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February 22, 2015 Special Dispatch No. 5973

The Power Struggle In Iran – Part XVI: Ideological Camp Mouthpiece 'Kayhan' Warns That Rohani Will Be Ousted, Calls Pragmatic Stream 'Deviant' Like Mousavi, Karroubi

February 22, 2015
Iran, Iran | Special Dispatch No. 5973

On the eve of Iran's Revolution Day, marked on February 11, 2015, the daily Kayhan, which is close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ramped up its attack on pragmatic camp leaders Hashemi Rafsanjani and President Hassan Rohani, referring to them in its February 7, 2015 editorial as a "deviant stream" - a reference to those who deviate from the path of Iran's Islamic Revolution and from the orders of its founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and of Leader Khamenei. Kayhan also accused them of pretending to be revolutionaries while acting on behalf of the U.S. and Israel, the enemies of the Revolution.

Accusing the two pragmatic camp leaders of putting their personal welfare and benefit ahead of the values of the Revolution, primarily the value of exporting the Revolution, Kayhan stated that they do so while claiming that it is for the good of the Iranian people. It harshly criticized what it called the pragmatic leaders' willingness to abandon the export of the Revolution to Yemen in exchange for American concessions in the nuclear negotiations, and expressed satisfaction that Rohani and Rafsanjani were not in a position to make decisions regarding regions to which the Revolution had already spread, i.e. Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain (such decisions come under the authority of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -IRGC).

Also in its editorial, Kayhan warned the pragmatic camp leaders not once but twice that they could be removed from their positions and isolated politically, as had happened in the past to political groups in Iran that called for dialogue with the West or for expanding human and civil rights in Iran.

Following are excerpts from the editorial:


Hashemi Rafsanjani (left) and Hassan Rohani (image: aawsat.net)

Once The Deviant Stream's Opposition To The Revolution Is Exposed... It Will Be Removed From The Political Arena

"Today, just like the day after February 11, 1979, a deviant stream aims to cage the Islamic Revolution within Iran's geographic borders and strip it of its true content within those borders. Ever since the start of the Revolution, and especially today, this effort is allegedly being carried out for the state and the people. The most important criterion of this stream, from its inception until this very day, is its settling for issuing very general statements about Islamic and revolutionary issues, aimed at hiding its true, practical, and hidden opposition to Islam and the Revolution.

"They [the members of this stream] know that once their escape from Islam and their opposition to the Revolution is exposed by the people, they will be removed from the political arena, to be dispatched to the archives of history forever. The truth of this principle is reflected in the fate of [Iranian political groups such as] the National Front, the Freedom Movement [of Iran], the Banisadr group, and others.

"The Islamic Revolution Can In No Way Be A Domestic Phenomenon Restricted To Iran's Geographic [Borders]"

"According to the foundations of Islam and the instructions of Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini, as well as the instructions of the [Leader] Imam Khamenei, the Islamic Revolution can in no way be a domestic phenomenon restricted to Iran's geographic [borders]. Islam and many Koranic verses have defined the mission of man or of Muslim society as crossing borders and even religions - meaning that it concerns [all of] humanity. In many verses, the Koran strictly orders people and the community of believers to prepare to fight oppression wherever it and aggression exist, and to spare no effort on this front...

"The Imam Khamenei's view is based on that same divine insight. He believes in continuing on this path that leads the Islamic Revolution towards a happy ending, and paves the way to the emergence of the Mahdi. As a result, if the Iranian people's movement continues, and the Iranian nation's dialogue progresses, the course of history will change and the world will enter a new phase...

"When you look over the speeches of the Imam [Khomeini] and the Leader [Khamenei], you encounter special keywords... : 'the Hidden Imam's [sacred] trust,' 'how to facilitate the emergence [of the Hidden Imam]' ... changing 'the course of history,' 'a new stage in the life of nations,' 'complete implementation of slogans,' and 'an Ashura operation'... It is completely clear that these goals cannot be easily promoted. As Leader [Khamenei] mentioned, we need an Ashura effort, [that is] risk-taking and sacrifice. [Conversely,] those who pursue wellbeing and comfort cannot accept the responsibility demanded by this Revolution, which is why they are abandoning it.

"However, some of those who pursue wellbeing also want to gain [the entire] world and to rule over others. Therefore, along with seeking wellbeing, they are not relinquishing control of key positions and are willing to do anything to retain them. That is why they use a variety of lies, some of which include pretending to be revolutionaries and also pretending to be Islamic... The Imam [Khomeini] sensed grave danger [from them] and warned the public and the responsible regime institutions: 'Do not allow the Revolution to fall into the hands of the unfit and the unreliable.' The unfit are in essence those who aspire to transform the Islamic Revolution first into the regime of the Islamic Republic, then into the State of Iran, and ultimately into a mere historical memory, [thus] assuaging America and Israel..."

"This Group... No Longer Has Any Status In Determining [Iranian] Policy On Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, And Any Other Revolutionary Place"

"It is interesting that some of those same people in the official apparatuses who say 'why are Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen our concern?' are those who, in the bilateral talks with America and Europe, express their willingness to resolve the Yemen dossier in a way that alleviates Israeli and Saudi fears. How can this group - which no longer has any status in determining [Iranian] policy on Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, and any other revolutionary place, and whose wishes bear no relation to the regime of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] - ask 'how is this our concern' regarding [Iran's] aid to the peoples of these countries, when at the same time it is dragging the revolutions there in the direction of mending relations with Saudi Arabia and America, and seeking to use [the crises there] as a commodity in the hands of diplomats...

"On foreign issues, the deviant stream claims that cutting back on zeal and on revolutionary slogans will benefit Iran and ensure the preservation of national interests, and that doing so is unavoidable. However, [regime] officials cannot choose whether or not to be revolutionaries, since everyone must be revolutionary or their position in the ranks of the Revolution becomes illegitimate.

"Additionally, when the greatest enemies of the Islamic Revolution speak of weakening it, they turn first to its regional influence... [But] it is apparent that a foreign policy based on the slogans of the Islamic Revolution and the immutable goals formulated by the Imam [Khomeini] and the Leader [Khamenei] are backed by most of the Iranian people, and that [such a policy] ensures [the Revolution's] supremacy and national interests...

"A look at the intensive upheavals in the region, especially in recent months in Iraq, [which constitute] a crushing defeat of the terrorism backed by America, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and others - as well as what is happening today in Yemen - proves automatically that a large portion of the slogans of the Islamic Revolution has been realized, or is now being realized. This is while this [pragmatic] stream... has no achievement today, and has attained no goal of which it can boast..."

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