2009 Mir-Hossein Mousavi presidential campaign freedoms in Iran and criticised the ban on private television channels", but "refused to back down from the country's disputed nuclear programme, saying it is "for peaceful purposes". On May 30, Mousavi pledged that if elected he would amend "discriminatory and unjust regulations" against women, and take other measures in favour of women's rights and equality. On May 23, 2009, the Iranian government blocked access to Facebook across the country but lifted the blockage after protests from the public. "Gulfnews.com" reported that the former move had been a response to the use of Facebook by the candidates running against the
Mir-Hossein Mousavi sphere. When Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, died in 1989, Mousavi was no longer welcome in the government. It was the start of 20 years of an almost total absence from public life for Mousavi, which many considered as a sign of his disapproval of the established government, though he did sit on two high-level government councils. In 1989, Ali Khamenei named him as a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, his membership of which still continues. Mousavi has been a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution since 1996. He was also the political adviser of