Prior to the past four years, many were concerned over the repeatedly asked question that why did Mr. Khamenei not take more assertive steps regarding human rights violations, anti-development policies, the increasing cultural and intellectual censorship and the threats against the regime's republicanism.
In the past four years, however, the leader’s unwavering and absolute support for Ahmadinejad’s administration and his comment that this was "the best administration since the revolution" has filled the missing piece of his twenty-year report card puzzle.
A - Critics argue that according to Article 110 of the Islamic Republic Constitution the supreme leader is in charge of defining the state's general policies. Mr. Khamanei's foreign policy and his involvement in the appointment the foreign minister, as well as his remarks on foreign policy details, have always negatively impacted Iran's international standing and its economic well-being.
Such criticism had always been presented to him verbally and orally but to no avail. At the end of his eight-year presidency, Mr. Khatami told me in a frank discussion, "In these eight years, on many paths we were confronted with him and had to stop. Even the idea of the dialogue of civilizations, with all its international success, was subverted and discredited here in Iran."
Today, however, no one is confused about this issue. Ahmadinejad’s administration succeeded in deteriorating Iran's relations with the world (from regional countries to Europe and the United States) to the worst possible point. But ironically, it is Ahmadinejad’s administration that is regarded as the best one since the revolution by Mr. Khamenei.
B - Those close to Mr. Khamenei say that the leader is not opposed to freedom of speech and thought, and that he was forced to approve the wholesale and overnight shutdown of dozens of publications because he was worried about the state’s national security, which he regarded to be under threat by the reformist publications.
Ahmadinejad claims that his administration has registered unprecedented success in respecting freedom of speech. But under his administration none of the country's important political parties were allowed to have even one newspaper; several newspapers have been shut down after publishing one or just a few issues; no journalists other than those working for state-owned organizations have job security; and political prisoners served their jail terms while the public was not even aware of their condition or existence. In the field of freedoms, too, Mr. Khamenei has clearly stated his position by calling the Ahmadinejad administration the best administration.
C - The Tehran City Council's investigation over the three hundred billion Tomans that went missing under Ahmadinejad's tenure as the mayor were halted with the direct orders of Ayatollah Khamenei and Mehdi Chamran's involvement. Now, four years later, the State Audit Organization reports that one thousand billion Toman in oil revenues is missing from the treasury; inflation has reached 25% and the administration is denying its own ministries' reports about the deteriorating economic conditions. Mr. Khamanei, who never overlooked the slightest failure of the Khatami administration, has chosen to remain silent in order to preserve the credibility of the "best administration since the revolution."
Given these facts, we can conclude that the June 12 elections are not just about judging Ahmadinejad's performance, but also about the Iranian people's judgment of the twenty-year reign of Ayatollah Khamenei, who regards Ahmadinejad as the best president since the 1979 revolution.
