Issa Kalantari sentenced to 4 months in prison for "insulting" Khomeini

Issa Kalantari, Vice President of Iran and Head of the Environmental Protection Organization, was sentenced to 4 months in prison on Tuesday, March 9, despite a previous apology, on charges of "insulting" the founder of the Islamic Republic.

Tasnim News Agency reported that he was initially sentenced to four months in prison and banned from membership in political parties and groups for two years.

According to the report, he was also sentenced to pay a fine of forty million rials in Branch 1058 of the Criminal Court on charges of "spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion."

The issue of Issa Kalantari's "insult" to Ruhollah Khomeini is related to the recent publication of a short video of an interview he had on social media.

In this interview, which according to Mr. Kalantari dates back three years, the reporter asks Issa Kalantari: "Do you think there was a negotiation between the Imam and the Americans?"

He replies: "I don't know, I don't know. Maybe it could be said that the Imam was an illegitimate son for them. They left the Shah behind, and the Imam took advantage of this opportunity."

The publication of his remarks prompted many reactions from various officials and figures in the Islamic Republic.

In a note published on the Environmental Protection Agency's website on December 28, Issa Kalantari later said that the broadcast of forty seconds of a two-hour interview caused a "misunderstanding" of the entire story, and ultimately apologized for making that statement.

Source: Radio Farda