Iran International
Most Islamic countries on Monday celebrated the end of Ramadan but Iranians were told to fast one more day as the Supreme Leader had not sighted the new moon.
The office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other Iranian grand ayatollahs on Sunday evening said the crescent moon had not been sighted so the first of the month of Shawwal, the tent month in the Islamic lunar calendar, and the Eid would fall on Tuesday.
The Islamic month of Ramadan, therefore, became thirty days in Iran this year and twenty-nine days in other Islamic calendars. In Iran the lunar Islamic calendar is used only for religious purposes while the official calendar is an accurate solar one. Differences in the length of the month of Ramadan in Islamic countries can cause confusion.
On several occasions in the past, as in 2013 and 2020, there has been disagreement among Iran's grand ayatollahs, also called marja (source of emulation) over the sighting of the new moon with followers of each grand ayatollah holding separate Eid prayers.
The difference in marjas’ verdicts reflects their notions for "viewing the new moon". Some marjas require the crescent of the new moon to be seen with naked eye while others including Khamenei allow the use of instruments such as telescopes.
Secular Iranians, and some devout Muslims with more progressive views, often criticize traditional leaders for insisting to see the crescent when science can easily and precisely show the position of the cycle of the moon in the sky.
Khamenei appointed a special body called the "Moon-Sighting Taskforce" after taking office. The taskforce is responsible for stationing "trusted observers" across the country on the final days of Ramadan to report the sighting of the new moon to him. The taskforce receives a budget from the government for its work.
Khamenei's declaration of the viewing of the new moon, and its acceptance by other grand ayatollahs, is politically and religiously significant as it is considered as evidence of his position as the supreme authority among all Iranian marjas.
Iran's devout Shiites are free to choose which marja to follow in religious matters but not to make a public show of their marja's difference of opinion with Khamenei by holding prayer congregations other than those held by the state.
On the day of Eid, Khamenei usually leads the prayers in Tehran and delivers one of his most significant sermons of the year. In recent years the authorities have insisted that Eid prayers be held throughout the country on the day designated by Khamenei.
Two years ago, Khamenei's office announced the sighting of the new moon and a public holiday but two high-ranking marjas – Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Vahid Khorasani – held on for a few hours before changing their minds and following Khamenei's lead.
Iran's Arab neighbors including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq which unlike the others has a majority Shiite population, all celebrated the Eid al-Fitr on Monday. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, however, has also declared Tuesday as Eid. The Sunni Taliban in Iran's east said Saturday evening that they had sighted the crescent moon so the Eid fell on Sunday.
According to an undeclared law, authorities expect not only Shiite leaders, but also the religious leaders of the minority Sunnis to follow Khamenei's lead about the declaration of Eid. This year, as in several instances before when the Eid was celebrated on different days in Shiite Iran and Sunni countries, the Sunni imam of Zahedan in south-eastern Iran, Molavi Abdolhamid, held his Eid prayers on Monday in tandem with other Sunni countries.
Hassan Shojaee Aliabadi the chairman of the Article 90 Committee of the Majles told Mehr news agency on Saturday, May 30, that people have repeatedly called on the committee to make sure that Rouhani would be put on trial as soon as possible. Article 90 was established many years ago to hear complaints from citizens.
The moderate news website Rouydad24 wrote: "This comes while the same parliament believes that the people's views are not important about other matters including their opposition to a bill that calls for restricting the access to social media."
The report pointed out that Lawmaker Morteza Aqa-Tehrani, a member of the ultraconservative Paydari Party has said: "Even a million signatures on a petition cannot stop the bill to restrict Internet access."
The campaign to put Rouhani on trial "as the man responsible for the country's economic problems" was launched during his presidency after former Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif (pronounced Sayf) was sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of manipulating the foreign exchange market. The verdict against Seif was later revoked, but the call to put Rouhani on trial continued with new accusations. Members of the current hardliner parliament have charged that Rouhani's "inefficiency" led to major economic problems for Iran.
The new calls for Rouhani's trial come as the country's economic problems have seriously worsened during the 10 months conservative Ebrahim Raisi has been president. The move could be his supporters' plan to blame Rouhani for the problems Raisi and his economic team have not been able to solve.
Another aspect of the issue is Iran’s stalled nuclear talks with the United States and continuing sanctions. The only person in Iran who can authorize a new agreement is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom many see as the one who is ultimately responsible for the economic crisis and inflation topping 40 percent.
