by Y. Mansharof, A. Savyon, and E. Kharrazi
Pragmatic camp circles quoted Rafsanjani as saying that he had chosen to run despite the risk, since he could not stand by passively. They said that even though he had failed in his bid for the leadership of the Assembly in the interim election, he could still emerge victorious in the national elections in February 2016.
Introduction
Instagram account of Rafsanjani's office: "Most of the Experts [in the Assembly] will vote for Rafsanjani" (Source: Mashregh, Iran, March 10, 2015)
Aftab-e Yazd: "Hashemi [Rafsanjani] Blocked Again" (March 11, 2015)
In recent months, the leader of
Iran's pragmatic stream, Expediency Council head Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has
passed a major milestone in his struggle against the ideological stream in
Iran, which is led by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Following Rafsanjani's
March 2015 defeat in the interim election in his bid for the position of head
of Iran's Assembly of Experts – a position that he previously held until March
2011, when he was removed by Khamenei[1] –
Rafsanjani has begun to implicitly lay claim to the leadership of the country.
He has harshly criticized the ideological establishment's resistance to openness,
which, he said, could lead to its collapse.
In April 2015,
Rafsanjani stated that the widow of regime founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had
said, prior to the 2005 presidential
election, that with his death, her husband had "passed the Islamic Revolution
on to" Rafsanjani. Additionally, according to
Rafsanjani, Khomeini had told him two months after he agreed to end the 1980-88
Iran-Iraq war by accepting U.N. Security Council Resolution 598 – a move
proposed to him by Rafsanjani and described by Khomeini as a need to drink
"the poisoned chalice" – that that "poisoned
chalice" had become sweet to his taste.[2] Rafsanjani
also implicitly described Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as
"zealots and imbeciles" who had in the past harassed Khomeini
himself.
Rafsanjani's
statements came under fire from officials in Iran's ideological camp, among
them IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari and Kayhan editor Hossein
Shariatmadari, who called Rafsanjani a liar. They said that with his support for
rapprochement with the West, he had deviated the Khomeini doctrine, and that he
was no longer authorized to quote Khomeini. In response, Rafsanjani's office
published a speech delivered by Khamenei early in his tenure as Supreme Leader,
in which he stressed that Rafsanjani's statements about Khomeini were indisputable,
because Rafsanjani had been the figure closest to him.
In advance of
the 2016 national election for the Assembly of Experts, it was announced
that the body would be expanded to include an additional 13 members – an
apparent attempt by the ideological camp to ensure a majority of supporters of
Leader Khamenei. As further evidence of the ideological camp's measures against
Rafsanjani, his son, Mehdi Hashemi, was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison
on charges concerning economic corruption and security offenses.
This paper
will discuss Rafsanjani's loss in the internal election for the Assembly of
Experts and his attempts to lay claim to the leadership of Iran.
Rafsanjani's Loss At The Assembly Of
Experts
In the March 10, 2015 interim
elections for the leadership of the Assembly of Experts,[3]
the 86-member body that oversees the functioning of the Supreme Leader and chooses
his successor, Rafsanjani suffered a stinging loss, in spite of the written
promise of 40 Assembly members to support him.[4] After
the first round of voting, in which Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi and Rafsanjani each
received a majority, with 35 and 25 votes respectively, Yazdi beat Rafsanjani in
a second round, 47-24.[5]
Yazdi will now head the Assembly of Experts until national elections are held, on
February 26, 2016.
Instagram account of Rafsanjani's office: "Most of the Experts [in the Assembly] will vote for Rafsanjani" (Source: Mashregh, Iran, March 10, 2015)
The
ideological camp claimed that with this loss, Rafsanjani was paying the price
for supporting the Green protest movement in the unrest that followed the 2009 presidential
election, and that his election loss would also affect the status of President
Rohani, Rafsanjani's protégé. Pragmatic camp circles quoted Rafsanjani as saying
that he had chosen to run despite the risk, since he could not stand by
passively. They said that even though he had failed in his bid for the
leadership of the Assembly in the interim election, he could still emerge
victorious in the national elections in February 2016.
