Claims by the Attorney General: We Have 'Identified' the 'Main Designer' of the Protests

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, claimed on Thursday, January 4, that the recent protests in Iran against rising prices and the closed political atmosphere were 'designed' abroad, stating that 'the main designer of this project is an American named Michael D'Andrea, a former counter-terrorism official of the CIA.' According to the IRNA news agency, Montazeri, speaking at a conference in Qom, added that 'an operational room consisting of three sides: America, Zionists, and Al Saud was also formed for these unrests, mainly planned by Michael and one of the intelligence officers affiliated with Mossad, with the costs borne by Al Saud.' These accusations by Mohammad Jafar Montazeri may refer to Michael D'Andrea, the head of the Iran Mission Center at the CIA, who was appointed to this position at the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency. The New York Times, at the time of D'Andrea's appointment as the new head of Iran affairs at the CIA, reported that he has a long history in counter-terrorism and is said to be known by titles such as 'Prince of Darkness' and 'Ayatollah Mike.' According to this report, D'Andrea previously held the responsibility for tracking Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of al-Qaeda. It is said that he also directed drone attack programs against Islamic militants. Montazeri continued his remarks by stating that he believes an 'operational room' has initiated the protests in Iran, and 'hypocrites, monarchists, some nationalists, and leftists also had representatives in this operational room.' This official in the Islamic Republic did not provide evidence or documentation for his statements. The anti-government protests in Iran, which began in Razavi Khorasan in response to rising prices and the economic situation, have recently spread to over 90 cities in Iran, and the suppression of these protests has so far left at least 22 dead and over a thousand protesters arrested. These accusations by the Attorney General come at a time when, a day earlier, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, implicitly mentioned the possible role of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the recent unrest. Before him, analyses and reports within Iran had suggested that the protest gathering in Mashhad, held in Shohada Square, was initiated by the principlists of Mashhad and Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader appointed by the Supreme Leader in Razavi Khorasan. Meanwhile, Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to the President, implicitly accused Ahmadinejad's supporters of organizing these gatherings, writing that 'conspiracy and deceit gangs have proven at least twice that they can deceive the masses.' Attributing the protests in Iran to 'a think tank' by the Attorney General also comes at a time when some officials of the Islamic Republic have cited economic issues and rising prices as the reasons for the recent gatherings, and several Friday prayer leaders in Iran have deemed the protests against rising prices as 'justified.' In recent weeks, several social media users have also protested against issues such as increased exit fees and the elimination of subsidies, considering it a primary factor in the initiation of new protests. The details mentioned by the Attorney General, according to IRNA, included that Montazeri expressed that the protests in Iran were formed within the framework of a project called 'the doctrine of effective convergence.' He stated that 'based on the information obtained, this think tank, through extensive studies conducted over the past years, initiated protest movements under the titles of 'No to Rising Prices,' 'No to Paying Bills,' and 'Movements of the Defrauded and Pensioners' in the country.' Mr. Montazeri claimed that 'hypocrites, monarchists, some nationalists, and leftists also had representatives in this operational room,' adding: 'For the implementation of this project, two plans, one Tunisian and one Libyan, based on social movements in Libya and Tunisia, were studied. In the Tunisian plan, social movements transferred from the center to the periphery, while in the Libyan plan, social movements started from the periphery and were drawn towards the center. However, based on the evaluation conducted by this think tank, ultimately, the Libyan plan, which means movement from the periphery to the center, was chosen for implementation in our country.' The Attorney General added: 'Considering the social and economic conditions of the country and the existence of social demands and some economic problems that are of concern to a significant number of people in society, this foreign think tank set specific targets and even determined the date for announcing them.' He continued: 'The second phase of this foreign plan is the phase of violence and confrontation with officials and creating insecurity in society, gradually consolidating their forces inside and outside the country with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the regime.' Mr. Montazeri stated that 'this operational room had planned two operational rooms in Erbil, Iraq, and Herat, Afghanistan, for the entry of Takfiri ISIS fighters into Iran during the execution of these unrests,' saying: 'Utilizing the Takfiri movement and bringing ISIS and aligned groups into the field, introducing weapons and drawing this movement to the center of the country, and ultimately creating armed insecurity and, as they say, taking important centers and finishing the work in Bahman, especially by February 11, was the enemies' plan for instigating these unrests in the country.' Mr. Montazeri added: 'Some experts believe that the execution of this project was planned for the year 1397 (2018) but due to the specific conditions of recent months in the country, people's demands, and some discussions among the branches, this timeline has been advanced.' On Tuesday, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, said regarding the recent protests that 'enemies' have 'allied' in recent days to create problems for the Islamic Republic. He added that 'in the events of recent days, Iran's enemies have allied with various tools at their disposal, including money, weapons, politics, and security apparatus to create problems for the Islamic system.' Ayatollah Khamenei stated without providing evidence that he would speak on this matter 'in due time.'