Iran Video & Text: Montazeri's Son Saeed On His Father's Views, Last Words

Our gratitude to an EA reader for finding the video and providing an English translation:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSv0YXWI_bU[/youtube]

The Latest from Iran (21 December): The Montazeri Funeral
Latest Iran Video: Montazeri’s Criticism of Supreme Leader Khamenei (1997; redistributed October 2009)
Latest Iran Video: Demonstrations in Memory of Montazeri (20 December)
Iran Special LiveBlog: Ayatollah Montazeri Has Died

Anchorman: Mr. Montazeri, do you expect any obstacles for tomorrow's ceremonies?

Montazeri: We hope not, but because of our past experiences with these gentlemen [the regime] we expect obstacles, since they also had interfered in [other] ceremonies. But maybe these gentlemen have come to their minds by now and will show enough respect to let us carry out [the ceremonies]. Hopefully they won't make our lives harder.

Anchorman: What were your father's last words?

Montazeri: I was in Tehran and returned to my father's house at midnight. He asked if my "mission" was successful [apprently Saeed Montazeri had tried to meet families of political detainees and help them]. But I replied that unfortunately I couldn't help. My father was one of the few Marjas who really cared for these families and generally for the people and gave his heart and soul for them. Now my father passed away and is free from any sorrow.

Anchorman: What were your father's hopes? What was the view on the Green Movement and Iranian youth?

Montazeri [summarised]: His opinion was that people should stick together and solve their problems together.

Anchorman: Was your father under house arrest? And if so, how did the regime treat him? Did the regime's officials respect him and treat him well, compared to the first few years of his house arrest, or did they continue putting pressure on him?

Montazeri: It was a bit easier recently, but from what I know the gentlemen have ordered the press not to mention his death in the news. Only God knows if they will let us wash his dead body[?]. But as I said, I'm still hopeful that they came to their minds and that everything goes well the next few days, so that the society doesn't suffer anymore.

Anchorman: What was the reason for his death? What did the doctors say?

Montazeri: They said he had a heart attack while he was asleep. But I think one of the main reasons was his grief for the post-election events which troubled my father a lot.

Anchorman: Was there an extraordinary disciple [scholar] whom your father had chosen to replace him ?

Montazeri: No. Not officially. The people will chose whom they want to follow.

Anchorman: How was the relationship to [Mehdi] Karroubi, [Mir Hossein] Mousavi, and other leaders of the Green movement?

Montazeri: There was not a direct relationship but exchange of letters. But they also had common friends so they were in contact through messages they sent to each other. All in all, I can say that my father supported the leaders of the Green movement and prayed for them to succeed.

Anchorman: Mr. Montazeri, you father has often talked about the person of [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and it's not a secret that he was very critical to him. Do you know about any speech were he was also critical of the system of velayat-e-faqih [ultimate clerical authority]?

Montazeri: He always had the same view about the system of velayat-e-faqih. Nothing has changed. A vali-e-faqih must be chosen by people's vote. He wanted the people to decide who is vali-e-faqih and who is not. The term of his rule must also be limited and if he doesn't behave in a proper way, he must be removed from office.

So you see that my father's view of the system of velayat-e-faqih is different from these gentlemen's [the regime's] conception. My father strongly opposed the life-long rule of one leader. My father always believed that you might have a republic where everyone lives under massive hardship and oppression, and you might have a monarchy where everyone lives under good conditions and in harmony. The names "republic", "system of velayat-e-faqih" or "monarchy" are only names and have nothing to do with the real circumstances of peoples' lives. People must chose what's good for them. The name of the system is not important as long people decide.

Anchorman: It is said that Ayatollah Montazeri strongly opposed the execution of leftists and MKO members during Imam Khomeini's rule. But it is also said that he cried a lot because of the destiny of these executed men. Did you witness his grief about the post-election events, when people were tortured at Kahrizak [Prison] and when people like Neda Agha Soltan died in the streets? What were your father's reactions?

