Iran Jails Hard-Line Lawmaker Hamid Rasaei Over Defamation

Iranian authorities have imprisoned Hamid Rasaei, a hard-line lawmaker and member of the Paydari party, following his conviction for publishing false information intended to harm the speaker of Parliament. Rasaei, a cleric and opponent of diplomatic deals with the United States, turned himself in on Sunday to serve a 10-month sentence at Evin prison in Tehran.

The conviction relates to a 2024 article in which Rasaei accused Parliament speaker Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of acting as a dictator and manipulating official documents. Ghalibaf, who also serves as Iran's lead negotiator with the U.S., sued Rasaei for defamation.

The imprisonment has deepened divisions between Iranian pragmatists and hard-liners. Supporters of Rasaei held rallies in Tehran and Borujerd to demand his release, with some accusing Ghalibaf of betrayal and characterizing diplomatic efforts as a coup. Conversely, other conservatives and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have criticized these protests as attacks on the pillars of the government.