The rivalry between Raeisi and Ghalibaf intensifies – Part 2

The conflict between Raeisi and Ghalibaf is escalating

According to Iran Gate, the differences between the government and the parliament have reached a point where it seems they need to prepare themselves for a full-scale political war between the executive and legislative powers before the parliamentary elections in February 2024. As we get closer to the election season, we are witnessing an increase in conflicts between hardline and moderate fundamentalists. These conflicts, which have their roots in the summer of 2022, have now entered a new phase.

To better understand the current political landscape, which is currently under the complete control of fundamentalists and stability, it is necessary to go back to the 2021 elections and observe the activities of key figures in this movement. Of course, we should not overlook the impact of the statements made by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. This report delves into the roots of these conflicts and analyzes recent developments.

Who are the super revolutionaries?

In June 2022, during a meeting with revolutionary representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Ayatollah Khamenei used the term ‘super-revolutionaries’ for the first time to describe certain radical figures in Behesht-e Zahra. In this speech, he praised the 11th Parliament as the best and most revolutionary parliament since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, while condemning the behavior of the ‘super-revolutionaries’ who are mainly appointed to the Front of Steadfastness.

Following this important and strange meeting, some moderate figures within the principled camp dared to take a stand against the active figures in the Front of Steadfastness and criticize them. In fact, the month of June of the previous year marked the beginning of the conflicts between Ghalibaf and Raeisi, which have been intensifying day by day. The keyword ‘super-revolutionary’ has caused the radical faction, which has a strong presence in Ibrahim Raisi’s government, to adopt aggressive positions against the faction close to Ghalibaf and the pragmatic conservatives.

Putting aside formalities and breaking with conventions.

After the leadership of the Islamic Republic gave the green light for the attack on the Super Revolutionaries and the hardliners turned their arsenal towards the members of the Stability Front, the Sismuni Gate case reached its peak. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the target of this case, finally couldn’t resist and in the autumn of 1401, he made harsh statements against the Super Revolutionaries, accusing them of inaction. In these statements, he introduced the Super Revolutionaries as individuals who were unknown until yesterday and now claim to be something, and he criticized the members of the Stability Front in the parliament sharply and concisely.

In these statements, Ghalibaf had said that we should not be lazy and speak without thinking, and we should not mention unfinished matters and put our own name in it. We look at the Revolutionaries, as they say, some are Super Revolutionaries. We look at everything they have done, they have done nothing, but they demand from everyone. In other remarks that he made shortly after, he also says that the revolution does not progress by making empty and idle speeches.

However, this verbal war did not remain limited to the parliament and extended to the disputes between the government and the parliament. It went so far that Seyyed Reza Fatemi Amin, who had been behind the parliamentary leadership, was brought to the public arena with the green light of Ghalibaf, and the Minister of Industry of the 13th government became the first victim of the leadership under the guidance of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Principlists and the 1402 Election Crisis

These conflicts have continued to this day, to the point where they are currently in the most severe situation. On the one hand, there is no prospect of resolving these differences and tensions, considering the statements made by Sadeq Mahsouli, the Secretary-General of the Steadfast Front. It seems that Shahrivar 1402 will be recognized as a critical turning point, just like Khordad 1401, as after this official declaration of war by the Steadfast Front against the moderate and pragmatist faces, we are witnessing complex movements from both sides.

However, it seems that the 1402 elections can only be a cold water on the fragmented body of the principlist movement, a body that was predicted to become more cohesive with the arrival of the Raisi government than ever before. But developments have taken such a turn that currently unprecedented internal conflicts within the principlist movement have become apparent and even led to serious divisions.

However, experts and analysts believe that after the end of the elections, we will witness a temporary calm. But after a short period of time, and until the new representatives are established in the parliament, we will once again see an escalation of conflicts and disputes. This conflict and dispute, considering the possibility of the maximum elimination of the ultra-revolutionaries, will be more intense and controversial than what we are currently witnessing.