Montazeri: Yes, my father suffered a lot. He was speechless and couldnT understand why certain people who sacrificed their hearts and souls for the revolution are now jailed. We joked with him and said that at least we are not jailed and wondered why he suffered that much for other peoples tragic destinies.

Anchorman: Did your father see Neda Agha Soltan's tragic death?

Montazeri: Yes, he was very up to date. He was one of the few Marjas who knew the daily news since we showed him satellite broadcasts and also the news in the Worldwide Web. He was very up-to-date and interested in the recent developments.

Anchorman: Mr. Montazeri, thank you for your time and again i want to offer you and your family my deepest condolences.

Montazeri: Thank you and God bless you.

This Weekend on EA (19/20 December)

Iran: Sunday's news has been dominated by the sudden death of 87 year-old Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and how the Regime is trying to deal with the challenges posed by his death, first by belittling his memory;  then by criticising the cleric. All the latest news is, as always, in our live weblog.  Demonstrations have been taking place honouring Montazeri's memory --- we've posted video from Tehran and Najafabad. We also flashback with a video to Montazeri's denunciation of the Supreme Leader in a speech in October.

Mehdi Karoubi has  responded in an open letter to the threat of arrest made by the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani .

Austin Heap, one of the most respected and prominent activists on the Internet and Iran, has written for EA explaining the attack on Twitter by the Iranian Cyber Army.

We analyse the Regime's attempts to amass thousands of their own supporters to in Friday's rally in Tehran, and we have video of nightime rooftop protests in Tehran.

Palestine: Following the dramatic article in Thursday's Guardian newspaper, EA analyses the story behind CIA support of Palestinian "torture".

Lebanon: Is Lebanese PM Hariri seeking to improve Lebanese-Syrian relations to better defend Lebanon against Israel?

Israel & Turkey: Can Israel and Turkey repair relations and leave behind the Gaza War behind? EA's Ali Yenidunya analyses.

Middle East: on Friday both the EU and the UN both criticised Israel over its settlement policy.

USA: One year into the Obama Presidency, EA's John Matlin writes in defence of the President.

The Latest from Iran (20 December): Montazeri Death; Regime Scrambles for Legitimacy

2200 GMT: Stopping the Mourners. Rouydad News carries a story we've been hearing on the Internet all evening: Iranian security forces have stopped a bus carrying families of political prisoners and members of Women's Human Rights Committee to the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri in Qom, arresting several people.

2049 GMT: The Revolutionary Danger of Dating. More than 60 operators and managers of Iranian Internet sites for dating have been arrested for anti-cultural and immoral activities in their promotion of "a gallivanting lifestyle".

2045 GMT: The Kahrizak Abuses. The blog Persian2English has produced an English translation of the official report of the Armed Forces judiciary panel concluding that three detainees died from abuse at Kahrizak Prison.

1845 GMT: Another Demonstration. A brief video clip has come in of a protest today at Arak University.

1600 GMT: Ongoing Coverage of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's Death. We have updated with extensive information and analysis on condolences, political developments, and plans --- including tomorrow's funeral --- surround Montazeri's passing.

1345 GMT: EA's Mr Smith comments:

Grand Ayatollahs Safi Golpayegani, Mousavi Ardabili, and Sanei and Ayatollahs Gerami, Shabbiri Zanjani, Mousavi Tabrizi, and Taheri Khorramabadi have visited Montazeri's bayt (house) to offer their respects. This is extremely important as, in Shia clerical custom, going to someone's house means deferring to that person's authority and or power. It is therefore a significant slap in the face of Government efforts to belittle Montazeri.

1145 GMT: The Political Challenge of Montazeri. We're getting a lot of news on the regime's attempts to deal with the challenge posed by Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's death, first by ignoring it, now by belittling it and criticising the cleric --- all will be posted soon in an update in our separate entry.

