By Amir Taghati
A leading hard-line cleric in Iran has claimed that Regime’s Leader Ali Khamenei has not made “even one single mistake during the past three decades as the leader of the Islamic Republic”.
Mullah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi said: “It is strange that someone leads a nation for 30 years and faces the most complicated social problems and still does not make a mistake while other world leaders have committed numerous mistakes.”
Of course, it not surprising that Mesbah Yazdi would say something like this. He has previously prostrated himself before Khamenei many times in order to publically praise him.
According to a report on March 30 by state-run news agency ISNA, Mesbah Yazdi also said that “thanks to Khamenei’s presence, Iranians are blessed in a way many cannot understand”.
It is worth noting that these comments came in at a time when Iran is ranked as one of the last countries in the world in many areas. For example, Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran as 164 among 180 nations in terms of media freedom. It should be noted that the state controls much of the media in Iran and any journalist or news outlet not controlled by the Regime faces serious consequences including long prison terms, torture, and even death.
Khamenei also has absolute power in Iran and is not accountable to anyone, so he can hire and fire most civilian and military officials, as well as intervene in the country’s domestic policies and foreign affairs without any objections.
Some renowned figures from many political factions, like former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former regime insider Abolfazl Qadiani, have criticized Khamenei for encouraging corruption and for not being accountable to his people or his government.
The Iranian Regime is also facing various major economic crises that are linked to Khamenei’s inability to resolve the country’s foreign relations deadlock and get US sanctions lifted. However, that is far from the only economic problem in Iran.
Widespread and systematic financial corruption have only risen in Iran under Khamenei. It is now described as overwhelming. Rasht MP Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh Imanabaadi recently said that the anti-corruption campaign should start from Khamenei’s own household, highlighting that these problems start at the top and that the Supreme Leader’s wealth is ill-gotten.
Mesbah Yazdi, a former Assembly of Experts member, lost his re-election bid, partly because of his open opposition to human rights, which he has described as “against the spirit of Islam.”
