Shayan Ghajar

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei escalated his attacks recently on the opposition movement in a sermon to religious students and clerical leaders. Khamenei accused demonstrators of defiling the image of the founder of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, during protests on December 7th.

Demonstrators were accused of tearing images of Ayatollah Khomeini, which would be considered a grievous insult to the Islamic Republic and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution. Following Khamenei’s speech, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the symbolic opposition leaders, issued responses, which coincided with several protests in universities across Iran against Khamenei’s speech.

The ongoing war of words between the government and opposition is intensifying, with both sides refusing responsibility for any consequences that may occur if their demands are ignored. Khamenei’s speech on December 13 indicates that the government’s patience with the opposition movement has run out, while Mousavi and Karroubi’s responses to Khamenei’s sermon indicate that if they continue to be ignored by the government, they cannot take responsibility for what consequences may follow.

The Supreme Leader went on to say that the opposition’s protests have encouraged “enemies of the Revolution” to engage in “seditious acts” against the Islamic Republic. Khamenei accused the opposition movement of hypocrisy, saying they chant slogans in support of the Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini, yet by their actions tacitly encourage such insults to Ayatollah Khomeini’s legacy.

Ayatollah Khamenei further referred to Karroubi and Mousavi as “former brothers,” saying that they had turned a “family dispute” into a war against the system.

Karroubi and Mousavi issued a joint statement on December 14, announcing their intentions to stage a demonstration in protest of accusations of the desecration of Ayatollah Khomeini’s image. Karroubi stated they will seek a permit for the demonstrations due to concerns about public safety. But he pointed out that Article 27 of the Iranian constitution does not require a permit in the case of a peaceful rally.

If the permit were to be denied, Karroubi pointedly remarked, he could not be held responsible for the possible consequences.

Mousavi’s Kalemeh newspaper quotes him as calling the circumstances of the video showing the purported desecration of Khomeini’s image to be “suspicious.”

The alleged defacing of Ayatollah Khomeini’s image is significant in Iran’s discourse as a symbol of the Revolution’s legacy. By accusing Mousavi and Karroubi of inadvertently encouraging this kind of action, Ayatollah Khamenei is in effect saying that their actions lead to destabilizing behavior that threatens the survival of the Islamic Republic.

Several universities across Iran have experienced protests on December 13th and 14th in reaction to state television’s coverage of the alleged defacing of Ayatollah Khomeini’s image, and also as a reaction to Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech condemning the demonstrations. Protestors are chanting slogans such as, “Our shame, our infamy, our state TV,” and, “Those who cheated in the election are the same people who ripped the picture [of Khomeini].” Each protest against Khamenei’s Sunday speech has featured reverential portraits of the late Ayatollah Khomeini as evidence that the demonstrators do in fact revere the founder of the Islamic Republic, in clear contrast to Khamenei’s allegations.

The current battle focuses upon who best adheres to the principles of the Revolution. Ayatollah Khamenei’s inflammatory speech made reference to the “principles of the Revolution,” as have several of Mousavi’s statements in his newspaper. The opposition is largely sticking to their original intentions as a reformist rather than counter-revolutionary movement. The government and hardliners, meanwhile, seek to discredit them as rabble-rousers and foreign-backed terrorists. Both sides will be looking to the start of the religious month of Moharram, December 29th, for the next major opportunities to act against each other.