Meanwhile Mr Smith checks in to give the political dimension of the events: "Montazeri simply could not have died at a more topical moment: the seventh day of his passing will be none other than Ashura itself, which this year is shaping up to be the very worst in the lives of Khameni, Ahmadinejad and their cohorts. The pressure on them on those days simply cannot be measured."

1135 GMT: Videos, Protests in Memory of Montazeri. We've posted the first videos of demonstrations in memory of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, and we also have put up the video of his October criticism that the Supreme Leader was not worthy to be a marja (senior cleric worthy of emulation).

1110 GMT: The Latest on Montazeri's Death. We have latest developments in a separate entry. One notable political move: the pro-Government newspaper Raja News is using Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's passing to attack Hashemi Rafsanjani, claiming the Grand Ayatollah was working with the "gang" of Rafsanjani's son Mehdi Hashemi.

NEW Iran Document: Karroubi Responds to Threat of Arrest
NEW Latest Iran Video: Montazeri’s Criticism of Supreme Leader Khamenei (October 2009)
NEW Latest Iran Video: Demonstrations in Memory of Montazeri (20 December)
NEW Iran Urgent: Ayatollah Montazeri Has Died
Iran Analysis: RegimeFail?
Iran Special: Austin Heap on “The Attack on Twitter”
Latest Iran Video: Mehdi Karroubi Interview with BBC (17 December)
The Latest from Iran (19 December): After the Mythical “Millions”

1100 GMT: Karroubi Responds to Threat of Arrest. We've posted Mehdi Karroubi's letter responding sharply to the threat of Iran's head of judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, that he has enough evidence to arrest the cleric and other opposition leaders.

0825 GMT: Sane'i Message for Ashura. Ayatollah Yusuf Sane'i has spoken to students about the protests during the holy month of Moharram and specifically on the day of Ashura (27 December), reiterating the need for non-violent demonstration: “If you respond to violence with violence then your reform movement will not have any result....Persist on getting your rights and be present anywhere and in any place that is talk of defending the oppressed.” He added that Imam Hossein will protect those who are mourning for him.

Grand Ayatollah Saanei repeatedly upheld both the image of Imam Hossein, whose death is marked by Ashura, and the ideals of Ayatollah Khomeini: “We wanted of the revolution a government come to power that protects the nation’s rights and that was what Imam and people sacrificed for....Powers will never survive by oppression and tyranny.”

0800 GMT: We are providing rolling coverage of this morning's breaking news of the death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, 87, one of the most prominent clerical figures in post-1979 Iran and a vocal opponent of the Ahmadinejad Government and Supreme Leader. Most of the reaction is marking his death with sadness and tributes, but there is already some discussion of whether this news will hinder the opposition, as it loses one of its most powerful (if politically ostracised) voices, or boosts it, as Montazeri becomes a symbol for the cause of fighting injustice and oppression in the name of Islam.

The news overtakes a number of moves on both the Government and opposition sides. The regime moved yesterday to limit some of the post-election political damage from abuse of detainees, confirming that three had died from beatings in Kahrizak Prison and that 12 officials have been indicted for alleged abuses.

Perhaps more importantly, Iranian ministries are scrambling to repair the damage from Friday's mini-march that failed to establish Government legitimacy. The Ministry of Islamic Culture issued warnings to five newspapers (Abrar, Andishye-Noe, Jahan-Eghtesad, Etemad, and Mardom-Saalaari) for “not giving enough coverage” of the rallies, ostensibly organised to protest the burning of Ayatollah Khomeini's picture on 16 Azar (7 December).

Iran Special LiveBlog: Ayatollah Montazeri Has Died

UPDATE 2225 GMT: Rah-e-Sabz has published what it claims is the circular issued by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance on coverage of Montazeri's death. It states that reference should be made to Montazeri's differences with Ayatollah Khomeini, but there should be no mention of his political career.

