TEHRAN -- Hojjatoleslam Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari has said that defending the concept of velayat-e faqih (rule by the supreme jurisprudent) was the main ideal of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini.

The senior member of the reformist Association of Combatant Clerics made the remarks in an interview with the Mehr News Agency on Monday.
Reformist leaders are loyal to the principle of velayat-e faqih, said Mousavi-Lari, who was the Iranian interior minister for six years during the administration of Mohammad Khatami.
On the recent incidents in which some protesters disrespected Islamic values, he stated that those who tore up the poster of Imam Khomeini on Student Day and the people who disrespected religious sanctities on Ashura day, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), are not loyal to the Islamic establishment and are not reformists or principlists.
He criticized certain groups for their illogical and extremist acts and said that slandering key political figures and the people who made the Islamic revolution is a saddening and serious action.
He went on to say that newcomers and elements who did not play a role in the revolution have taken control of affairs and have isolated the veterans of the revolution.
However, figures like Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have always been loyal to the system and the Supreme Leader, he added.
“But do you see how Hashemi, who is one of the pillars of the establishment, is treated?”
And certain newspapers have leveled harsh criticism and accusations at Mohammad Khatami, who was tolerant toward people of various political persuasions, he said.
But Khatami has always sought the implementation of the Constitution and has always supported the principle of velayat-e faqih, he added.
“Why is no legal body dealing with irregularities and offenses committed by certain media outlets that are slandering and insulting the recognized revolutionary figures, clerics, and even some marja taqlids?”
A marja taqlid is a senior Shia cleric who is regarded as a source of emulation.
From an ethical viewpoint, media outlets that receive public funding should not take sides in favor of a particular political group or figure and should defend the interests of the nation, he opined.
However, certain figures are trying to impose their biased interpretation of the Constitution on others and cannot tolerate opposing views, he noted.
Despite the incompetence in the management of the country’s resources, the deadlocks in the efforts to resolve the issues facing the country, the failure of foreign policy, and the undesirable economic situation, which has arisen due to mismanagement, some people in power have attributed the nation’s problems to foreigners and their domestic political rivals, he stated.
“Although we don’t deny that Iran has some inimical enemies, we believe that the unwise policies adopted by some officials have allowed the enemies’ plots to be successful.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said reformist leaders like Khatami have called on people to make efforts to create unity and empathy among political groups and have said the country’s situation should be normalized in order to lay the groundwork for the exchange of views in a calm atmosphere.
“I believe that the extremists should be driven out of the system to promote social cohesion. If we control the extremists, the current turbulent situation will calm down and wise figures will be able to resolve the current issues facing the country,” he stated.
Asked which principlists could help efforts to promote national cohesion, he said some senior principlists like Ali-Akbar Nategh-Nouri, Hassan Rohani, Ali Larijani, Ali Motahhari, and Mohsen Rezaii can help efforts to create balance in the country