Iran Today: Rafsanjani "Might Run For President"

Hashemi RafsanjaniAhmadinejad Watch

General Hassan Firouzabadi, the head of armed forces, has jabbed at President Ahmadinejad.

Firouzabadi said the President is an executive, not the Leader and jibed that political legitimacy is not based on the more than 20 million votes that Ahmadinejad claimed in the 2009 election.

Economy Watch

Yahya Al-Eshagh, Presidential hopeful and the head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, has said that production in the Islamic Republic is "near zero".

Al-Eshagh called for better management and a change of foreign policy.

Rafsanjani Watch

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani http://www.irangreenvoice.com/article/2013/apr/30/33591" target="_blank">has asked detained blogger and physician Mehdi Khazali to end his hunger strike.

Khazali, imprisoned on several occasions, has been refusing food for more than 100 days.

The political prisoner has asked Rafsanjani to stand in June's Presidential election "because Iran needs a professional and expert politician like you".

Ahmadinejad Watch

President Ahmadinejad’s office has denied the existence of an audio tape in which Ahmadinejad allegedly said that 8 million votes were added to his total in the 2009 Presidential election to give him a comfortable margin of victory over challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Earlier this week, Baztab --- which is supporting a possible Presidential run by Hashemi Rafsanjani --- asserted that the President had threatened to release the tape if his desired successor, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, is not approved by the Guardian Council to stand in June's election.

The article was soon withdrawn but was captured in a screenshot and circulated by other sites.

Ahmadinejad's office asserted, "The goal of publishing this article was bringing into question the 2009 elections and distorting the upcoming Presidential elections by creating worry among the people about the protection of their votes, and ultimately decreases vote participation and removes the groundwork for an epic creation.”

Oil Watch

The US Department of Energy has declared that Western sanctions are having a clear impact on Iran’s oil industry as its exports fall to a 26-year low, while its revenue drops to its lowest figure for three years.

Estimates suggest that Iran sold 1.5 million barrels a day last year overseas, the lowest amount since 1986 and a decrease of 40% from the 2.5 million barrels sold per day last in 2011.

Human Rights Watch (Sanctions Edition)

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran yesterday published a 160-page study examining the economic and social effects of sanctions on the Iranian government and people, entitled “A Growing Crisis: The Impact of Sanctions and Regime Policies on Iranians’ Economic and Social Rights.”

The study observed that “during the bulk of the existence of the Islamic Republic, poor government policies and inefficient and corrupt institutions far outweighed the impact of sanctions in impeding economic growth, producing a dysfunctional and vulnerable economy, and undermining the economic well-being of Iranians.”

However, the study argues that in recent years:

Sanctions have now combined with regime policies to cause a severe deterioration in the living conditions of Iranians. Increasingly, the Iranian people have become unable to pursue their basic economic and social rights to employment, food, shelter, healthcare, and employment

Iranians from almost all walks of life are facing a growing crisis: gainful employment is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, and access to the basic necessities of life— including food and medicine—is becoming exceedingly challenging. For some, it is now impossible.

It urges the international community to “recognize the growing humanitarian crisis in Iran and recalibrate the current sanction regime in order to impose more effectively targeted sanctions that penalize the government of Iran, and not its people” and for Tehran to “end the needless policies that only worsen the crisis in access to medicines, foods, and other critical imports.”

Political Prisoner Watch

Mehdi Khazali, who is imprisoned and on hunger strike, has called for former president Rafsanjani to run in this year’s elections to save the country "because Iran needs a professional and expert politician like you.”

In stark contrast, MP Hamid Rasaei (once a supporter of Ahmadinejad) has argued that the Guardian Council should reject Rafsanjani if he announces his intention to run because of his support for the “sedition” in 2009.

Rasaei added that the next president should be more like Ahmadinejad.

Mousavi Watch

Opposition website Kaleme reports that Hojjatoleslam Sayed Hadi Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s reformist brother, met with the children of Mir Hossein Mousaviyesterday, praising the opposition leader for his “strong management, honesty and commitment.”