There are also stories that newspapers have been taken off printing presses to be altered. So far only Etelaat has a full obituary of Montazeri. so far.

Latest Iran Video: Montazeri’s Criticism of Supreme Leader Khamenei (October 2009)
Latest Iran Video: Demonstrations in Memory of Montazeri (20 December)
The Latest from Iran (20 December): Montazeri Death; Regime Scrambles for Legitimacy

1710 GMT: "Following the announcements made by a number of Grand Ayatollahs inviting public to mourn the departure of the great shia scholar and noble combatant, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, in a joint statement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi declared Monday to be a national mourning day and invited the grieving public to attend Grand Ayatollah Montazeri’s funeral which will be held (then)."

1650 GMT: Ahmad Qabel, a religious scholar and one of Montazeri's disciples of the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, has been arrested while en route to Qom from Mashhad. Qabel is an outspoken critic of the Supreme Leader. There is no information about Qabel's captors or where he is being held.

Meanwhile, some political activists and journalists are claiming that security agents on Sunday afternoon have threatened to arrest them if they participate in Montazeri's funeral.

1635 GMT: Both Mir Hossein Mousavi (text in Persian and English) and Mehdi Karroubi have published their condolences over the death of Montazeri.

1555 GMT: Enduring America's Mr Smith has some sharp observations on the messages of the Supreme Leader and Hashemi Rafsanjani (1540 and 1545 GMT):

The Leader's message is not really congratulatory: he was forced to act (after half a day's delay, compared to the senior theologians who went to Montazeri's house in Qom), and he refers to the incident that led to Montazeri's dismissal in 1989. He essentially states that Montazeri did Khomeini wrong on that issue and reserves judgement for God. Khamenei couldn't stay silent on the issue of his death, but his message is anything but congratulatory.

Same for Hashemi Rafsanjani: his message is terse and quite dry, as it was Rafsanjani himself who engineered Montazeri's dismissal. His condolences contain nothing about Montazeri's political activities, (which spanned some 50 years, and notes only his theologian qualities, saying that "the seminary system and Islamic society will miss his presence".

So, all in all, these two are messages who were forcibly spat out, rather than being heartfelt

1545 GMT: And now the message from the Supreme Leader....It refers to Montazeri's important role in the early years of the Islamic Republic:

[He was a] well-versed jurist and a prominent master....Many disciples have benefited greatly from him....Ayatollah Montazeri spent a long period of his life serving the late founder of the Islamic Revolution and made many efforts and suffered much hardship for advancing this cause.

However, Khamenei also mentions the incident that led to the cleric's dismissal in 1989.

1540 GMT: Hashemi Rafsanjani's condolence message for Montazeri is carefully framed, omitting any reference to the cleric's political activities and instead limiting itself to the religious sphere: "The seminary system and Islamic society will miss his presence."

1535 GMT: Both Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have confirmed that they will attend Montazeri's funeral tomorrow.

1525 GMT: Back from an appearance with Al Jazeera English on another topic to catch up with developments. Both Ayatollah Sane'i and former President Mohammad Khatami have issued public condolences.

1205 GMT: Pictures indicate that the city of Najafabad has shut down, with all shops closed, in memory of Montazeri.

1155 GMT: The regime seems to be almost panicked in its response to the news of Montazeri's death. EA sources report that initially the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture ordered newspapers to ignore it. When this proved impossible, outlets like Raja News and Fars News insulted Montazeri by dropping his titles and emphasising his "support of positions against the Islamic system".

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting finally mentioned Montazeri's death in its 1 p.m. bulletin, belittling the cleric and using an interview with his physician to establish that Montazeri had died of natural causes.

1100 GMT: Reports that Montazeri's funeral will be Monday, 9 a.m. local time.

The pro-Government Raja News has announced the death of "Hossein Ali Montazeri" in a derogatory article, dropping any clerical title and denouncing Montazeri for working with and sheltering the "gang" of Mehdi Hashemi, the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.