However, as part
of the preparations for those elections, the ideological camp announced that 13
new members would be added to the assembly – likely in order to ensure that Khamenei
will retain full control of it.[6]
Vatan-e-Emrooz:
"The nation's Assembly of Experts gives a decisive no [to Rafsanjani]:
Despite his efforts, Rafsanjani loses 47-24 to Yazdi in elections for assembly leader."
Vatan-e-Emrooz:
Rafsanjani's Loss Will Impact Rohani's Status As Well
The March 11, 2015 editorial,
"Assembly of Experts Sends Message to Rohani," in the daily Vatan-e-Emrooz,
which is affiliated with the ideological camp, stated: "[The outcome] of
the Assembly of Experts elections sent Rafsanjani the message that his negative
potential has substantially increased due to his statements, even within the
assembly itself. The assembly's vote for Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, who stood
fast against the fitna [in 2009] and against Rafsanjani who joined the fitna, is
emblematic of society's inclination against him and his ilk for the leadership
of the country... Rafsanjani's negative potential increases every day, and it
will also have negative consequences for his friends in the Rohani government.
As Rafsanjani's support for Rohani grows more public, Rohani's social base
becomes weaker.
"The sentence
in the trials of Mehdi Hashemi and A.H.[7]
has yet to be handed down, but their punishment by the judiciary will
undoubtedly send the people an additional message that will harm their
popularity. In this situation, we must now see whether Rafsanjani and his
political circle will reenter, with all their might, the upcoming
parliamentary, presidential, and Assembly of Experts elections. Will Rafsanjani
cut back his political activity, or does he still intend to put himself to the
public's test?"[8]
Majlis Member: Rafsanjani's
Positions Are Very Much Removed From Those Of The Country's Revolutionaries
In an interview with the website
Tasnim, Majlis member Nasrollah Pajmanfar, from the ideological camp, said:
"[The outcome] of the elections for Assembly of Experts head show that
Rafsanjani has failed to preserve his status among the elites and the people.
His loss shows that his positions on the events in the country, especially the
fitna of 2009, have gradually distanced him from the country's
revolutionaries... His associates, and especially his family, played a highly
effective role in these events. Rafsanjani's current positions and beliefs are
very much removed from the positions of the revolutionary elites."[9]
Pragmatic Camp:
Rafsanjani Can Win Upcoming Assembly Of Experts Election
Iranian Intellectual:
Rafsanjani Ran To Thwart The Extremists Who Threaten The Regime
In a March 11, 2015 editorial in
the daily Shargh, reformist intellectual Sadegh Zibakalam said: "After
the results of yesterday's elections became known, Rafsanjani uttered a single phrase:
'I could not and cannot remain silent. I carried out my duty for the revolution
and regime while setting aside the 80 years of my political prestige.'[10]
Zibakalam added that Rafsanjani acted out of his understanding that "the most
acute danger to the regime in the long run is not foreign enemies but
extremists at home."[11]
Asr-e Iran: Rafsanjani
Amassed Political Capital That Could Help Him In The Upcoming Election
A March 12, 2015 article titled "Was
Rafsanjani Mistaken In The Risk He Took In The Assembly of Experts
[Elections]?" in Asr-e Iran, which is associated with the pragmatic
camp, stated: "Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani's loss in the elections for
head of the Assembly of Experts makes the public wonder whether he did not have
estimates of [the number of] his supporters and acted rashly – or whether he was
counting on more support from [assembly] members who did not come through [for
him]... How can such a seasoned politician not make calculations in advance? Had
he no idea of the inclinations of the 86 assembly members? ... We must assume
that he was not expecting Ayatollah Moumin to change his vote to Ayatollah
Yazdi [in the second round]... Rafsanjani acted exactly as he should have. He
ran again, but lost. However, he amassed
[political] capital that he might use next year [in the February 2016
elections].
"The
Assembly of Experts should have been far removed from political partisanship.
However, due to Rafsanjani's moves and Yazdi's insistence on running against
him, the assembly may now be divided into three factions: the Rafsanjani
faction, the traditionalist [faction], and the stability [faction, led by
Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi]. This is unprecedented in the 32-year history of this body.
The Assembly of Experts is more political now than ever before.
"Rafsanjani
lost, but this does not mean the end of his political career. Whether he
miscalculated or whether he knew in advance [that he would lose], he sent two
messages: First, he is still a man of action and not [a mere] observer...
