Ayatollah Rafsanjani, the head of Iran’s Expediency Council, has called on the Speaker of Parliament to respond to “insults” spoken against him by MP Hamid Resayi.
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s website published his letter to Ali Larijani, the head of Parliament. The letter says: “The outright insults by one of the Members of Parliament about the head of the Expediency Council” and “the silence of the head of Parliament” with regard to them are unacceptable.
Hamid Resayi, a conservative MP, was protesting against the release of Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, from prison when he referred to him as “the root of all corruption” and “the main protagonist in the sedition” against the leadership.
The establishment has often referred to the 2009 election protests as sedition. Resayi also maintained that Mehdi Hashemi’s so-called “seditious” activities are supported by his father, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The deputy head of Parliament, Mohammadreza Bahonar, said if Parliament was used as a platform to insult Ayatollah Rafsanjani, then the same platform will be afforded him for his response.
He stressed, however, that the presiding board of Parliament will decide whether any insult has taken place.
Resayi has alleged that Mehdi Hashemi paid off “thugs and hoodlums” to create disturbances in the days following the 2009 presidential election.
Resayi condemned Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s involvement in the case against his son and alleged that he is trying use his influence to stop the course of justice.
Mehdi Hashemi, who supported the reformist candidates against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential election of 2009, left the country following the widespread protests and the heavy government crackdown on protesters.
Hashemi returned to Iran in September after a three-year absence and was immediately arrested for investigation.
He reportedly faces several charges that include corruption and fomenting protests in 2009.
He has denied the charges against him.
