Arash Aramesh

Mehdi Karroubi, one of the symbolic leaders of Iran’s opposition movement, said Monday that he accepted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s president. Karroubi, who was speaking at the annual meeting of the Mardomsalari Party, said that because Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has signed the decree making Ahmadinejad’s presidency official, he accepts Ahmadinejad as the head of government. Karroubi, however, also said that he believes the June 12 election was rigged and the results were fraudulent.

His statement indicates that some in the opposition movement could be prepared to reach a compromise with the state, particularly because his comments follow similar remarks made by former President Mohammad Khatami and Mir Hossein Moussavi.

FARS News, a pro-government news agency with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), published a quote by Karroubi saying, “I accept the president of Iran who was elected by the people.” In an interview with the US-supported Radio Farda, Hossein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi’s son, denied that his father accepted the fairness of the election results and the legitimacy of the government. He said that Mr. Karroubi only accepted President Ahmadinejad as the legal head of the cabinet because Iran’s Supreme Leader signed his oath of office and made him the official president of Iran.

According to Iranian law, the president-elect must receive the signature of the Supreme Leader in order to become the official president of the Islamic Republic. Without this endorsement, the president-elect is barred from assuming the responsibilities of office.

What is interesting is that Ayatollah Khamenei signed that decree over six months ago, but Karroubi has just now recognized the validity of Khamenei’s endorsement.

The war of words continued Monday between the opposition and pro-government news organizations. The former focused on the part of Karroubi’s statement where he said the election results were rigged. The latter magnified Karroubi’s admission to the legality of Ahmadinejad’s presidency. According to Sahamnews, the official website of Karroubi’s political party, Karroubi still firmly believes the election was rigged but recognizes Ahmadinejad as President.

Former President Khatami also reportedly sent a letter to Khamenei, according to the weekly Irandokht magazine. Khatami, according to the report, also accepted Ahmadinejad’s government. “The reform movement and we [leaders of reform in Iran] accept the current government as [the] official [government of Iran]. But this trend of radical actions must be stopped. Such radicalism exists on both sides.” According to this magazine, Khatami asked the Leader to form a reconciliation council and include Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran, and others who share the views of the opposition.

Karroubi’s statements and Khatami’s letter follow Mir Hossein Moussavi’s 17th official statement in which he condemned the bloody events of the Ashura demonstrations in December, while consciously choosing not to question the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad’s administration.

The state also has appeared recently to make concessions to the opposition. Two weeks ago, the Iranian radio and television broadcasting allowed two opposition figures to appear on television and strongly criticize Ahmadinejad’s government. Many analysts believe that Khamenei, who appoints the directors of Iran’s radio and television, is trying to make concessions to the opposition by allowing them to appear on television and express their views.