1030 GMT: Parleman News reports that Montazeri’s followers are moving --- from Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Najaf-Abad and other cities --- toward his home in the holy city of Qom to pay their respects. There are also gatherings in the homes of Grand Ayatollahs Mousavi-Ardebili, Shobeiri-Zanjani, Bayat-Zanjani, Sane'i, and Amini.

0800 GMT: Radio Farda has the Persian transcript and audio of Ayatollah Montazeri's last public statement, delivered on 11 December as he accepted a human rights award.

0730 GMT: Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's website is not available to confirm the news of his passing. The Associated Press posts, however, that his grandson has verified initial reports, and his son Ahmad has reportedly said the same to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

We awake this morning to the news, from the Iranian Students News Agency, that Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri has died.

Montazeri, 87, was one of the most prominent clerics in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In the 1980s he was the designated successor to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, until he was sidelined because of political and religious divisions and a falling-out with Khomeini. Ayatollah Khameini eventually became Supreme Leader. Montazeri was isolated and then placed under house arrest after clashes with Khamenei.

In recent months, Montazeri was one of the most vocal supporters of the opposition movement, going as far as to criticise the legimitacy of the Supreme Leader. For example, at the end of October, he refused to commemorate the birthday of Imam Reza, the 8th Shia Imam, as a protest:

Since many of our beloved scholars, those who are not only faithful individuals but also served this revolution and country passionately, are unfortunately in prison for false accusations; and to show solidarity and sympathy with the respected families of these loved ones, we did not hold a celebration today....During Shah’s time because many people were under oppression, Imam Khomeini announced not to hold the ceremony for the Birthday of the hidden Imam.

On 11 December, the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran named Montazeri as its Human Rights Activist of the Year. In his acceptance speech, Montazeri said, "None of those [aggressive actions by the Iranian Government] are legal."

As he became the most vocal high-ranking clerical critic of the Iranian Government after the 12 June election, Montazeri caught the attention of international media. In October, the BBC had an e-mail interview with Montazeri on Islam and the legitimacy of the Iranian Government and Islamic Republic. On 21 November, Michael Slackman of The New York Times published a profile, "Cleric Wields Religion to Challenge Iran’s Theocracy".

Iran Document: Karroubi Responds to Threat of Arrest

From the Facebook page supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi. Karroubi's letter is in response to the claims made last week by the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, that there is "enough evidence" to try the leaders of the opposition for inciting post-election unrest:

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, assumes that today the civil protest of the people of Iran depends or relies on an individual and, by eliminating or removing Mehdi Karroubi or Mir Hossein Mousavi, this movement will diminish or be repressed.

We witnessed that, with the same assumption, they arrested a group of political figures who have served the country and revolution, who had been ministers, deputy ministers, or members of Parliament, along with some journalists and a great number of people, in the middle of the night. They took them to prisons and put them under pressure and held show trials, but this movement not only did not stop but even strengthened. It is hard for them to accept this reality that this movement is spontaneous and is formed based on firm beliefs....

I was and will be a small servant of the people and as you know, such baseless remarks [made by the head of the judiciary] not only won’t make my determination weak in defending the rights of innocent and those who have been oppressed but rather will make it stronger....Sadegh Larijani thinks that by threatening and intimidating and talking about made-up files in the judiciary system, Mehdi Karoubi will be scared and will shiver from fear. No! Mehdi Karroubi stands behind the promise he has made to the people....

I wish instead of saying such dreadful and political remarks, Ayatollah Larijani would pay some attention to the justice and the judiciary system in the country and would take care of the Kahrizak case [the prison in which detained protesters were abused and killed] and would investigate the suspicious death of the young physician at Kahrizak [Ramin Pourandarjan]....I wish instead of all these remarks he would investigate, in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, what kind of language is being used by its interrogators.