Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi, the son of the Grand Ayatollah Qomi from
Mashhad, remained under house arrest from 1984 to 2007. Beside his house arrest and limited opportunity to lecture and advice students, his importance as a theological authority was also decreased by virtue of the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically promoted
Qom throughout the past 30 years as a center of theological learning at the expense of the city of
Mashhad. In an interview with the London-based Kayhan International newspaper in June 1997, he condemned the theological basis of the
Islamic Republic of Iran and described the
Vilayat-e Faqih as violating Islamic principles. He also commented on the election of
Mohammad Khatami to the presidency in 1997 as an indication of the rejection of the
Vilayat-e Faqih on the part of the
Iranian people. ==See also==