Baku, Azerbaijan, June 30
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Iran’s Deputy Chief of the Judiciary Qolamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a representative of the conservative political wing, has said sings of “sedition” are seen on the horizon.
The right-wing in Iran started the particular use of the word sedition to denote reformist moves in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election when public riots demanded a redoing of the election, claiming election rigging.
“Experience has shown that any act of sabotage against the IRGC and some revolutionary entities has been followed by some dangerous move,” Ejei said, IRIB news agency reported June 30.
The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) has been put under pressure recently both in Iran and from outside the country. President Hassan Rouhani recently said the IRGC should recognize its place as a non-partisan entity serving the nation, bidding it away from political and economic activities.
But the revolution forces also met harsh treatment from the United States last week when the Senate voted for a legislation that would impose new sanctions on it for its missile program.
Ejei made more references to Rouhani by likening him to the Islamic Republic’s first President Abolhassan Banisadr (in office February 5, 1980 – June 20, 1981), warning that the former president relied too much on his public support.
“Banisadr was selfish and proud of the majority vote he had garnered,” Ejei said, a tacit reference to Rouhani’s groundbreaking vote of near 24 million this May that kept him for another four years in office.
Experts believe that the recent clash between Rouhani and the IRGC is in fact a campaign he has launched to garner the position of leadership after the 77-year-old Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei passes away.
Khamenei has been the single staunchest supporter of the IRGC and paved the way for it to capture the core of various sectors in Iran, ranging from culture to economy and homeland security. The IRGC appeared as the sole power to save Khamenei from the post-2009 election riots, which many used to deem as a real game changer.