To the Honorable Office of the Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Khamenei, May His Lofty Shadow Extend
After greetings and expressing respect,
Khordad reminds us of the heavenly ascension of the late Imam (May God bless his soul) and the beginning of your leadership. This year marks the start of the twenty-eighth year of your leadership. Over the past twenty-seven years, we have heard and seen over a thousand speeches and messages from you aimed at guiding the nation, but I personally do not recall that you ever answered questions from a journalist in an interview. Of course, there are times when you come to the ballot boxes for elections, a reporter from the national media approaches and humbly asks you to convey a message to the people about the elections. This is not the type of interview I mean.
By “interview,” I mean that an independent, professional, and experienced journalist sits in front of you, poses questions, and challenges you, and you defend your positions and actions with convincing explanations. In my opinion, it would have been appropriate if such interviews were conducted at least once a year over the past twenty-seven years, broadcast live and uncensored by the national media, and then we could leave the final judgment regarding the questions by the journalists and your responses to the public.
I believe such actions are necessary for enlightening public opinion, and even if you undertake this effort now, though overdue, it is appropriate and commendable. If you had done this in the past years, ill-wishers and opponents of the leadership couldn’t have widely claimed that the leadership is not accountable to anyone for its performance.
Many of your friends, devotees, and staunch supporters, due to their affection and belief in you, consider all your words and actions as entirely correct, and some even believe them to be derived from divine inspirations, not allowing even the thought of error or mistake from you to enter their minds, and they attribute an unassailable sanctity to your character. However, we must accept that many people also wish that you, considering the authority granted to you by the Constitution over the years and the facilities at your disposal, offer explanations for some of your words and actions. Their expectation for hearing convincing answers is not an unreasonable demand or a sign of excessive expectations.
In the recent elections, it was observed that despite your emphatic statements, nearly 55% of those eligible in Tehran did not present themselves at the polls, and among the 45% who did participate, about two-thirds voted for a list they believed was not in your favor. Hence, it can be concluded that a significant number in Iran, though we do not know their exact percentage, have matters to discuss regarding you, and perhaps there are questions in their minds for which they do not receive answers from you. They express their dissatisfaction with you at such moments, and without a doubt, the message of such movements from the people does not escape your perceptive attention.
I wish you success in fulfilling your leadership duties.
Yours respectfully,
Mohammad Mahdavifar
Deminer and Diver of the Sacred Defense
Khordad 6, 1395 [May 26, 2016]