Former Speaker Emerges From Silence Before Iran Elections

iranintl – A veteran regime politician in Iran, who could potentially challenge the hardliners’ control over the Iranian parliament has grown increasingly vocal in recent days. 

Former Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani has been making controversial comments about state affairs, primarily through a couple of interviews with online media sources or in meetings with entrepreneurs in Iran during the past few days.

Hardline daily Khorasan explained Larijani’s behavior as a signal to indicate that he is willing to play a part in the upcoming parliamentary elections although it is clear that he is not a candidate for the March 2024 polls.

Khorasan wrote that Larijani ignored the Interior Ministry’s call for pre-registration, a process that is not part of the formal procedure for announcing one’s candidacy. However, he told likeminded politicians to register their candidacy and run for the parliament.

The daily, which is affiliated to the administration of the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad and is funded by Khamenei’s office, opined that Larijani will support the candidacy of several moderate conservative politicians and former lawmakers such as his brother-in-law Ali Motahari, as well as others including Mansoor Haqiqatpoor and Ezattollah Yousefian Molla.

Former parliament speakers Ali Larijani (left), Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri (2nd left), Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel (right) and incumbent Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf during a meeting in April 2023

As per Rouydad24, Larijani has recently criticized Iran’s foreign policy by saying that these gentlemen [presumably Iran’s top diplomats, or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who determines the country’s foreign policy] think it is important to have influence in some foreign capitals. However, he emphasized that our paramount objective should be to ensure our citizens lead stable lives and can chart their future with confidence.

Meanwhile, he cautioned the government against embracing the Marxist notion that nations are merely workers requiring governance by the authorities.

Highlighting that liberalism surpasses Marxism as a governing approach, offering citizens an abundance of choices in various scenarios, Larijani noted the presence of a third path – the Islamic approach. In this path, the government facilitates the populace’s productive endeavors, an approach he described as empowering the people. According to him, this strategy holds the potential to propel the nation’s progress.

Clearly criticizing Khamenei without naming him, Larijani said: “It is not enough to say where we want to be in 20 years. We need to have a reasonable development plan.”

Meanwhile, in a meeting with a group of entrepreneurs over the weekend , Larijani said: “Some politicians define social justice as giving cash handouts to the people. But the main responsibility of the government is bringing about sustainable development.” He was clearly referring to populist politicians such as President Ebrahim Raisi and his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who in the absence of satisfactory economic growth offer small monthly cash payments to all or part of the citizens. 

Larijani added that sustainable development also ensures better outcomes for economic, social, political and security issues of the country.

Larijani who started his political career in early 1990s as a hardliner coming from the ranks of the revolutionary guards (IRGC), gradually changed into a moderate conservative politician during the past decade, and aligned his political affiliation with politicians such as former President Hassan Rouhani.

In another development, Aftab News quoted Larijani as saying that “Some people have mistaken political power with the use of force.”

According to Aftab News, criticizing the government’s harsh treatment of artists with a lifestyle different from what hardliners propagate, Larijani said: “What do artists want? They want a [normal] life and the freedom for artistic creation. The government needs to reach a common understanding with Iranian artists.”