Hassan Rouhani: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Recommended Reading 'Les Misérables'

Hassan Rouhani, Iran's former president, has narrated aspects of the intellectual and cultural personality of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—whom domestic media refer to as the "Martyred Leader"—through the publication of memoirs. These recollections emphasize Khamenei's interest in literature and Islamic thought, and have received extensive coverage in Iran's domestic media landscape. Simultaneously, Qais al-Khazali, secretary-general of Iraq's Asaib Ahl al-Haq, has also released a statement assessing Khamenei's role in the Islamic world. Coverage of this news overall focuses on the cultural, intellectual, and international dimensions of Khamenei's personality.

• Rouhani has recounted that Khamenei advised him in 1353 to read Victor Hugo's novel "Les Misérables."
• In these memoirs, Rouhani has described Khamenei as "an Islamic thinker" who possessed mastery of various dimensions of Islamic culture.
• According to Rouhani's account, Khamenei was interested in Dr. Ali Shariati, an intellectual and religious theorist.
• Multiple news outlets, including Khabar Online, Tejarat News, Akhbar Fori, and Entekhab, have published these memoirs in video format.
• IRNA, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, has emphasized Khamenei's "intellectualism" across various fields of Islamic culture and has identified this as the most prominent aspect of Rouhani's memoirs.
• Qais al-Khazali, secretary-general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, has stated that Khamenei was "a solid backbone for the Islamic nation for many years."
• Al-Khazali's statement was covered by ISNA news agency and remains the only source reflecting the reaction of a foreign figure.
• None of the sources have provided details about the context or precise occasion for the publication of these memoirs, and it remains unclear in what format or at what event these accounts were presented.
• The phrase "Martyred Leader" has been used uniformly in headlines and text across all domestic media, yet no coverage has mentioned the timing or circumstances of Khamenei's death.. Coverage difference: Domestic media outlets such as IRNA and ISNA have focused on the intellectual and cultural aspects of Khamenei's personality and his role in the Islamic world, while smaller news outlets such as Tejarat News and Akhbar Fori have centered their coverage on the narrative details of Rouhani's memoirs—including the book title and interest in Shariati. None of the outlets have examined the context for publishing these memoirs, their occasion, or the possibility of differing accounts, and the coverage overall is one-sided and lacking critical or independent perspective.