To His Excellency, the Supreme Leader of Iran,
Ayatollah Khamenei, may his shadow extend over us
After greetings and expressing respect,
I pray that God grants you a long and blessed life.
If I pray for God to prolong your noble life until the advent of Imam Mahdi (aj), this prayer would mostly be of a symbolic, emotional, and dreamy nature, similar to how we used to chant for years:
“O Lord, O Lord, preserve Khomeini until the revolution of Mahdi.”
We had repeated this chant so often that we considered death for Imam Khomeini an unimaginable matter, and the extension of his life until the appearance of Imam Mahdi had become a certainty and a heartfelt conviction for us.
How long Your Excellency will remain alive and whether your mental faculties will suffice for leadership until the end of your honorable life are questions that only God knows the answer to.
I have criticisms concerning your nearly three-decade leadership, and here I have made the most important critique the subject of this letter: I believe that over the past twenty-seven years, you have governed the country in a manner where everything leads back to you.
Our country, during your leadership, has largely relied on your person.
Your representatives in all cities, universities, military, and police centers, and nearly all administrative offices, have strived to implement your directives within their areas of responsibility.
The Guardian Council has administered all elections from start to finish with your guidance and leadership.
The state broadcaster has prioritized achieving your satisfaction and approval in creating all programs, particularly political and cultural ones.
All significant events in foreign policy have occurred with your insight or approval.
In matters of sanctions, lifting them, and specifically in the nuclear deal (JCPOA), you have guided and managed the country’s diplomatic commanders moment by moment.
In issues related to Syria, Iraq, and some similar matters, you have personally managed foreign policy events, with the government and parliament playing a minor role.
The public is almost uninformed about these matters.
Important intelligence and security issues in the country have been under your supervision and main concern throughout these years.
The judiciary considers its main duty to be implementing your heartfelt wishes, and in important cases and regarding well-known figures, reports are presented to you, and you issue the necessary directives.
In all parliamentary terms, your insight and role have been decisive in passing laws and significant parliamentary events.
The management of seminaries across the country has been in accordance with your views.
Friday prayer leaders, all appointed by you, have clarified your statements for the people every week in pulpits across all cities and regions.
Economic policies implemented during all administrations have been influenced by your guidance and recommendations, such as the emphasis on the resistance economy in this government.
For these reasons, I always pray that God grants you a long and blessed life because I believe that if you were to unexpectedly depart this world, an event would occur in this country that I would describe as apocalyptic in nature.
Some events that might occur with your departure are as follows:
1) Chaos
2) Uprising of the hungry and those discontent with their livelihoods
3) Outbreak of civil war
4) Conflict between the Revolutionary Guards and the people, followed by internal disputes within the Guards
5) Confrontation between the Revolutionary Guards and the regular army
6) Confusion and indecision among the police as the country’s primary security pillar
7) The rise of secessionist drums among ethnic groups
8) Potential interference and exploitation by foreign governments
9) Rebellion and lawlessness among hooligans
10) Revenge-seeking by those harmed by the revolution and the Islamic Republic
11) An eruption of long-held grievances, especially among the youth
12) Attacks by some people on clerics and known guards
13) Attacks by adversaries against your relatives and close associates with revenge in mind
Dear leader, if you consider the above scenarios to be mere fantasies of my imaginative mind, then nothing more, but if you do not dismiss these possibilities, I would like to suggest that there are ways to prevent all these undesirable events, and we must seize the opportunity now for a peaceful tomorrow. My most important proposal to you is to put more trust in the wisdom of Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mr. Rouhani and to positively regard Khatami’s popularity.
Yours sincerely and devoted to the country,
Mohammad Mahdavifar
Deminer and diver of the Sacred Defense
Esfand 27, 1394 [March 17, 2016]