Unprecedented remarks by Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of the Iranian regime, in the open session of the Majlis (Parliament) about coordinating his cabinet with the leader of the regime have sparked a wave of criticism.
Although the Majlis representatives approved all of Pezeshkian’s proposed ministers after these statements, some social media users have commented that in the history of the Iranian regime, no president has ever so openly demonstrated that they have accepted the role of a puppet under the regime’s leader. It was already evident that in the dictatorship of the Iranian regime, elections and votes have no impact on the final outcome.
Pezeshkian had previously stated openly that he would coordinate his cabinet list with Ali Khamenei. However, on Wednesday, August 21, although he repeatedly asked the representatives not to force him to delve into details, he provided unprecedented specifics about how his cabinet was coordinated with the regime’s leader.
He mentioned, for example, that Abbas Salehi, the proposed Minister of Culture, agreed to have his name on the cabinet list only after a phone call from Khamenei, that Abbas Araghchi, the proposed Foreign Minister, was the first candidate approved by Khamenei, and that Khamenei himself said Farzaneh Sadegh should be included in the cabinet as Minister of Roads and Urban Development.
In Parliament, Pezeshkian not only spoke about coordinating the cabinet with the leader of the Iranian regime but also added regarding some ministers: “We did not proceed without coordination—whether with the committees or with the higher-ups (referring to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the regime)—and those we had to coordinate with.”
These statements imply that in addition to the leader of the Iranian regime, the approval of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other parallel security and intelligence agencies was also obtained for the cabinet list.
Several conservative figures, both inside and outside Parliament, who oppose Pezeshkian and his plans, have criticized the President for “spending” the political capital of the regime’s leader.
Hossein Shariatmadari, Ali Khamenei’s representative at the Kayhan Institute (the largest state media outlet supporting Khamenei), who had previously urged the representatives not to approve some ministers, labeled Pezeshkian’s claims of “coordination” with Khamenei as “allegations” and wrote that “his claim immediately became a pretext for the state’s overt enemies to undermine democracy, the position of Majlis, and even the President’s powers in the Islamic Republic by citing Mr. Pezeshkian’s statements.”
While some political figures, either genuinely or in praise of the regime’s leader, have called the approval of Pezeshkian’s entire cabinet “the beginning of a new chapter in Iran’s political life,” the opposition has referred to the fourteenth government as the “most appointed” cabinet.
Others, including some journalists from government-affiliated newspapers, have written that after Pezeshkian’s remarks, it can now be said that the “Leadership Council” to form the cabinet, chaired by former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, which had been widely promoted for some time, was of no significance, and the main player was the leader of the Iranian regime.
Although in the 45-year history of the regime ruling Iran, no free elections have ever been held, and the Iranian people have moved beyond this entire government, it has once again been proven that expecting democracy from the Iranian regime is nothing but a mirage. While this is clear to the regime’s Western counterparts, their economic interests lie in appeasing the Iranian regime. However, the price of this policy must be paid by the people of Iran and the region. The only correct policy against the mullahs’ government is firmness. The Iranian people have repeatedly demonstrated in past uprisings that they can confront this regime on their own.
