Pompeo: Khamenei fears free elections more than anything else

The U.S. Secretary of State has accused the leader of the Islamic Republic on his Twitter account of being “in fear of holding free elections more than anything else”.

Mike Pompeo tweeted from his account hours before voting began in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, asking “Why did Khamenei strip the right of 7,000 or more Iranians to participate in the elections?”

The U.S. Secretary of State’s comment refers to widespread disqualifications by the Guardian Council. Members of the Guardian Council are selected or appointed by the leader of the Islamic Republic and the head of the judiciary—who is himself appointed by the leader.

Mike Pompeo continued in his tweet, “Because he [the leader of the Islamic Republic] is in fear of free elections, more than anything else.”

Mr. Pompeo then referred to the new sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration against the Guardian Council.

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned several Guardian Council members on the first day of Esfand, one day before the parliamentary elections.

Ahmad Jannati, Secretary of the Guardian Council, is at the top of the sanctions list; alongside him are Mohammad Yazdi, a jurist member of the Guardian Council, Abbasali Kadkhodaei, the council’s spokesperson, Siamak Rahpeik, and Mohammad Hassan Sadeghi Moghadam, from among the lawyer members of the Guardian Council.

Brian Hook, the U.S. State Department official in charge of Iran policy, told Radio Farda in an interview, “If the Islamic Republic is truly a republic, it should not fear the voice and opinions of its own people.”

In response to these sanctions, the Guardian Council’s spokesperson, while “expressing satisfaction,” said “America has had threats and hostilities toward the Iranian people for the past 41 years and has received its response.”

The elections for the eleventh term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the mid-term elections for the Assembly of Experts are currently underway in Iran.

According to reports, between 14,000 and 16,000 candidates registered to compete for 290 seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, of which only 6,850 candidates were approved by the Guardian Council.

Source: Radio Farda