The Principlist camp has for some time sought to project a nonradical image, trying to move away from past experiences that Iranian society associates with it. However, these efforts have not always been successful. Indeed, the radical current within the camp continues to remain active — to the chagrin of more influential conservative forces.
On June 7, following the terrorist attacks in Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei encouraged his supporters to “fire at will” against presumed enemies of the state. His remarks caused an uproar in Iran’s political circles.
Ten days later, on June 17, Hossein Allahkaram, the leader of Ansar-e Hezbollah, a radical faction of the Principlist movement, said his group would use Khamenei’s “fire at will” order against women entering sporting arenas. "We are ready to implement the order of the leader of the revolution to fire at will,” he said. “This organization has complaints about the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, which has illegally and unlawfully dragged hundreds of women and girls as spectators to the recent volleyball games of men.”
Meanwhile, given the many reactions to Khamenei’s remarks, some Principlists immediately took it upon themselves to provide explanations about the meaning of the “order,” so as to prevent potential unlawful and self-willed measures from others within their camp. On June 10, the hard-line Kayhan daily accused some political groups of collaborating with foreign elements to distort Khamenei’s order by linking it to a lack of rule of law. To prevent potential measures from radicals, former member of parliament Elyas Naderan tried to interpret the "fire at will" concept from an economic perspective. Naderan, who is a prominent Principlist figure, tweeted June 12, “When we have millions of unemployed youths, ‘fire at will’ means that if you can employ a youth, do so.” Moreover, in a harsh statement released June 19, the Student Basij at Iran’s Broadcasting University accused Allahkaram of having a “shallow view” of the supreme leader’s words.
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