Iran rejects ‘fictional narratives’ of power grab after protest killings
Al Jazeera
Former President Hassan Rouhani denies reports he wants to replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, blames US and Israel.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have rejected reports that a former president tried to grab power at the height of last month’s nationwide protests and characterised the claims as “purely fictional narratives”.
A French media report saying former moderate President Hassan Rouhani gathered influential clerics, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, and other figures, like former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, to take power was “likely based on false information and speculative accounts provided to the author”, Iran’s embassy in Paris said on Wednesday.
“This article is a clear example of an organised campaign to produce and disseminate false and fabricated information aimed at damaging Iran’s image. It holds no real value or credibility,” it said in a statement released by state media.
The report said Rouhani’s alleged attempt to overthrow 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and rebrand the Islamic Republic failed after Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani refused to support it. Larijani has now been given expanded powers in case of war with the United States, according to Western media reports this week.
Rouhani and Zarif were placed under arrest shortly after thousands were killed on the nights of January 8 and 9 during the anti-establishment protests, according to the French report.
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