TEHRAN: Iran President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Wednesday criticized the recent arrests of journalists and others by the Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has accused detainees of being part of seditious plots hatched by the United States.
In remarks at a Cabinet meeting posted on his Instagram account, Rouhani suggested that at least some of those arrests had been groundless.
"Let us not go and arrest one person here, another there, based on an excuse and without any reason, and then make up a case and aggrandize it, and finally say this is an infiltration movement," Rouhani said.
His reaction signaled a deepening divide between his administration and hard-line adversaries over Iran's future relationship with the United States and other Western powers. The hard-liners have vowed to severely limit dealings with the Americans despite the signing of an international agreement limiting Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for ending onerous U.S. and European economic sanctions. Rouhani's administration was the main advocate in Iran for that accord.
The Cabinet meeting was held on the 36th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Islamic revolutionaries, an event that was the catalyst for the rupture in diplomatic relations that prevails to this day. The seizure has been enshrined as a sort of holiday here, and every year thousands of demonstrators gather in front of the vacant embassy buildings, known as the den of spies, to denounce the United States.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has declared that despite the nuclear deal, the United States remains Iran's main enemy and cannot be trusted. The ayatollah has warned against what he has called Americans' desire to infiltrate Iran culturally and economically subvert the country's revolutionary foundation.
Rouhani's Instagram post came a day after the Revolutionary Guards announced, without elaborating, that agents had arrested members of an "infiltration network affiliated with the U.S. and U.K. governments."
A report about the meeting on Rouhani's official website conspicuously omitted his critical remarks about the arrests, a possible indication of its delicacy given the internal political rivalries that have become apparent over his 2-year-old term.
In remarks at a Cabinet meeting posted on his Instagram account, Rouhani suggested that at least some of those arrests had been groundless.
"Let us not go and arrest one person here, another there, based on an excuse and without any reason, and then make up a case and aggrandize it, and finally say this is an infiltration movement," Rouhani said.
His reaction signaled a deepening divide between his administration and hard-line adversaries over Iran's future relationship with the United States and other Western powers. The hard-liners have vowed to severely limit dealings with the Americans despite the signing of an international agreement limiting Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for ending onerous U.S. and European economic sanctions. Rouhani's administration was the main advocate in Iran for that accord.
The Cabinet meeting was held on the 36th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Islamic revolutionaries, an event that was the catalyst for the rupture in diplomatic relations that prevails to this day. The seizure has been enshrined as a sort of holiday here, and every year thousands of demonstrators gather in front of the vacant embassy buildings, known as the den of spies, to denounce the United States.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has declared that despite the nuclear deal, the United States remains Iran's main enemy and cannot be trusted. The ayatollah has warned against what he has called Americans' desire to infiltrate Iran culturally and economically subvert the country's revolutionary foundation.
Rouhani's Instagram post came a day after the Revolutionary Guards announced, without elaborating, that agents had arrested members of an "infiltration network affiliated with the U.S. and U.K. governments."
A report about the meeting on Rouhani's official website conspicuously omitted his critical remarks about the arrests, a possible indication of its delicacy given the internal political rivalries that have become apparent over his 2-year-old term.
No comments:
Post a Comment