Onstage and Behind the Scenes of the Ratification of Article Nine of the Constitution

Article 9 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: “In the Islamic Republic of Iran, freedom, independence, unity, and the territorial integrity of the country are inseparable, and preserving them is the duty of the government and all individuals in the nation. No individual, group, or authority has the right, under the pretext of exercising freedom, to impair the political, cultural, economic, or military independence or the territorial integrity of Iran in the slightest. Likewise, no authority has the right, in the name of preserving independence and territorial integrity, to curtail legitimate freedoms, even by enacting laws and regulations.”

During the drafting of this article by the Assembly of Experts for Constitution Drafting, one faction—led by Mousavi Jazayeri and Hassan Ayat—believed that independence could justify restricting freedoms. Another group, represented by Mohammad Beheshti, held that freedoms could be limited in exceptional circumstances based on the principle of prioritizing more critical matters (al-aham fi al-aham). A third faction, led by Nasser Makarem Shirazi, believed that freedom and independence are never in opposition.

Ultimately, after extensive linguistic and substantive debate, it was agreed that the article should begin by declaring that freedom and independence are inseparable. However, when the assembly moved to write, “No authority has the right to curtail freedoms under the pretext of preserving independence and territorial integrity, even through legislation,” the word legitimate was inserted before freedoms.

What has unfolded over the past four decades in our country, when compared to this article and the debates behind its creation, offers a rich source of reflection, lessons, and experience for the future.

Four Decades of Practice: The Relationship Between Freedom and Independence

Over these four decades, we have seen how, despite the article’s clear assertion that freedom and independence are inseparable—and with freedom even mentioned before independence—the scope of freedom has been increasingly restricted under a conspiracy-driven, enemy-centric framework. Every critic and dissenter has been linked to foreign enemies, and sometimes even accused of espionage, as a pretext to suppress political and civil liberties.

What was initially intended to be applicable only in extraordinary and exceptional circumstances has become a rigid and permanent rule. In the name of independence, freedom has been shackled, and its advocates imprisoned.

We have also witnessed how individuals who once, prior to gaining power and privilege, voiced the most enlightened positions, later became among the most dogmatic clerics. Their repeated fatwas of “this is forbidden” against freedom have become a national farce. If we fail to learn from our history, these patterns will repeat themselves in the future.

The Twelve-Day War: A New Chapter in the Freedom vs. Independence Narrative

Returning to today’s circumstances: following the attack by the Israeli regime—accused of war crimes and genocide—on Iran, a move largely seen as the bitter outcome of decades of fundamental errors by the ruling clerical regime, especially in its unpatriotic and adventurist foreign policy, the political and civil atmosphere in the country came under intense pressure.

This blatant aggression also revealed a hidden reality: the depth and extent of Israeli infiltration across various military, intelligence, and political levels within the clerical regime.

These two issues—the violation of national independence and Israel’s extensive infiltration—became excuses for the regime to intensify the repression of the political sphere under the guise of wartime conditions and espionage threats. Freedoms that were never meant to endanger national unity, independence, or territorial integrity now came under even more severe attack.

Parliament, which under Article 9 is explicitly barred from restricting freedom in the name of preserving independence, rushed to support the security apparatus. Citing wartime conditions and the threat of infiltration and espionage, it passed a draconian law targeting “spies”—so vague and sweeping that even a social media post could be deemed espionage. The law was so extreme that even the ultra-conservative clerics and legal experts of the Guardian Council criticized the ambiguous wording, scope, and implications—which could, in theory, impose the death penalty on online activists—and sent the bill back to parliament.

Regrettably, some opponents and critics of the clerical regime, by insisting that “now is not the time for criticism; we must only condemn Israel,” inadvertently helped reinforce the state of emergency that, by design, was never meant to justify censorship—let alone self-censorship—and ended up aligning, in practice, with the anti-freedom regime.

In this new wave of repression—marked by arrests, public beatings of civil activists, enforcement of old verdicts, and increased pressure on oppressed minorities (such as Afghans, Baha’is, Jews, Kurds, etc.)—the clerical regime was clearly terrified of two fundamental points:

1. Repression of Freedoms to Hide the Root Causes of Compromised National Independence

The regime sought to silence civil dialogue and public debate to prevent widespread articulation of a basic truth—that, as Mir-Hossein Mousavi and many others have argued, the current crisis is a result of decades of destructive policies and systemic errors committed by the regime itself. While Israel is legally responsible (having, in defiance of international protocols and without facing any imminent threat, launched a military assault on Iran in a characteristically brutal and inhumane manner), the political responsibility lies with Ali Khamenei and his decades-long, reckless, anti-national, and undemocratic policies—including obsessive hostility toward Israel and the United States, the squandering of billions of national funds on the nuclear program, deceptive insistence on uranium enrichment, and the nurturing of proxy militias.

2. Suppression of Freedoms to Deflect from Genuine Espionage That Endangers National Security

Secondly, the regime engaged in a ridiculous yet cruel attempt to downplay the issue of infiltration and espionage by scapegoating vulnerable minorities—Afghans, Baha’is, Jews, Kurds, and others. Yet none of these communities have access to sensitive or classified state facilities to spy on. It is abundantly clear that information about secret meeting places, residences, and military command centers is known only to those within the system—not to these oppressed minorities.

Let us not forget: a few years ago, the heads of the Israel desks at both the Ministry of Intelligence and IRGC Intelligence were themselves revealed to be Israeli spies—and were arrested and executed.

A decade ago, in an article titled Israel at Iran’s Doorstep, I examined several layers of Israeli infiltration into the clerical regime up to that point. There’s no need to repeat those details here.¹

Learning from the Past to Illuminate the Future

During the Assembly of Experts’ drafting of the Constitution, Sheikh Ali Tehrani—brother-in-law to Ali Khamenei and later a vocal opponent of the clerical regime—made an important observation: that restricting freedom ultimately threatens independence. He stressed that freedom must not be curtailed in the name of independence.

Today, this critical warning stands before our eyes as a concrete and undeniable truth. When political and civil liberties are suppressed through pretexts like espionage and enemy affiliation, Seyyed Ali Khamenei is free to continue destructive, unchallengeable policies—policies he has elevated to the status of regime “honor” and sanctity, rendering any criticism a punishable offense. Whether it’s the nuclear program, anti-American and anti-Israel dogma, or even public polling on these issues—any dissent is met with detention, torture, and imprisonment. And so, we arrive at a point where the very independence and security of the country are endangered, and Iranian skies become open airspace for Israeli and American military aircraft.

Furthermore, once a nation’s freedoms are curbed, meritocracy vanishes. The natural order—in which people of diverse talents and perspectives, operating with equal rights, can take part in governance—is replaced by an unnatural system where military, political, and intelligence appointments are monopolized by a narrow, loyalist elite. This environment is ripe for exploitation by opportunists who, by conforming to the regime’s preferred image, rise to high-level posts—only to later betray national security and sovereignty.

After all these catastrophic costs, one critical lesson emerges: freedom and independence must be protected together. Abusing one to destroy the other leads only to painful and devastating consequences for the nation and its people.

Reference:

1. Alijani, Reza. Israel at Iran’s Doorstep. Rooz Online, May 6, 2015 (16 Ordibehesht 1394).