Hardline MP confirms travel ban for Iranian opposition leaders

Iranian MP, Hamid Rasai

Hamid Rasai, conservative Member of Parliament announced that the two Iranian opposition leaders, Mehdi Karroubi and MirHosein Mousavi are not allowed to leave the country.

Last week, Mohammad Khatami’s trip to Japan to attend an international conference was impeded.

Yesterday, Iran's Minister of Intelligence denied the existence of any official travel restrictions for Mohammad Khatami.

Fars news agency reports that Hamid Rasai said: “Mr. Khatami was told that he cannot leave the country and not to make any preparations and he has accepted that. He has been told that if he tries to leave the country, it will be officially announced that he is under a travel ban. And this also applies for MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.”

The hardline MP maintained that the three opposition figures' only aim in leaving the country would be to use international platforms to “keep the seditious movement alive.”

Rasai added: “Mousavi’s file is under investigations and he will be certainly prosecuted and that is why he is restricted from travelling abroad.”

In connection with the file of Mehdi Hashemi, son of Ayatollah Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Council, Rasai said: “Ayatollah Hashemi is entangling himself in the fate of Mehdi Hashemi and the people around them are presenting the situation in a manner that confronting Mehdi Hashemi is a confrontation with Ayatollah Rafsanjani.”

In the post-election events the establishment has made charges against Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s son, Mehdi Hashemi who is currently in UK.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani has aligned himself with the opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the post-election events.

Another conservative MP, Mehdi Kochakzadeh also announced yesterday: “Gradually all the leaders of the sedition will be arrested and the two or three remaining ones will also be arrested by the judiciary in good time.”

In the past ten months, Islamic Republic hardliners have repeatedly called for the arrest of the disputing candidates, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi who have disputed the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the June presidential elections.