Arash Aramesh

Celebrations for the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution started today in a tense political atmosphere in which the opposition and the government are preparing for yet another showdown. On Saturday, Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, former presidential candidates and symbolic leaders of the opposition, asked their supporters to participate in the February 11 demonstrations commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution.

During this meeting, which took place at Karroubi’s home, Moussavi and Karroubi condemned the execution of two dissidents, who were hanged last week on charges of “fighting against God.” Karroubi and Moussavi pointed out that the two victims were arrested months before the election and their cases had nothing to do with demonstrations that rocked Iran’s major cities following the June 12 election. They asserted, “It seems that these actions are aimed to terrorize the masses and to prevent them from participating in demonstrations to be held on February 11.”

In an interesting move by the government, former President Hashemi-Rafsanjani was not asked to give the opening speech marking the beginning of the 10-day-long celebrations. For thirty years, Rafsanjani always delivered the opening remarks, but this year, he was replaced by Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a pro-government member of parliament with close family ties to Ayatollah Khamenei, who spoke at the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini in the outskirts of Tehran.

Since his controversial sermons at Tehran’s Friday prayer in July, Rafsanjani has not given any public speeches or sermons. It is unclear whether Rafsanjani has been prevented from giving speeches or he has chosen not to make appearances in politically charged environments.

On his personal website today, Rafsanjani asked all Iranians to participate in the demonstrations and to “demonstrate national unity, despite differences of opinion.”

According to Ansar News, a radical, pro-government website, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced today that those who promote “national unity” are trying to “prevent the prosecution of those involved in sedition.” Firouzabadi, who is believed to be the closest general to Supreme Leader Khamenei, said, “Islamic Iran has captured the highest mountains of discovery and progress in the past thirty years under the wise leadership of Imam Khomeini and the beloved Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” emphasizing the importance of Khamenei’s leadership in Iran today.

According to Sepah News, the website of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Brig Gen Hossein Hamedani, the commander of Tehran’s IRGC, said that the anniversary of the revolution this year will “draw the line of rejection on everyone who stands in front of the regime.” According to Jaras, a Green Movement website, Hamedani added, “We will not allow anything that resembles the Green Movement to show its presence.” He continued, “Well, we are all part of the green wave” referring to green as the color of Shiite Muslims, “but we will not allow the Greens who resemble foreigners to show their presence.” He asserted, “Even if a small group of people step outside the norms, we will harshly deal with them.”

The government has taken steps to prevent the opposition from organizing effectively. Internet service was disrupted and at times shut down in Tehran and Mashhad. Members of the opposition believe this is an orchestrated attempt by the security forces, while the government claims the internet is slow due to scheduled maintenance.