UN-Truth

Safa Haeri of Iran Press Service reported today that “Speaking at the Technical Faculty of Tehran University on Tuesday 11 December, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami told cheering students that ‘everywhere in the world, universities and students are the front row of struggle for democracy and freedom. Iranian universities and students are no different’, he said. [Khatami was president of Iran for eight years, from 1997 to 2005 - when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected.]

Haeri wrote that “In his speech, cut several times with warm applauses, Mr. Khatami openly condemned the arrest of students and political dissidents, the new decisions by the Council of Guardians concerning the vetting of candidates, declarations of a senior hard line cleric stating that universities are ‘not Islamic enough’ as well as slanders against Mr. Mohammad Hoseyn Moussavian, a diplomat and a former high-ranking nuclear negotiator … ‘Nobody should be arrested because of not sharing the ideas and policies of the governing bodies’, Mr. Khatami, a middle rank cleric said, referring to the arrest of students, women activists and intellectual dissidents, saying ‘ideas must be fought with counter ideas, not with repression’ … Khatami did not hesitate to criticie the present President and his supporters [for] accusing Mr. Mousavian of espionage, saying: ‘Mr. Moussavian, like Mr. Cyrus Naseri and Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif are valiant patriots who served their nation. They do not deserve to be treated as they have been‘. Mr. Zarif was Iran’s ambassador at the UN and Mr. Naseri another senior nuclear negotiator with Mr Moussavian. He also was accused of bribe-taking. Charges not proved”. [Sirous Nasseri was also Iranian Ambassador to the UN Office in Geneva for several years].

Safa Haeri added that “In an interview with the daily Jam-e Jam, published by the leader-controlled, State-owned Radio and Television, Mr. Hassan Rohani, former coordinator of the nuclear negotiations called on the President to ‘repent and ask pardon’ because of the accusations he made against Mr. Moussavian. ‘The saga of Mr. Moussavian is over. There is no more need for explanations, for now everyone has understood what was the story, what was behind it, where the pressures were coming. It is better for Mr. Ahmadnijejad to repent (for the charges of espionage brought against the former nuclear negotiator), he added”.

Safa Haeri’s article was published today here.

Filed under: Iran