Lowest Popularity Ratings for Ahmadinejad ‎

Results of New Surveys - 2008.10.21

While media outlets close to the administration have been attempting in recent weeks to ‎exaggerate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s popularity to be greater than ever before, the latest ‎survey conducted by the Islamic Republic Majlis Strategic Research Center demonstrates ‎that Iran’s president is not only suffering from very low popularity and approval ratings, ‎but also many of the participants in the survey regard his administration as a failure. ‎

Alborz news website reported yesterday that, according to a survey conducted by the ‎Majlis Strategic Resarch Center, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is suffering from his lowest ‎popularity ratings since being elected president in 2005. ‎

This website, which is affiliated with the right-wing faction, announced: “According to ‎another survey held jointly by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Republic of ‎Iran Broadcasting, 70 percent of the Iranian population are willing to vote for Seyyed ‎Mohammad Khatami if he runs in the upcoming presidential election while only 13 ‎percent of the population are willing for vote for Ahmadinejad again. ‎

The Alborz website did not explain how it accessed survey results. Nevertheless, the ‎website “triboon” alluded to the report, noting, “The survey was carried out in Tehran ‎and large cities showing that that Iranian president is suffering from extremely low ‎popularity rates among Iranians residing in these cities. According to survey results, 64 ‎percent of respondents to the question about how successful the Ahmadinejad ‎Administration has been rated the ninth administration’s performance below average. ‎More than 50 percent of respondents rated the administration as “unsuccessful” or ‎‎“highly unsuccessful.” ‎

Similarly, the news website Parsineh wrote regarding the Majlis Strategic Research ‎Center’s survey result: “In another part of this survey 78 percent of respondents described ‎the seventh Majlis’s supervision on the administration as ‘weal’ or ‘very weak.’ ‎Meanwhile, 83 percent of respondents to the survey responded negatively to whether they ‎would vote again for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and announced that they would not vote ‎again for the current president of the Islamic Republic.” ‎

More than 40 thousand people from various social, economic and educational ‎backgrounds ranging from pre-diploma to doctoral degrees participated in this survey. ‎

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Tehran Police Chief Promoted

Radan Replaces Ahmadi-Moghaddam

An informed official in Iran’s policeforce revealed the promotion of Tehran Police Chief ‎Ahmad Reza Radan. According to this source, Radan is now promoted to be the deputy ‎chief of the National Security Forces.‎

Although several news sources including the news website "Asr-e Iran" in recent days ‎had predicted that Tehran’s Police Chief would be replaced, but unlike their prediction ‎which associated the change to Ahmad Reza Radan's insistence on the implementation of ‎plans to boost public security (very severe punishment of thugs in the public), it was later ‎revealed that Ahmad Reza Radan is not only not demoted, but is actually promoted for ‎‎"successful implementation of his duties" to serve as deputy chief of the national security ‎forces. ‎

General Mehdi Ahmadi, the communications director of the State Security Forces, told ‎the Fars news agency yesterday that effective Monday, Ahmad Reza Radan would ‎replace General Zolfaghari as deputy chief of the State Security Forces and General ‎Azizollah Rajabzadeh would replace Radan as the Tehran Police Chief. ‎

This police official did not reveal the details of personnel changes but noted that "General ‎Zolfaghari is attending university to continue his education" and for that reason Radan is ‎replacing him. ‎

Radan is among the members of the joint committee established by the police and ‎judiciary. Following several altercations that took place at the gas pumps in response to ‎rising gas prices, Radan, along with Tehran's Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi, ‎unveiled a plan to boos public security in Tehran and several provinces on the basis of ‎which many suspected individuals have been sentenced to prison time or execution in ‎recent months without due process. In the latest round of such executions, 29 individuals ‎were executed in Iran during one day last June. ‎

Radan’s promotion comes just a day after he insisted on continuing the plan to boost ‎public security. As reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency, noting that the "plan ‎to boost public security is not stoppable," Radan said, "The police would firmly and fully ‎confront thugs and gangsters, persons who disrespect women, drug traders and thieves." ‎

Associates of Ayatollah Montazeri Arrested

Following Public Criticism

‎Less than two weeks after grand ayatollah Montazeri spoke to a group of his followers on ‎the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr, celebrated at the end of the fasting month of Ramazan, in ‎which he criticized Iran’s rulers and the administration, pressures on him, his office and ‎his home have been growing. Soon after a member of his office, Mojtaba Lotfi was ‎arrested, the house of another associates, this time his son-in-law Mojtaba Feiz was ‎searched by agents from Qom’s intelligence bureau.‎

As has now been the practice, a public prayer session was held in the city of Qom under ‎the prayer leadership of ayatollah Ibrahim Amini last Wednesday on the occasion of Eid-‎al-Fitr. At the same time, grand ayatollah Montazeri, who also holds his own separate ‎public prayers for his followers, held his session in his office, which was attended by ‎several hundred individuals. After the congregational prayers, the cleric’s public talk ‎turned to a criticism of President Ahmadinejad’s government. Quoting the president from ‎a talk he had in New York that Iran was “the freest country in the world”, Montazeri ‎asked, “Why do your words not match your deeds inside the country. You call Iran the ‎freest country in the world when you are outside, but inside Iran you deprive us of our ‎basic and legal rights.”‎

‎“When someone like me who played a key role in the victory of the Islamic revolution ‎‎[of 1979] is treated in this [oppressive] fashion, while our buildings are confiscated and ‎our words are censored, you can imagine what they do the regular folks. If these ‎gentlemen [i.e. authorities and officials] know of these actions, and still claim to have ‎freedom, then you are doing the wrong thing. If you do not know what is going, then ‎things are even worse,” Montazeri continued, saying that he prayed to God to give reason ‎and thought to authorities so that what they say and do is based on reason and thought.‎

Some observers believe that because of Montazeri’s age, illness and large number of ‎followers, the regime no longer pursues a plan to suppress the senior cleric, but recent ‎days have demonstrated that measures continue to be taken by authorities against him. ‎Mojtaba Lotfi who was responsible for communications in the ayatollah’s office, was ‎arrested on orders from the special clerical court by agents from Qom’s intelligence ‎bureau, after the critical speech by the ayatollah. Following the arrest, Lotfi’s house was ‎searched.‎

Last week, the house of Mojtaba Feiz, the ayatollah’s son in law was searched as well, ‎but no arrests were made.‎

While some view the recent arrest and searches related to the ayatollah’s recent critical ‎comments about the administration and its policies, others associate the events to the ‎forthcoming presidential elections, and the visits of Montazeri by some reformist ‎presidential hopefuls. Montazeri has called on the reformers to unite in announcing their ‎presidential candidates and present a single nominee.‎