Second, he represented a faction that last year was in the minority in the
assembly and that wants to become a majority next year [in the 2016 elections].
The people has already understood... that it should take the Assembly of
Experts more seriously – and the Guardian Council should likewise be more
serious in determining the eligibility [of the candidates]."[12]
Aftab-e Yazd: "Hashemi [Rafsanjani] Blocked Again" (March 11, 2015)
Rafsanjani Implicitly Lays Claim To
Iranian Leadership: Khomeini's Widow Said He "Passed The Revolution On"
To Me
At an April 12, 2015 memorial
ceremony for Ayatollah Khomeini's widow Khadijeh Saqafi, Rafsanjani said:
"The Imam [Khomeini]'s home, writings, and children can be a source of
hope for the people... because the people know them. [His grandson] Hassan
Khomeini is a model jurisprudent... If some people who take an extremist
approach on matters of religion, and the Concerned [term in Iran for critics of
the pragmatic camp's approach] harass [the pragmatists], then they also
harassed the Imam [Khomeini] in his day – [nevertheless,] the masses accepted [Khomeini's]
family, and we must not allow this worthy circle... to be weakened by zealots
and imbeciles whose efforts [to damage this family] have so far achieved only
the opposite. We must preserve the path of the
Imam Khomeini, because society needs this; it is vital to preserve the writings
of the Imam, and particularly to [preserve] his domestic circle...
"The main
problem with the [1906-1911] Constitutional Revolution was its failure to rely
on the common folk. Any revolution without roots in the masses is meaningless.
This was proven at that time, and that revolution quickly became a dictatorship
like we never saw before. This dictatorship's excuse [for its tyranny] was [that
it was enforcing] security. Reza Shah ruined everything when he rose to power.
He destroyed the Shi'ite religious centers, and the so-called modernists
launched withering attacks on the clerics... The Imam Khomeini said that we
have two major faults, and that as long as they are not addressed, other
problems [will not be addressed either].
"First,
we must remove tyranny in Iran. Tyranny does not allow talent in the country to
grow and flourish. Fear makes the people and society miserable. A nation that
is afraid and that fawns [on its regime] in order to carry on with its life can
never get anywhere. Second, [we must free Iran from] imperialism, which does
not allow a nation to be free...
"The Imam
Khomeini said this at a time when no one had the courage to say this. His
statements about Mohammad Reza Shah were like a nuclear bomb; he told him, 'Do
not do anything that will make the nation expel you from the country'... The
three most fundamental and important elements in Imam [Khomeini's] movement were
to shatter tyranny, to remove imperialism, and to bring the people into the
arena. In my opinion, a society with these three elements will never be
defeated nor oppressed, and will [only] prosper. Of course, there are always
domestic and foreign elements that do not pay attention to these elements, and are
concerned only with why some young women dress improperly. It is important to
adhere to the laws of the religion – no jurisprudent denies this – but what
about other issues like oppression, usurpation, unnecessary arrests, and the
loss of the people's rights?
"With
regard to elections, the Leader [Khamenei] explicitly stated that the people's
votes are the people's right. This is not a political statement, but a
religious ruling... and failure to obey this is oppression... This right is
also presented in the constitution of the regime...
"Khomeini
also thought about what would happen after his death. He established the
Expediency Council [of which Rafsanjani has been a member since its formation
and which he has headed since 2002] to resolve conflicts between the Majlis and
the Guardian Council, and ended the war [with Iraq] by 'drinking the poisoned
chalice,' because he knew that after his death no one would be able to wage it.
He said, 'I drank the poisoned chalice,' but two or three months after the war,
he told me, 'The poisoned chalice has become sweet for me.'
