Murder Of Iranian Director Sparks Outcry
The brutal murders of renowned Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar has ignited a wave of condemnation of the country's dire security situation.
The brutal murders of renowned Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar has ignited a wave of condemnation of the country's dire security situation.
Prominent lawyer and rights defendant Nasrin Sotoudeh raised questions about the potential political motive behind the murder, calling for a referendum to establish a stable government. Mehrjui was notorious for his anti-regime views with suspicions laying at the door of the regime's own security apparatus.
She pointed out that no matter who the culprits, the current government appears incapable of ensuring its citizens' security.
According to Faraz Daily news website, the perpetrators cut the throats of the pair and broke their arms and legs. Mehrjui’s head was clobbered with a blunt object and his wife was almost beheaded.
Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, the spokesperson for the House of Cinema, declared a three-day period of public mourning starting from Monday to pay respects to Mehrjui. Additionally, all film projects across the nation are slated to be suspended for a day during the funeral procession for the revered director.
Renowned international actress and political activist, Golshifteh Farahani, directed a message to the Iranian authorities, referring to the punishment many have faced for speaking out against the regime over the years and the mass censorship which has only deepened since the Women, Life, Freedom protests. "How much do you torment Iranian artists," she said.
Haniyeh Tavassoli, a well-known actress who was detained during the 2021 protests, expressed her anguish with a poignant statement: "We are unfortunate. That's it. No further explanation is needed."
President Ebrahim Raisi claims to have directed a full investigation with reports indicating that seven suspects have been apprehended in connection with the murder so far.
Faraz Daily, an online newspaper reminded readers that Ahmadinejad used to deny the Holocaust and asked why he has been "silent in the face of Israel's crimes in Gaza" more than one week after Hamas's bloody attack.
The former president was in Guatemala during the past week to take part in a conference about water resources. However, he came back to Tehran on Saturday evening. Faraz Daily asked whether Ahmadinejad is afraid of taking an anti-Israeli stance under current circumstances, or he does not want to harm his popularity ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The reason for Ahmadinejad and others, including former hardline nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and their like-minded ultraconservatives in the Paydari Party, who have been criticized by the publication, is that these political figures may only echo Khamenei's praise and support for Hamas's atrocity and come under pressure from the Iranian public opinion that overwhelmingly supports Israel as it is evident from their social media posts, or risk being demonized and even prosecuted by Khamenei's hardline supporters.
The reason Ahmadinejad, along with others like former hardline nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and their fellow ultraconservatives in the Paydari Party, have avoided to speak out is because if they do, they would be compelled to echo Khamenei's praise and support for Hamas's actions. However, the Iranian public opinion largely supports Israel, and they are caught between a rock and a hard place.
During the past week, former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami and former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in social media posts and press interviews supported Khamenei's positions and immediately came under fire by the public for sympathizing with Hamas.
However, Faraz daily noted that although the state television in Iran, which is the closest media outlet to Khamenei, reflected Khatami and Zarif's opinions about Hamas, it continued its usual criticism of both Reformist figures. Khamenei’s hardliner loyalists do not miss an opportunity to attack anyone who might be slightly independent of the ruler’s rhetoric and confrontational policies.
The media coverage of Ahmadinejad and Jalili's silence may be an attempt by Iran's hardliners to pressure them and their like-minded politicians into expressing support for Khamenei. Since the 2022 protests, political backing for Khamenei has mainly come from staunch hardliners who support him, expecting his favor in return.
Former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also attempted to remain non-committal. He posted a typically equivocal tweet that was apparently about the war in Israel but didn't explicitly express support for Khamenei pro-Hamas rhetoric. Later, he deleted the tweet and shared an audio message on X, which was equally vague and did not provide the clear support for Khamenei that hardliners desired.
Centrist daily Sazandegi on Saturday criticized Ahmadinejad and Jalili as well Iranian Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi (2003) and Narges Mohammadi (2023) for their silence about Gaza. However, the daily did not say why the members of Executives of Sazandegi Party, to which the newspaper belongs, have not been openly taking a stance on the Gaza war and why those mentioned in the article need to rush to express their opinion.
The purpose of the newspaper for attacking these individuals was possibly to show its loyalty to Khamenei in a bid to secure his approval for the candidacy of its affiliated party members in the upcoming March parliamentary elections.
