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Iran Election Secret Message Sparks Controversy

Iranian Minister of Culture Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili submits his candidacy papers for the elections (DPA)
Iranian Minister of Culture Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili submits his candidacy papers for the elections (DPA)
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Iran Election Secret Message Sparks Controversy

Iranian Minister of Culture Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili submits his candidacy papers for the elections (DPA)
Iranian Minister of Culture Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili submits his candidacy papers for the elections (DPA)

In a surprising move, some current government ministers have sent a secret message to Iran's Guardian Council, pushing for the nomination of Culture Minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili.

A picture of the letter, signed by several ministers, has spread widely on social media.

This development comes as the Guardian Council reviews 80 candidates for the upcoming presidential elections following the death of President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

In addition to Esmaili, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, and Minister of Labor and Welfare Sowlat Mortazavi have also thrown their hats into the ring.

A leaked secret message from top officials expresses support for Esmaili to lead the next government in line with Raisi’s principles, pending approval by the Iranian people.

Reports suggest ministers signed under pressure from Esmaili and Vice President Mohsen Mansouri.

Despite government efforts to discredit it, the letter’s leak angered Iran’s official IRNA agency, which called for legal action against its publication.

Officials warned of legal repercussions for those spreading the letter, citing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s call to avoid defamation during elections.

They also noted recent judicial actions against those tarnishing the electoral atmosphere.

A website linked to a hardline group suggested the letter aimed to pressure the Guardian Council into considering Esmaili favorably.

The news site “Khabar Online,” linked to former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, called the letter’s release “unexpected.”

Iranian TV aired a short statement from the head of the Guardian Council, Ahmad Jannati, denying any pressure, saying, “No one can pressure us. Such talk doesn't affect us... We’ve chosen our path and will stick to it.”

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World

Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
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Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)

After the successful ousting of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing the grounds to dismiss Army chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, reports in Tel Aviv revealed.
The PM’s intentions were visible through a series of preliminary measures. In a nine-minute video statement posted to social media on Saturday, Netanyahu claimed the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft and leak of classified documents, including by his aides, aimed at harming him and “an entire political camp.”
He then asserted that vital classified documents weren’t reaching him. “I am the prime minister. I need to receive important classified documents, and indeed sometimes important information doesn’t reach me.”
Netanyahu then defended his former spokesman Eli Feldstein, who is accused of leaking a classified document in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza.
Last Thursday, Feldstein was charged with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state.
The PM considered accusations against his spokesman as a “witch hunt” against his aides and Israelis who support him.
For the past 14 years, the Israeli right had run a large-scale incitement campaign against the security services. But in the last year, this camp increased its attack, particularly against the Chief of Staff, Halevi, who believes it is necessary to stop the war and ink a deal with Hamas.
The right-wing “Mida” website published a report entitled “Herzi Halevi’s Political Sabotage,” describing the man’s “rising against the Israeli political leadership.”
The report said Halevi's inappropriate behavior started during the first weeks of the war when the Army announced it was “ready for a ground attack,” accusing Netanyahu of delaying such an operation.
Mida then listed several other instances in which it described Netanyahu as a great leader who ordered strong attacks and deep military operations. It then accused the army of refraining from following his orders.
The report concludes that the “freeing of hostages file was the straw that broke the camel's back.”
In an April 2024 speech marking the six-month anniversary of the war, Halevi has said that it is time to end the war in Gaza and reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, while Netanyahu took a hardline stance, refusing to compromise on what he called “red lines.”
The Madi website also criticized Halevi for saying that the government was responsible for ordering the army of again operating in Jabalia, a decision that resulted in significant Israeli casualties.
“Halevi should have been dismissed as soon as the government was formed, and this was Netanyahu's mistake. But it is not too late to fix it. You can't win wars with rebel chiefs of staff,” the website wrote.