"After
the Imam's death, his widow told me that she would help wherever she could. The
night he died but before official word went out, the war had still not ended, and
I sensed danger. In the Jamaran neighborhood [of Tehran, where Khomeini lived] there
was an uproar, and people in [Khomeini's] house were weeping. Friends asked me
to go to the Imam's house and ask them to calm down. I spoke with the Imam's widow
about the situation, and the house grew quiet. The next day, we had an Assembly
of Experts meeting, during which [Hassan] Rohani, my deputy at the time, said that
according to news from the front lines, [Iraqi leader] Saddam [Hussein] was
planning to attack several regions [of Iran]. I informed the Assembly of
Experts of this, and the issue was resolved in a good way that same day. That
year I truly did not want to run for president, various people came to speak
with me [about this] but I did not agree. The Imam's widow called to me and
said, 'The Imam has passed the revolution on to you, and you want to hand it to
somebody else?'... I was shaken by her words, and agreed to run for election."[13]
Ideological Camp Officials: Once
Again, Rafsanjani Distorts History To Reconcile With America
In response to these statements,
ideological camp officials launched scathing attacks against Rafsanjani. On
April 13, 2015 IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said that Rafsanjani's
calling regime loyalists, who had sacrificed more martyrs than anyone else for
the regime, "religious extremists who harassed the Imam [Khomeini]"
stemmed from his "dangerous anger at a principled circle in the regime and
at the values of the Imam Khomeini... that will only increase society's loathing
of him."[14] On April 12, the editor
of Kayhan, Hossein Shariatmadari, called Rafsanjani a serial distorter
of history and rebuked him, saying that Rafsanjani's claim that it was
he who first realized that the war against Iraq must end means that he thinks
himself wiser than Khomeini.[15]
On May 10,
2015, Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi rejected Rafsanjani's account of his discussion
with Khomeini's widow and of the Khomeini family's support of his version of
events:[16]
"Just because one has familial and neighborly relations and extensive access
[to Khomeini] does not mean that one is authorized to interpret the
Imam's words. Those [i.e. Rafsanjani] who aspire to make a fortune and enjoy
life are incapable of interpreting the Imam's words, because he was a simple
man who lived a simple life. Those who make efforts to give a green light to
the oppressors [i.e. the U.S.] and the child murderers [i.e. Israel], and those
who seek to reconcile with the arrogance [again referring to the U.S.] is unfit
to interpret the Imam Khomeini's message, because the Imam always supported the
fight against oppression and bullying and was fully opposed to the arrogance,
and every cell in his body shouted 'Death to America.' [Only] those who fully
support the jurisprudent ruler [Khamenei] – who is very like the Imam
[Khomeini] – can interpret the Imam's words. The nation pays no attention to
anyone trying to please the oppressive America, the Al-Saud [regime], the
criminals, and the child-murdering Zionist regime; it obeys the rule of the
jurisprudent."[17]
Rafsanjani Cites Khamenei's
1990 Statements On Close Rafsanjani-Khomeini Relationship
In response to the criticism from
the ideological camp, on April 15, 2015 Rafsanjani's office published excerpts
from a June 5, 1990 speech by Khamenei marking the first anniversary of
Khomeini's death and of his own tenure as his heir. In the speech, Khamenei
said that no statements by Rafsanjani must be questioned because of his close
relationship with Khomeini: "Rafsanjani is a man whom the Imam [Khomeini]
trusted completely during the [Islamic] Revolution, before the Revolution, and
especially after the Revolution – to the day he died. [Khomeini] trusted
him [Rafsanjani] so much, and Rafsanjani was so close to him, that [Rafsanjani]
heard [Khomeini's] words more than anyone else, and heard the Imam's musings
more than anyone else. Now, there are some who say what they say, but they do
not know at all what Khomeini said in his heart.
"Such a
man now heads our affairs. I am aware of matters, and I see what happens in the
realm. I am not someone who is disconnected. I have sensed the situation in the
country from up close. I have eight years' experience [as president]. Even before
that, from the onset of the Revolution, I was in the Council of the Islamic
Revolution [a body formed by Khomeini's associates early in the Revolution] and
other places. Is it conceivable that today anyone [i.e. those critical of
Rafsanjani] – even in his mind, let alone in actuality – is deviating from the direction
and the framework of the Revolution that was laid out, that now some sanctimonious
people are [by criticizing him] disrupting the opinion of the people?..."[18]
Ideological Circles Escalate
Allegations Against Rafsanjani And His Son
In mid-March 2015, the website
Mizan, which is associated with the Iranian judiciary, published a report alleging
that Rafsanjani had offered unprecedented support to "financially
corrupt" people – his associate former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein
Karbaschi and Mojahedin-e Enghelab-e Eslami reformist party activist Behzad Nabavi.
