In rare public criticism of Khamenei, Mehdi Karroubi
accused Iran’s hardline top authority of abusing power and urged him to change the way he runs the Islamic Theocratic Republicbefore it is too late.
"You have been Iran’s top leader for three decades, but still speak like an opposition," Karroubi said in an open letter to Khamenei published on Saham News, the official website of his reformist political party.
By "opposition", Karroubi meant that Khamenei, head of a Shi’ite theocracy, should not be wielding ultimate power while criticizing the government of elected President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who wants to liberalize an economy dominated by the elite Revolutionary Guards and other state conglomerates.
"During the last three decades, you have eliminated the main revolutionary forces to implement your own policies, and now you should face the results of that," Karroubi added.
Karroubi, 80, a Shi’ite holy man like Khamenei, and fellow reformist Mirhossein Mousavi ran for election in 2009 and became figureheads for Iranians who staged mass protests after hardline conservative President Mahmoud
Short RoundAhmadinejad was returned to power in a vote they believed was rigged. Authorities denied this.