Rafsanjani did not back down – His party supports Karroubi

Initial reports claiming Rafsanjani has fallen in line with Khamenei today have been taken out of context. Javan-e Farda reports that Rafsanjani’s party (Executives of Construction) has declared its full support for Mehdi Karroubi. By throwing his party’s support behind Karroubi, Rafsanjani shows indirectly that he will not back down from supporting the opposition.

Javan-e Farda:

The Executives of Construction has released a statement announcing full support of Mehdi Karroubi’s position on the harassment issue. “Karroubi’s bravery, courage, and his compassionate approach in rooting out the current corruption in the country’s security and judicial apparatuses, is not only worthy of attention and congratulations, but has brought about an invasion of repeated attacks by various people and groups in the name of ‘defending the system.’ These behaviors serve as evidence of the ridiculousness of trying to combat reality.”

Rafsanjani’s speech emphasizes unity with the Supreme Leader generally. This may have been a move by Rafsanjani to appear loyal to the system while he draws up contingency plans for continuing his protest.

Rafsanjani ordered the founding of the Executives of Construction during his Presidency (1989-1997).