciary chairman, Sadeq Larijani, for rejecting Ahmadi-nejad’s plan to visit Evin prison.
Larijani had written a private letter to the president rejecting his request and explaining the reasoning. Ahmadi-nejad then released the letter and gave his retort to Larijani’s points publicly.
In most countries that would be considered transparent government, with public officials laying out their positions and their reasoning in public so the people could make their own judgments. But Khamenehi didn’t see it that way. He made clear that he demanded that senior officials at least pretend to be in agreement.
Ahmadi-nejad has accused the Judiciary of “unconstitutional” behavior, claiming that as Iran’s president he did not need the Judiciary’s permission to visit a prison. Larijani wrote Ahmadi-nejad that he does not understand his constitutional powers.
Khamenehi said that provoking political differences ahead of the presidential elections, scheduled for June 14, is “treason.”
In a speech broadcast on state TV Wednesday, Khamenehi said: “One of the harmful cases is differences among authorities, and worse than that is taking it to the public. I warn officials and the heads of the branches [executive branch chief Ahmadi-nejad, judicial branch chief Larijani, and legislative branch chief Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani] to be careful and not take their differences to the people.”
Sadeq Larijani wrote a private letter to Ahmadi-nejad rejecting the president’s demand to visit Evin, where his top press adviser, Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, is serving a six-month term for publishing material deemed insulting to Khamenehi.
But the president released the letter and publicly criticized Larijani for barring him from visiting Evin.
Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossain Mohsen- Ejai said publicly that the Judiciary rejected Ahmadi-nejad’s request because the president’s planned visit appeared to be politically motivated. Ejai asked why the president never asked to visit Evin during his previous seven years as president but now wants to go there when his close aide is behind bars.
Khamenehi said, “The recent exchange of letters and their contents were not important at all but these disputes should not be made public as it gives ammunition to foreign media and enemies to create controversy. From today to election day, whoever willfully takes disputes to the people and uses their sentiments to provoke differences has definitely committed treason against the state.”
Khamenehi’s remarks might reflect his goal to have tension-free elections. But others thought the elections, still seven months away, had little or nothing to do with Khamenehi’s comments, which publicly rebuked Ahmadi-nejad while effectively defending Larijani, who had kept his letter to the president private.
This is but the latest in a half dozen instances in which Khamenehi has publicly rebuked Ahmadi-nejad. Khamenehi never publicly rebuked Mohammad Khatami or Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani during the eight years each of those men served as president, though it has been reported he privately told Khatami on at least a few occasions to change a policy.
Khamenehi first rebuked Ahmadi-nejad only months after he became president. Ahmadi-nejad then ordered soccer stadiums to make room for women fans, who have long been banned from soccer matches on grounds that male fans are crude and women might be embarrassed by some of the insults shouted by the males.
Many in the clergy were furious at Ahmadi-nejad for his order. Khamenehi then intervened publicly, proclaimed that Ahmadi-nejad was wrong and voided his order to the stadiums. It was noteworthy that Khamenehi chose to rebuke Ahmadi-nejad very publicly very early in his term. He has issued several other public rebukes since then, making public issues of what he now decrees must be kept private!
Some analysts think the problem is that Ahmadi-nejad often acts on his own initiative without first consulting others, and that Khamenehi is irritated when Ahmadi-nejad takes what he knows are controversial positions without first clearing it with the Supreme Leader—as exemplified in the stadium issue.
Khatami, on the other hand, often wished to institute policies at variance with Khamenehi’s stands, but Khatami reportedly made a point of going to Khamenehi first to discuss the topic and to recruit the Supreme Leader’s backing before acting.
After Khamenehi’s rebuke last week, Ahmadi-nejad and the two Larijani brothers each wrote letters that they released to the public. The two Larijanis each pledged obedience to the Supreme Leader. Ahmadi-nejad wrote: “The government fully welcomes your notice,… will not engage in domestic quarrels and disputes and will patiently tolerate all unkind behavior, as before.”
Ahmadi-nejad earlier insisted on his right to visit any prison or courtroom in the country without receiving prior clearance from the Judiciary. The state news agency said the president cited Artless 121 and 123 of the Constitution to justify his right to visit. Article 121, however, is just the president’s oath of office, in which he pledges to uphold the Constitution. Article 123 is the provision requiring the president to sign all legislation approved by the Majlis and Council of Guardians and denying him veto power over legislation.
Ahmadi-nejad has often in the past cited Article 113 to justify whatever he is proposing. That article states in full: “After the office of the Supreme Leadership, the President is the highest official in the country. His is the responsibility for implementing the Constitution and acting as the head of he executive, except in matters directly reserved to the Leadership.”
In his second letter to the Judiciary, Ahmadi-nejad said the Constitution in no article requires him to get any prior approval from the Judiciary before performing his legal duties as president.
Larijani responded, “Claiming to be tending to the basic rights of the people is not enough to warrant breaching the rights and privileges of the other branches and creating disputes.” He added, “I do not think it expedient for such correspondence to be made public.” Khamenehi picked up on that point in disciplining Ahmadi-nejad.
But before Khamenehi spoke out, Ahmadi-nejad wrote back to Larijani: “When I received Your Honor’s Top Secret letter, dated October 21, I became seriously worried lest the esteemed Judiciary chairman breach several articles of the Constitution. Since the exchanges of correspondence are related to the basic rights of the people, there is no need to put a ‘secret’ stamp on them.”
Larijani wrote, “The accusations made against the Judiciary in the letter are false. I hereby announce that the president’s assumption that he has the right of supervision over the performance of the other two branches is false.”
This is an old argument, with Ahmadi-nejad citing Article 113’s statement that he is the Number Two official in the country and not just the co-equal of the heads of the Judicial and Legislative Branches.
Khamenehi, however, has never intervened in this argument and never clarified the president’s role, just letting the issue fester and spring up repeatedly in public bickering. Why Khamenehi doesn’t just issue a decree to resolve the bickering in unknown.
Larijani said Ahmadi-nejad’s claim to be able to visit any prison or courtroom without first “coordinating” with the Judiciary “is against the Constitution.” He said the Council of Guardians, which is empowered to interpret the Constitution, had already said that Article 113 “does not mean that the president can supervise the performance of the other branches of the government.”
Larijani said Article 113 “clearly states that you are not allowed to interfere in the field of duties and responsibilities, and the quality of performance of the duties of the heads of the other branches of government.” But Article 113 says no such thing, although it does say that the president is the head of the executive branch while remaining silent over whether he has any authority over the other branches.
The middle son of former President Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has been taken from his jail cell and transferred to a hospital, his lawyer has announced.
Mehdi Hashemi, 43, was arrested September 24 as he returned to Iran from three years in Britain pursuing graduate studies.
He left Iran during the turmoil after the 2009 presidential elections. He had been in charge of an effort organized by reformists to try to either prevent or document election fraud. Figures in the regime have accused him of organizing the post-election disorders.
His lawyer, Mahmud Alizadeh-Tabatabai told Donya-e Eqtesad, a financial daily, that Mehdi had suffered heart complications and doctors had prescribed an angioplasty, necessitating his transfer from the Evin prison clinic to a hospital. His lawyer said Mehdi would be returned to Evin soon after completion of the procedure.
Mehdi’s older sister, Faezeh, 50, is also in Evin serving out a six-month sentence.