During the past months nearly all prices in Iran have redoubled while Raisi ands his government have failed to control inflation. Iranian journalist Ebrahim Alizade, who is the editor of Tejarat News website, wrote in a 29 April Tweet: "Today, on the same day that President Ebrahim Raisi reassured the nation that he is constantly thinking of controlling the markets…prices of meat and car parts have gone up and the price of detergents is going to increase next week."
Despite rising prices, the Raisi administration has been constantly blaming the former government rather than trying to offer a solution. That is why economic observers believe Raisi's hardliner supporters are buying time by pursuing the idea of putting Rouhani on trial. However, even some of Raisi’s supporters criticize the government for blaming its predecessors.
Moreover, there is no indication that Article 90 Committee chairman’s remarks are true. A few days ago, some government officials were adamant that legal action has been taken against former vice president Es'haq Jahangiri, former Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and former Housing Minister Abbas Akhundi for being responsible for the economic crisis. But it was soon revealed that the claim was false.
There has been talk of a debate between Raisi and Rouhani about the state of the economy.
Rouhani is not likely to agree to take part in any debate with Raisi, but if such a debate ever takes place, he proved during the 2017 election campaigns as Raisi's rival that he is capable on unabashedly attacking Raisi and leaving him speechless, particularly as Rouhani is an intrepid speaker while Raisi can is prone to make blunders.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf claimed before the official opening of the parliament's session on Saturday that there is a "story behind the story" over the disclosures about his family's shopping spree in Turkey.
Ghalibaf said that he was against the trip to Turkey, but his family decided to go Istanbul regardless of his opposition. He explained that his wife had to accompany her daughter and son-in-law to take care of his pregnant daughter, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.
The scandal broke on April 20, when videos began circulating on social media showing Ghalibaf’s family returning from Turkey with many pieces of luggage, in what appeared to be accessories for his daughter’s baby on the way. Later more reports emerged that the family also bought two apartments in Istanbul worth $1.6 million during the trip.
He claimed that the controversy about the shopping spree was "fiction," adding that the rumors about the excess baggage was all lies and accusations.
"Many told me that that there was nothing special about the trip as it was a private visit. My family did not use diplomatic passport and did not benefit from what they were entitled to based on protocols. They travelled like all other citizens. So, they told me I did not need to take an official position on it," said Ghalibaf.
He added: "But I told them that what they did was not acceptable and that they should apologize to the people. And they did apologize immediately before anyone said anything." Ghalibaf added: "Very few people would ever do that."
However, the parliament speaker did not explain how his family could afford such a trip on his salary, when the fall in the value of the national currency has made monthly wages less than $200 for most Iranians.
Ghalibaf claimed that "some people who had political intentions continued mudslinging. All the evidence point to the fact there was a political project to tarnish my image." He asked: "How did they find out about the most private matters in my family? How confidential information was put at their disposal? And when they realized that the shopping was not anything important, they fabricated the story about buying real estate."
Ghalibaf further claimed that his political opponents were trying to tarnish the image of the parliament because Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had called it "a revolutionary parliament."
The Majles Speaker said that intelligence organizations have started an investigation the matter and I will chase the case until the end because it is the prestige and status of the Majls which is at stake.
The statement by Ghalibaf about the investigation comes while his aides including Mahmoud Razavi had charged earlier that a certain intelligence agency as behind the disclosures.
Following the meeting, some 233 lawmakers wrote a letter to call on the country's main intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Organization, to confront "those who launched the mudslinging project against Ghalibaf."
Speaking in Ghalibaf's defense, last week Hossein Ali Shahryari the chairman of the Majles Health Committee told reporters that some lawmakers including Ghalibaf are so busy that they are often not aware of what their family members are doing. Shahryari further said that Ghalibaf should not be blamed for what his family members have done.
Meanwhile, Seyyed Jafar Tashakkori Hashemi, a former aide of Ghalibaf at the Tehran City Council said Ghalibaf's family members are financially independent of the Speaker and they go abroad for shopping like some nine million other Iranians who do so every year.
Ghalibaf’s defenders also resorted to another excuse, which sounded flimsy to many Iranians. They argued that the family’s trip was a “private matter.”
The support by 233 of the parliament's 290 lawmakers, possibly indicates Khamenei’s support for Ghalibaf’s re-election as Majles Speaker for next week.