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Amidst ongoing election theatrics in Iran, state officials and media have started to reveal concerns that paint a troubling picture of the regime’s internal state and expose the anxieties of many of its leaders.
On June 21, the Friday prayer leader in Arak, Ghasem Abdollahi stated, “A brief discussion regarding the hypocrites: If it were not for them, the Islamic Revolution, as envisioned by Imam [former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini], would have progressed exactly as he planned. However, the enemies have struck, and it is certainly the blows of the hypocrites that sometimes halt the vibrant path we started. According to the Leader [Ali Khamenei], these obstacles and hindrances on the straight path of the revolution cause difficulties.”
The hypocrites is a pejorative term, extensively used by the clerical regime to defame the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK) in Iran’s society.
Claiming that the PMOI had killed 176,000 of the regime’s forces, he added, “Even today, their activities continue. You can see it’s not just one or two of them. People need to recognize them and be alert. The elections are near, and the campaign period is upon us.”
Abdollahi further claimed, “Everyone has joined hands to weaken the people’s morale, to prevent them from participating in the elections. They say it doesn’t matter whether we participate or not, that the elections are engineered, and they will pull out whoever they want from the ballot box. This is the nonsense being spread by their platforms inside and outside the country, brainwashing our youth.”
He emphasized the importance of voting, stating, “This is not about mere voting. It’s about the country’s leadership. It’s the path of the Imamate. Whoever follows this path and serves the people is cherished by the people. Anyone who breaks their pact with the people and misbehaves towards them has trampled the system of Velayat-e-Faqih. The people have no allegiance except to the leadership.”
#Iranian Regime’s Desperate Efforts to Showcase Legitimacy Through Sham #Electionshttps://t.co/uNRhEA4B7p
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 20, 2024
Allahnoor Karimitabar, the Friday prayer leader in Ilam, echoed similar sentiments on June 21. He stated, “The hypocrites aim to infiltrate electoral headquarters and create polarization. We need to expand our advertising campaign and increase motivation for the elections. Supporters of each candidate should highlight their performance without disparaging others.” He also mentioned that the next president should be like Ebrahim Raisi, continuing, “The path laid by our martyred president, the dedicated and motivated people’s president, should be continued by someone who follows this course.”
Khamenei’s representative in Mashhad, Ahmad Alamolhoda said, “The most important criterion in the election process is the individual’s closeness to the leadership. The advocate should make this characteristic a key factor in their decision-making and ensure that the public is also aware of it, so that those who are at odds with the leadership do not attain positions of responsibility.”
“What we must pay attention to is the continuation and development of the school of thought of Haj Qassem [IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani] after his martyrdom, which was evident in the executive management and progress of Martyr Ayatollah Raisi,” Alamolhoda stressed.
Meanwhile, the state-run newspaper Ebtekar criticized the regime’s presidential candidates’ slogans, writing, “If you knew things were so bad and people were under pressure, and there was so much injustice and the Iranian people were dying excessively, why have you been silent until now? And only now do you remember to declare the situation as dire as you claim? You, who have so many designs, plans, and ideas for overnight poverty eradication! Why didn’t you present these plans over the past three years?”
#Iran’s Regime Prepares to Rig Presidential #Election Results in Crisis Management Strategyhttps://t.co/RPzVhxEd5b
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 16, 2024
Citing the regime’s electoral debates, the state-run newspaper Shargh noted, “The problem is that you are feeding people the wrong model. The problem is that your other half pollutes the debate with slander, attacking others recklessly and insolently, and gives religious youth the model that in politics, one should be ‘reckless.’ Get your acts together and stop the harmful education to religious youth.”
Furthermore, in Kashan, the speech of former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was marked by physical altercations and uproar. Zarif, who was speaking in support of Masoud Pezeshkian, faced disruptions when supporters of rival factions raised pictures of Ebrahim Raisi, leading to clashes. Addressing the protesters who called him a “liar,” Zarif retorted, “Aren’t you ashamed to call someone whom the Supreme Leader has deemed truthful a liar? Shame on you! You are the ones lying!”
Before his speech was cut off, he added, “If you claim to support the Leader, you are lying! If you claim to support the martyred Raisi, you are lying! If you claim to support the martyred Amir-Abdollahian, you are still lying!” Zarif emphasized, “We are the majority in this country, just like in this gathering, who allow you to be present in society.”
Nowadays, televised electoral debates and media-covered topics are fueling the outrage of the Iranian people, who express their disdain with sarcasm and a complete denunciation of the regime’s candidates. Amid the mockery of the candidates’ absurd promises, such as Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi‘s vow to provide “jet skis” for women and the poor, social media users retorted, “All we want you to do is stop beating women in this country with batons and not arrest them with the morality police. Keep your jet skis, you shameless ones!”