Khatami: We will remain critical of power

Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami says the Reformist movement will continue its criticism within the boundaries of the Islamic Republic.

“We will continue to stay critical of the current power trend, of course within the framework of a movement that supports Islam, the Islamic Republic and the [1979] Revolution,” Khatami told a group of university students active in pro-Reform societies.

“We still see Islam as the basis of our Reform movement. Its identity is built around the Islamic Revolution and its framework is outlined by the Islamic Republic,” he said.

“However, we believe that their have been some deviations which must be set rights with those very same religious and Revolutionary principles. Unfortunately some try to portray these deviations as the Islamic Republic itself,” he added.

Khatami, who currently heads the International Institute for Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations, said the Reformist movement denounces violence “by all means”, while certain other parties endorse it as the basis of their thoughts and actions.

Khatami, who was addressing students from the University of Tehran and the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, also noted that the “serious questions” that you have regarding recent events in the country shows that the country is facing a crisis.

The former president pointed out that we can continue to seek a free, progressive and just system of government by working with the current constitution of the Islamic Republic.