Mohammad Khatami: We are Far from Free, Competitive Elections

Khatami during the seventh anniversary ceremony of the death of his ally, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in Tehran last month. (Jamaran)
Khatami during the seventh anniversary ceremony of the death of his ally, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in Tehran last month. (Jamaran)
TT
20

Mohammad Khatami: We are Far from Free, Competitive Elections

Khatami during the seventh anniversary ceremony of the death of his ally, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in Tehran last month. (Jamaran)
Khatami during the seventh anniversary ceremony of the death of his ally, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in Tehran last month. (Jamaran)

Former Iranian reformist president Mohammad Khatami told political activists that his country is “far from free and competitive elections,” just a few days before the start of the legislative election campaign at the beginning of March.

Senior Iranian officials, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called for a massive participation in the elections, which are the first after the popular protests that shook the country in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Reformist websites quoted Khatami as telling members of the reformist Islamic Iran Solidarity Party that Khamenei’s recent statements “could have brought us closer to the desired elections, but unfortunately the opposite happened.”

He explained that free, fair, and competitive election “is a vote in which not only the reformists and conservatives, but also all other Iranians can have their own candidates.”

Khatami pointed to widespread dissatisfaction among “educated youth, elites, and over 50 percent of the population who abstained from voting in the 2020 and 2021 elections,” saying millions have cast blank votes.

He expressed hope that the government takes the “dissatisfactions seriously and paves the way for free and fair elections in the future.”

The reformist movement has not decided on participating in the elections in light of divisions among influential figures after many prominent candidates were prevented from running in the electoral race.

Some parties of the reformist and moderate movement talk about supporting independent candidates to confront the conservative majority. Those are represented by Ali Motahari, the former deputy speaker of parliament and Ali Larijani’s son-in-law.

Motahari has obtained approval, four years after he was prevented from running in the parliamentary race.

Meanwhile, Mohsen Armin, deputy head of the Reform Front, criticized a statement published by 110 reform activists last week, describing them as a “minority,” as reported by a reformist channel on Telegram.

In the statement, which was widely republished by government media, the activists called for participation in the elections to “open a window” in the conservatives’ dominance of Parliament.

Armin warned of divisions among reformists, saying: “Participation in the elections does not end with any result that guarantees the public good.”

“The majority of reformists demand that participation in the elections bring about a radical change in the political system.”



Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
TT
20

Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military's statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation.

The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Pakistani authorities often accuse India of backing outlawed groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Pakistani Taliban who commit violence in Pakistan. Such accusations have increased since a shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistani troops killed 54 insurgents in the same area in April.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.