The report was removed from the website shortly thereafter, but highlights from
it were republished on the Digarban website.[19]
In addition,
the judiciary stated, on March 15, 2015, that Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi had
been sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined, on charges of damaging security
and economic corruption.[20]
On April 4, Mehdi Hashemi appealed the ruling, and his case was appealed.[21]
Ideological Camp Welcomes
Rafsanjani Election Loss: He Paid For His Non-Revolutionary Positions
In a March 12, 2015 speech to the
Assembly of Experts, Khamenei welcomed the election results: "The results
of the selection of the new Assembly of Experts head
is worthy and fitting... The elections were held honorably and
involved no marginal issues; they can serve as a model for other [regime]
bodies."[22]
* Y. Mansharof and E. Kharrazi are Research Fellows at
MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of the Iran Media Project at MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] MEMRI Inquiry &
Analysis No.673, In
Iran, End of an Era: Assembly of Experts Chairman Rafsanjani Is Removed,
March 8, 2011.
[2] See also MEMRI Inquiry
& Analysis No. 1018, The Struggle Between
Khamenei And Rafsanjani Over The Iranian Leadership – Part IV: Rafsanjani Calls
For Moderation In The Spirit Of 'Islamic Realism'; Khamenei Is Ready For
'Heroic Flexibility' By Iran But Without Compromising Revolution, September 23, 2013.
[3]
The March 2015 interim elections were prompted by the death of Assembly of
Experts head Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani the previous October. The
Assembly is a senior leadership body with the authority to choose the Supreme
Leader and oversee his functioning; it is constitutionally authorized to remove
him if in its view he is unable to function as leader, whether due to illness,
failure to adhere to Islamic law, or any other reason. Its 86 clerics are
directly elected by the people to eight-year terms. Candidates for the
leadership of the Assembly are vetted by the Guardian Council, which is
controlled by the ideological camp and headed by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati; this
council convenes privately biannually, and regime officials keep it up-to-date
on important affairs of state.
[4]
On March 7, 2015, Bahar News, which is affiliated with the pragmatic camp,
reported: "There is a consensus forming regarding Hashemi Rafsanjani's
leadership." The websites cited Rafsanjani associates saying that
"several members of the Assembly of Experts" had given Rafsanjani
"a secret letter asking him to run for head [of the assembly]."
Baharnews.ir, March 7, 2015. A lecturer at the religious seminaries in Qom, Fazel
Meabadi of the pragmatic camp, confirmed the report and said: "I spoke
with a member of the Assembly of Experts in Qom who confirmed the existence [of
the letter] and said that some 40 members wish Rafsanjani to run, and that they
would vote for him." Aftab (Iran), March 7, 2015.
[5] In
addition, Khamenei associates Ayatollahs Hashemi Shahroudi and Mohammad Ali
Movahhedi-Kermani were elected as deputy heads of the assembly. Tasnim (Iran),
March 10, 2015.
[6] See Ahmad Khatami in
Tasnim (Iran), April 16, 2015.
[7] Likely Hassan
Afrashtehpour, recently arrested by the IRGC on suspicion of involvement in the
smuggling of goods and funds along with members of the Rafsanjani family. Digarban.com,
March 6, 2015.
[8] Vatan-e-Emrooz
(Iran), March 11, 2015.
[9] Tasnim (Iran), March 12,
2015.
[10] Shargh (Iran),
March 11, 2015.
[11] Shargh (Iran),
March 11, 2015.
[12] Asr-e Iran
(Iran), March 12, 2015.
[13] Entekhab (Iran),
April 12, 2015; Al-Borz (Iran), April 14, 2015.
[14] Tasnim (Iran), April 13,
2015.
[15] Kayhan (Iran),
April 12, 2015.
[16] For the Khomeini
family's support of Rafsanjani's story, see Entekhab (Iran), April 17,
2015.
[17] Tasnim (Iran), May 10,
2015.
[18] Hashemirafsanjani.ir,
April 15, 2015.
[19] Digarban (Iran), March
15, 2015.
[20] Tasnim (Iran), March 15,
2015.
[21] Tasnim (Iran), April 4,
2015.
[22] Leader.ir, March 12,
2015.
Y. Mansharof and E. Kharrazi are Research Fellows at MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of the Iran Media Project at MEMRI.
Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8594.htm
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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