Iranian media report that three reformist figures have visited Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The Etemad daily wrote on Monday: “Majid Ansari, a member of the Expediency Council, Abdolvahid Mousavi Lari, who was interior minister in Mohammad Khatami’s reformist government, and Eshagh Jahangiri, who was industry minister in the reformist government, are the three who appear to have gone as reformist representatives” to visit Ayatollah Khamenei.
The last time the reformists met with Iran’s Supreme Leader was in June of 2009 to protest the last presidential election and allegations of vote fraud, which led to widespread demonstrations and political protests.
Ansari reported positively on the meeting, saying: “It was a good meeting; we met with the leader and spoke about the general issues of the country.”
Reformists were heavily sidelined after the 2009 election and the ensuing protests. The reformist candidates in that election who challenged the outcome of the vote count have been under house arrest for the past two years. With the approach of the next presidential election in June of 2013, they are now calling for an opening of the political arena and the possibility of running campaigns.
Abbas Abdi, another reformist figure, told Etemad that this was a commendable move by the reformists and he called on the higher ranks of the reformists, such as former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, to make similar moves.
Khatami has called for the release of political prisoners and a greater political openness as necessary moves to return the country to stability on all fronts.