Khamenei also said that many of the criticisms people have about the current situation in Iran are things that Mousavi said years ago.

Election Watch (2+1 Coalition Edition)

MP Hossein Nejabat has become the campaign manager for presidential hopeful Haddad-Adel, Fars News reports.

Haddad Adel said that each member of the 2+1 coalition established by the Supreme Leader – consisting of Haddad-Adel, Ali Akbar Velayati and Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf - was pursuing their plans independently.

"I also am running my own campaign, I invited MP Dr. Hossein Nejabat to collaborate with me, and he agreed," Haddad Adel was quoted as saying.

Haddad Adel added that in the weeks and months to come, his team will work with a "number of our professional and experienced friends" to help form a future government "with a calm and Islamic plan within the framework of the Revolution and in the country's interests and realities."

Election Watch (Rafsanjani Edition)

Lawmaker and moderate conservative Ali Motahari has said that former president Hashemi Rafsanjani is the "only person who can fix the country", Khabar Online reports.

Motahari suggested that “under normal circumstances it's better that clerics don't go into politics... but this situation is critical” as Iran required “a mature and experienced person.”

Rafsanjani would be able to “build unity between different groups” and held some influence in Arab countries.

Motahari also warned that if the Guardian Council disqualifies Ahmadinejad's close aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, from running in the elections, the president would "create problems" for Iran.

While noting that “Some people should be vetted more carefully than others,” Motahari stated “We must not allow ‘distorted thinking’ [i.e. the Deviant current] to enter into the elections.”

Foreign Affairs Watch (Syria Edition).

As evidence possibly showing the use of chemical weapons by government forces in Syria comes to light, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, has accused opposition groups including al-Nusra of using chemical weapons.

Foreign Affairs Watch (Canada Edition). Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the Chairman of the Majlis Committee for National Security and Foreign Policy, has dismissed Canadian claims linking Iran to a “terror plot” in Canada as “ridiculous.”

On 22 April the Canadian government announced the arrest of two foreign nationals with links to “al-Qaeda elements inside Iran” who were planning to attack a passenger train between Toronto and New York.

Workers Rights

Rights NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the Iranian government on Tuesday for violating workers’ rights to peaceful assembly and association. HRW said that during Ahmadinejad's presidency, the authorities have detained dozens of independent trade union activists for speaking out in defense of workers. Citing Iranian labor rights groups, HRW claimed security forces harass and arrest striking workers and subject them to "politically motivated prosecutions and unfair trials."

Election Watch (Ahmadinejad Edition)

The pro-Ahmadinejad IRNA maintains its projection of the President and his public statements, with three of its top stories devoted to the campaign.

One example is Ahmadinejad's appearance at a conference to honour the achievements of women in the Revolution; with declarations such as "working with love for others is a purpose of life".

Election Watch (Khatami Edition)

As speculation continues over whether Mohammad Khatami might run in June's election, the hard-line Kayhan keeps up pressure on the former President: he is a "Corrupter on Earth".

Rafsanjani "Might Run for President"

For the second day in a row, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has grabbed headlines --- including in State media --- with the possibility that he might run in June's election.

Following Rafsanjani's statement on Sunday that he is considering candidacy, with the promise of a multi-party Government if he is elected, his son Yasser said on Monday, that his father could be involved "if his concerns are addressed".

Rafsanjani was President from 1989 to 1997 and lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinnejad in the 2005 election. He initially was a vocal critic of the disputed 2009 re-election of Ahmadinejad and the crackdown on subsequent protests --- including a famous July 2009 Tehran Friday Prayer, the last that he was allowed to give --- but became far more cautious from the autumn.

Factions within the regime have curbed Rafsanjani's influence by removing him as head of the Assembly of Experts and putting his children in prison, but he still retains the chair of the Expediency Council and has been more prominent in front-line political discussion in recent months.