A top Iranian military official on August 9 called to put main opposition leaders on trial over the turmoil gripping the Islamic Republic since last month’s disputed presidential elections. “The question is who were the main planners and agents of this coup,” Yadollah Javani, head of the Revolutionary Guards’ political bureau, wrote in Sobh-e Sadegh, the Guards’ weekly journal. “What is the role of (Mohamed) Khatami, (Mir Hossein) Mousavi and (Mehdi) Karroubi in this coup?,” he said, referring to the former president and the two defeated presidential candidates. “If they are the main agents, which is the case, judiciary and security officials should go after them, arrest them, try them and punish them.” At least 30 people were killed in massive protests following the June 12 elections, which saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected in landslide. Reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters have refused the poll results, saying the elections were marred by massive rigging. Iran has put on trial about 110 people over the post-election unrest, including British and French embassy staff and a French woman lecturer. Iranian authorities have accused foreign governments of plotting to destabilise the country.
The Guards’ political bureau head said those behind the post-election unrest should be punished. “If Mousavi, Karoubi and Khatami are main suspects behind the soft revolution in Iran, which they are, we expect the judiciary … to go after them, arrest them, put them on trial and punish them,” he said.