The empty ceremony commemorating the forty-second anniversary of the infamous entry into Iran of Iranian regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, on his lavish and pharaonic tomb, reflects the miserable condition of a regime that considers one of the worst men in human history as its founder.
Ali Khamenei, while fearing the coronavirus, had visited Khomeini’s grave alone the day before. The day after him, the battle of Iran’s leaders in this ceremony showed a level of terrible power struggles between them that was unprecedented in the history of this system.
In his speech, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, spoke of ‘rationality’, ‘acceptability’ and ‘people’s votes’. These codes were an obvious grimace for the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and his faction, who these days considered to bring a so-called ‘young Hezbollahi’ government to power has narrowed the field of power over Rouhani and his faction in order to further shrink the system in his favor.
Note the words and sentences in his speeches:
“(Khomeini) in that speech [speech in Behesht-e Zahra in 1980] did not speak only of religious legitimacy. He even spoke about the acceptability and opinion of the people, about rationality and acceptability.”
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“The way he chose for us, the government he said I would appoint, because the people trusted me, said I will appoint the government. This (Khomeini) speech was an important speech in Shiite ijtihad and political jurisprudence. He did not rely on his sharia rule, but on the opinion and vote of the people, he appointed the government.”
“He pointed out that the votes of yesterday’s generation could not be the basis for today’s generation. At every stage, people must choose the system they want with their votes.”
“We will present a passionate competitive election to the people. If 70 percent and a few of the people came to the polls, that (Khomeini) charter would have continued.” (State-run daily Entekhab, February 1, 2021)
The interpretation of Rouhani’s remarks, which, of course, deceitfully inspires the trust of the people who hate the integrity of the system, can be summarized in several areas:
- Explaining to Khamenei, he says that the basis of his legitimacy cannot be only the position of Velayat-e-Faqih (Supreme religious rule), the people must accept him.
- He tells Khamenei that the basis for choosing a government [here the president] is the trust of the people. While he saying to, that the Velayat-e-Faqih has no credibility.
- He tells Khamenei that the people should elect the next president, not the supreme leader.
- By speaking about a ‘passionate competitive election’ he means that he wants to involve his faction in the power struggle and seize the presidency; While he is losing this position due to the decision of the supreme leader to contract the regime.
Rouhani’s statement does not mean that he has changed or that he is believed in the people’s vote overnight, observers point out. In a consistent context, it shows his unique fraud and the power struggle in the upcoming elections.
Just as talking about ‘yesterday’s vote cannot be the basis for today’s generation’ is a kind of charlatanism and propaganda for the upcoming election.
Neither Hassan Rouhani nor any of the members of the so-called reformists in this government believe in the people’s choice and the votes of the new generations.
If this claim is serious, they must first dissolve themselves and all the factions and mafia gangs in the system. Because the current generations do not accept the totality of the regime and consider it imposed on the contemporary history of Iran.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s 23rd parliament speaker, held a speech on Khomeini’s grave on the same day, contradicting Rouhani’s expressions. His audience in these speeches was Hassan Rouhani and the government complex, which considered them outside the path of the regime’s founder.
“If we face many challenges in running the country today and there are shortcomings in the lives of the people and the people tolerate them, it is because we have distanced ourselves from the path of (Khomeini).
“(Khomeini) was trying to take the burden off the shoulders of the people and the workers and the wage earners and he was threatening and trying to establish justice.” (State-run daily Mashreq news, February 1, 2021)
So far, it can be said that the power struggle between the factions of the regime has passed over Khamenei, which should have played the role of a balance sheet and the point of unity and balance of the ruling factions – and does not reach unity even at Khomeini’s point.
Each of the factions of the government are now using the bones of the regime’s dead founder in their own favor. These fights represent a higher reality. The reality that this government is futureless, and that social anger and hatred have forced the two heads of the system to use the name of the people for their unpleasant and illicit fate.
