Iran’s Assembly of Experts issued a statement calling for the prosecution and punishment of “the leaders of sedition,” which is how the Islamic Republic refers to MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the Iranian opposition leaders currently under house arrest.
The Assembly also condemned what it called the “futile operations of foreign and treasonous elements on February 14 of 2011.”
On February 14, people responded to a rally call issued by Mousavi and Karroubi to stage demonstrations in support of the recent Arab uprisings. During the protests in Tehran and other cities, two people were killed and hundreds were arrested.
Two weeks ago, a parliamentary statement described the February 14 events as “completely Israeli, American, British, anti-Revolutionary and treasonous.”
It added that people like Mousavi and Karroubi who invited people to the rally and instigated the protest should be prosecuted.
The Assembly of Experts once more confirmed the suitability of Ayatollah Kahmenei for his role as the supreme leader and reminded people to be thankful for having such a leader.
A number of government critics have questioned the leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei and his role in bringing about the post-election crisis.
Ayatollah Dastgheib, the Shiraz representative in the Assembly of Experts, has challenged Ayatollah Khamenei’s decisions and urged the Assembly to review his eligibility as supreme leader.
The Assembly of Experts is responsible for the election and monitoring of the supreme leader. Moderate cleric, Ayatollah Rafsanjani was recently removed as the assembly’s chairman and replaced by a more conservative member of the clergy.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s ouster has been interpreted as a step in his gradual removal from the echelons of Islamic Republic power due to his implicit support of the opposition following the controversial 2009 elections.
