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Arash Sigarchi

The reformist group Mojahedin-e Enghelab-e Eslami Organization (Islamic Revolution ‎Mojahedin) published an open letter addressed to Ayatollah Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's ‎supreme leader, warning about violations of fairness in the upcoming elections and criticizing ‎attacks on reformists propagated by hardline Kayhan daily and Friday prayer leaders (who ‎operate under the supervision of the supreme leader's office.)‎

Complaining about the new wave of attacks on the media targeting reformists, ahead of the eight ‎Majlis election, the organization's letter reads, "on the eve of elections, some of the most ‎prominent, established, and well-known reformist organizations are stripped away of their legal ‎right to have a forum for publishing their ideas and viewpoints, and society has been forced to ‎learn of reformist ideas through Kayhan." Lamenting "unfair and unequal" conditions, the ‎organization warns Ayatollah Khamenei, "you would probably agree that we cannot accept the ‎upcoming elections as fair and transparent." ‎

The Mojahedin-e Enghelab Organization's letter adds, "unfortunately, on the eve of the deadline ‎to register candidacy and while we are still two months away from the election date, we witness ‎an expansive and organized wave of libel and slander targeting reformists. What is more ‎unfortunate is that Kayhan newspaper and Friday prayer leaders operate under your ‎management. This wave of attacks intends to portray reformists as treacherous individuals and ‎agents of the Untied States. The shamelessness of the new wave of attacks is such that, unlike ‎the past where they attempted to create divisions among reformists by propagating false news ‎about rifts between moderate and radical reformists, in the new wave, and as an example you can ‎refer to Kayhan's editorial on 23 Day of 1386, all reformists are accused of treason and ‎cooperating with the enemy, and reformism is portrayed as essentially an ideology propped up ‎by the enemy."‎

In another part of the letter, the organization speculates on the reasons behind such attacks: "the ‎essence of this move is not lost on us or those familiar with the nature politics and power in Iran. ‎We know well that the unsatisfactory report card and empty hands of the current rulers in ‎economics, politics, social and diplomatic relations, as well as ineffective and crisis-prone ‎management….are the main causes of this new move." ‎

The letter concludes, "the activity and leadership of Friday prayer leaders and state-owned media ‎such as Kayhan, which is run under your management, in propagating slander against reformists, ‎make it all the more difficult for us to tolerate the truth. Without a doubt, this method will ‎achieve nothing other than to undermine the position of the supreme leader and creating ‎disenchantment in the public. In our opinion, institutions and organizations such as Kayhan, ‎which are well-known as tributes to propagate the supreme leader's opinions, must behave more ‎responsibly and appreciate their place more than ever." ‎