Iran's Supreme Leader addresses recent crisis

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has finally spoken about the recent crisis in Iran. He declared that neglecting “the violations against our regime’s reputation” and only insisting on the importance of the “issues at the university dorm and Kahrizak detention centre would be an injustice to the people and the Islamic order.”

In a speech to a group of University students, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the violations committed at the university dorm and after the elections will be firmly dealt with and the culprits will be punished.

After the June presidential election in Iran, which announced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the runaway winner, the other candidates disputed the results and demanded another election. The Supreme Leader denied the claims and backed Ahmadinejad’s victory. Consequently massive street demonstrations in support of the defeated candidates were put down by security forces, Basij militia and the Revolutionary guards. Many people were killed, thousands were arrested and many detainees were tortured and even raped.

Widespread outrage at the government crackdown on protesters made the Supreme Leader order the closure of the infamous Kahrizak detention centre. Defeated candidate, Mehdi Karoubi has staunchly pursued reports of detainee rape and torture demanding justice from authorities.

Khamenei assured his audience on Wednesday that the judiciary would deal with these cases without any bias but added that such grave accusations had to be backed by solid evidence.

He also added that he was not surprised by the post-election unrest; however, he was taken aback by the people who participated in it. Although he did not mention any names, MirHosein Mousavi, Mehdi Karoubi and Mohammad Khatami are three opposition leaders who have disputed Ahmadinejad’s victory. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the Assembly of Experts and the Council of Expediency also aligned himself with the opposition by challenging the election outcome and refusing to attend Ahmadinejad’s inauguration ceremony.

Ayatollah Khamenei claimed however that he does not believe that these people were Western conspirators because there is no proof of that.

In the mass trial of prominent reformist figures, the state has been making the case that the post-election unrest was fomented by Britain and the US through opposition leaders who intended to carry out a soft “velvet revolution” to topple the regime. Britain and the US have denied having any connection with the protests.

The Supreme Leader also cautioned university students to “beware of enemy plots” to close down the university and create turmoil in the scientific milieu. With only a month to the opening of the universities, Ayatollah Khamenei invited the students to uplift their people against the “soft war of the enemies” with a positive and optimistic outlook.