The brother of President Mohammad Khatami of Iran warned yesterday that "uncontrollable" public anger over the conservative crackdown on the press will come back to haunt the regime. His comments came as the reformist President made his first major public appearance since rioting broke out earlier this month after a pro-reform newspaper was closed down.
Mr Reza Khatami, who is Deputy Health Minister, denounced a hardline religious court's conviction of a leading pro-reform newspaper publisher on Sunday and said the eradication of the moderate press was alienating the Iranian people.
"The main objective of those trying to close down Iran's newspapers is to prevent the political awareness of the people," Mr Khatami told the moderate newspaper, Sobh-e-Emrouz.
"Given that state radio and television are biased in disseminating the news, the only way to get true news is through the independent press," he said.
Three major pro-Khatami newspapers have been closed down since the beginning of the year, while dozens of moderate journalists have been arrested or called in for questioning.
The President is visiting the western province of Hamaden, and while his brother said that the tour had been planned for some time, he expects him to address the issues surrounding the recent unrest. "It seems public opinion is expecting him to address further points. As a member of this very same society, I expect he will not disappoint us," said Mr Khatami, who also heads the President's political faction, the Islamic Iran Participation Front.
In a separate interview, he vowed that the President was "adamant" about carrying out his democratic reforms, including greater freedom of the press, despite fierce conservative opposition.
"The right wing put heavy pressure on the President to abandon his ideas," Mr Khatami told the English-language newspaper, Iran News.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has held a meeting with Tehran University students following the bloody riots which erupted at the university, state radio said yesterday.
The students "asked the leader questions in a climate of friendship and brotherhood" at Monday's meeting, the report said, adding that Ayatollah Khamenei had "consoled" them and led the group in prayers.
After the riots a student group, the Elected Council of Student Protesters, demanded a personal meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, who came under unprecedented criticism during the demonstrations. In a direct challenge to his authority, protesters called for the security forces to be removed from his control.