Gharazi: If Hashemi Did Not Want the Issue to Be Clarified, He Would Not Have Brought His Son to Iran

Radio Farda has interviewed Mohammad Gharazi, one of the founders of the IRGC, former Minister of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone in Hashemi Rafsanjani's government, and a presidential candidate in the last elections, regarding the reactions of conservatives to Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's recent remarks. Mr. Gharazi, you have had years of close cooperation with Hashemi Rafsanjani. In your opinion, what is Mr. Rafsanjani's intention behind his statement that those who wandered in the alleys of their villages at the beginning of the revolution have now come and become revolutionary? I have not heard or read his interview. However, this type of interpretation probably reflects Mr. Hashemi's view that those participating in the revolution and in government installations today are likely far from the goals of the revolution. Otherwise, in the great Quran, it is stated that when the event occurs, it will certainly happen, and those who are underfoot will come and gain position. Well, this is the characteristic of a revolution. Saadi also refers to this in his Golestan, saying that when an event happens, the sons of the learned minister go down, and those who were irresponsible come up. This usually happens in societies, and you can see that throughout history, these events have occurred. However, sometimes it may refer to those who come and, God forbid, plunder people's property. Otherwise, this is an event that God has decreed, and usually, those who were not responsible and were not considered in society come and take on responsibilities. If this statement refers to the fact that the poor and those who were at the lower levels of society have come up, then this is a divine event and happens. However, those who come from various classes and engage in plundering people's properties or shift from social goals to personal goals are usually the stingers of any revolution. Do you believe that Mr. Rafsanjani is angry about his son Mehdi Hashemi's case, as some conservative media suggest? I think if Mr. Hashemi did not want the matter to be clarified, as far as I know, he would not have brought his son to Iran and then handed him over to the judicial authorities. This move was a positive step that has been taken. Now, in the judicial system, events have occurred that some dear ones say that Mr. Hashemi is angry; I think that is somewhat unfair. Today, some media close to the conservative faction refer to Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's recent remarks about newly revolutionary villagers, mentioning the famous sermon about luxury maneuvers attributed to him, in which he said in 1989, 'The time has come for officials to engage in luxury maneuvers; from today, for the sake of Islam and the revolution, officials have a duty to be orderly and dignified, so that we do not appear as a wretched nation.' Do you remember these remarks by Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani? I think I have attended or listened to all Friday prayers, and as a religious duty, I have listened to them as much as I could. I have been present with Mr. Hashemi at the Hedayat Mosque at the intersection of Islam Boulevard since the 40s, we were in prison together, and we worked together. I have been in contact with him for nearly forty years. As for engaging in luxury, I have not heard it, or if this is the interpretation, it is the right of those who understood this concept. However, what I saw in prisons and in Mr. Hashemi's personal life was that his personal situation was better than others. Let me give you two examples to clarify the matter. In 1964, when the trials of the late Ayatollah Taleghani and the late Engineer Bazargan were underway, I attended all those sessions and saw them up close. Two events occurred that might interest you. One was that one of the residents of Taleqan who came to the court in the same Eshratabad, which is now Imam Hossein barracks, saw that Mr. Taleghani's shoes were torn. He asked him what size his shoes were. He hesitated to say what size they were. This clever and knowledgeable person ran and brought a torn newspaper, placed Mr. Taleghani's foot on the newspaper, traced around it, and went to buy several pairs of shoes for him for the next sessions. Whether he accepted them or not, I am not aware. Or the late Engineer Bazargan sold his private house in 1964 due to living expenses. Now, compare this with Mr. Hashemi, who was ultimately a builder and lived and covered his own expenses; Mr. Hashemi's living conditions were better than those of other prisoners, and he was capable and could pull himself out of the water. The rights of individuals are respected, and the dignity of individuals is the dignity of the Kaaba. However, after Resolution 598, I, as one of the elements who believed from the beginning that the only way to manage the country is development, and I had acted on this in oil, telecommunications, etc., and had instilled development in people's minds, Mr. Hashemi raised the issue of development. Our intention with development was not to make some wealthy and some poorer. But in the 1990s, we firmly stood by the fact that development is the only way to manage the country. Mr. Hashemi also pursued this matter. And this happened in all areas. One difference I had with Mr. Hashemi in terms of developmental understanding was that I told Mr. Hashemi that development combined with inflation turns against it, but Mr. Hashemi wanted to build refineries, power plants, roads, houses by any means, but it resulted in inflation and had the opposite effect. The desire for development to occur in the country without inflation is one of the revolutionaries' aspirations.