One Iranian opposition-leaning site, Kaleme, has reported that the recently deceased Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had strongly urged Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to release Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi from house arrest. “These are elderly people and if anything happens to them [while under house arrest] then the regime is responsible,” Rafsanjani is quoted to have said to Khamenei.
Rafsanjani is reported to have asked Khamenei to “think of a solution.” In return, Khamenei is said to have been open to the idea of a compromise settlement of the imprisoned leaders of the Green opposition movement. However, according to the account put forward by this prominent opposition site, “some people” prevented the release of the prisoners.
Kaleme does not dwell on who might have been the forces that prevented the settlement. What is, however, known is that Khamenei has never publicly even hinted at a desite to see Mousavi and Karorubi released. All the signs are that the Iranian supreme leader still considers both men to remain threats to the regime and his grip on power and are therefore best kept under house arrest.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-for-profit, educational organization. It does not engage in advocacy and its scholars’ opinions are their own. MEI welcomes financial donations, but retains sole editorial control over its work and its publications reflect only the authors’ views. For a listing of MEI donors, please click here.