The Friday Imam of Mashhad, Ahmad Alam-ol-Hoda, said in his weekly sermon that those who encourage people to not participate in the elections are infidels. Citing the upcoming anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr by Iranian forces during the Iran-Iraq War, the senior cleric added that “for 42 years, our people have stood by the Revolution, and this earned them dignity in the world, which our enemies seek to take from us”.
The Director of Security at the Khorasan Theological Seminary, one of the most important centres of religious education in Iran, has reminded staff and students that no political campaigning is allowed in the institution. This means no placards, posters or slogans in support of any candidate, and no other forms of campaigning on campus. The Khorasan Theological Seminary is based near the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, and is organised around the philosophy of maktab-e tafkik (Separation School) which advocates a strict separation of theological studies from secular philosophy.