Strong criticism from Shiraz MP: Hassan Rouhani has made naming "Cyrus Day" a security issue
Bahram Parsai, a Shiraz representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly who last year called for the naming of November 7 as "Cyrus Day," strongly criticized Hassan Rouhani for referring the request to the Supreme National Security Council for "security reasons," accusing him of "profiting from Iranian culture and history" during his foreign trips.
In his speech in the parliament on Sunday, October 19, Mr. Parsai pointed out that Hassan Rouhani mentions Iran's "rich history and culture" during his trips to the United Nations and Europe and says that Iran has been the "savior of the Jews in history." He said: "Where it has "external consumption" for you, you talk about this issue "to confirm yourself," but "in a double-dealing, we witness your internal denial."
Hassan Rouhani said in July this year, during a trip to Austria and in a joint press conference with the country's Chancellor, "The Jewish nation owes us. We Iranians were the saviors of the Jews in Babylon."
Referring to the Iranian President's statements abroad in response to the 7th of Aban protesters in Pasargad, the Shiraz representative in the parliament described Hassan Rouhani as "a kind of profiteering from culture and history... and disrespecting the historical and cultural consciousness of society."
The 7th of Aban is unofficially called "Cyrus Day" in Iran, and in recent years, security officials have used various means to prevent a number of Iranians from gathering at the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae.
The tomb of Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, is located in the ancient complex of Pasargadae in Fars Province.
Last year, despite the actions of security agencies, such as sending threatening text messages, announcing the closure of Pasargadae, closing the roads leading to the complex, and the widespread presence of security officers and Basij members, a ceremony was held in front of the Tomb of Cyrus, which led to the arrest of some of those present at the ceremony.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in October of last year, Bahram Parsai requested that the 7th of Aban be named "Cyrus Day." However, in his speech in parliament on Sunday, he said that Hassan Rouhani had referred the request to the Supreme National Security Council.
The Shiraz representative emphasized in his speech: "In the world, security issues are made cultural and social in order to reduce the costs incurred, and we are the complete opposite of that."
Recalling some of the praise that has been given to Cyrus, he said: "This character today is a stranger in his own country and birthplace."
A number of Islamic Republic officials, including the prosecutor of Fars province, have called the gathering in front of Cyrus' tomb "a violation of norms," and Hossein Nouri Hamedani, a Shiite religious authority in Qom, has also said that Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, had called people who "remembered Cyrus" "counter-revolutionaries."
Source: Radio Farda
