How PourMohammadi Became the 'Phenomenon' and 'Treasure of Secrets' in Iran's Elections?

Among the six candidates approved by the Guardian Council for this year's presidential election, some statements and positions of Mostafa PourMohammadi, one of these candidates, created surprises, to the extent that some media referred to him as the 'phenomenon' of the election. Before this year's election, PourMohammadi was not well-known to the general public and international media and did not receive many votes in this election, but he took advantage of the opportunity to present a new image of himself. What characteristics did PourMohammadi have, what did he say about the main issues discussed in the election, and why were his statements described as 'different'? Here we review some characteristics and positions of this unsuccessful candidate in the election: 1. The only 'Cleric' approved after two disqualifications Mostafa PourMohammadi, 64 years old and the current Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Combatant Clergy, was the only cleric among the six approved candidates in the election. His approval by the Guardian Council came after the council had previously rejected his qualifications twice for the Assembly of Experts elections. The first disqualification was related to the 2015 elections, and the second was just a few months ago when he registered for the Assembly of Experts elections. While having a position in a political clerical institution (the Combatant Clergy Society), PourMohammadi has a long history of holding judicial, security, and governmental positions. He was once the head of the General Inspection Organization, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Interior, and he currently heads the Islamic Revolution Documents Center. It is unclear on what basis the Guardian Council made these two different decisions about him within a few months, while during the same period, it rejected the qualifications of several other clerical candidates, including Hassan Norouzi, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, being a cleric is not a requirement for the presidency, and in the early years of the Islamic Republic, there seemed to be more trust in delegating executive power to non-clerics. However, after several years, in addition to the leadership and the judiciary, which have always been held by a cleric, clerics have gained access to many governmental and state positions at various levels. Before this election, of the eight previous presidents in the Islamic Republic, five were clerics, forming the majority; Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, and Ebrahim Raisi. In terms of time, clerics have held the presidency for a longer duration. 2. The treasure of 'secrets' and 'symbol of the country's information' From the very beginning of his candidacy, PourMohammadi emphasized that he knows 'secrets' about the Islamic Republic. In the Islamic Republic, only a few individuals, including Ahmad Khomeini, the son of Ruhollah Khomeini, have been given the title 'treasure of secrets', but PourMohammadi attempted to claim that he is knowledgeable about current issues in the country by emphasizing his awareness of matters hidden from the general public. When registering for candidacy, he stated: 'Today, someone speaks to you who knows the ups and downs of the country's policymaking. Someone who can say that for the past 45 years, he is familiar with the visible issues and hidden secrets and the small and large internal and external problems.' On what basis did PourMohammadi make such a claim? It seems that holding some sensitive positions in the past decades, especially his presence in the Ministry of Intelligence and the General Inspection Organization, has allowed him to obtain information in various fields, especially regarding corruption cases in the Islamic Republic. In addition to his previous security and intelligence positions, now being assigned the management of the 'Islamic Revolution Documents' has given him access to documents that even some officials of the Islamic Republic do not have access to. According to the center's own announcement, the current inventory of the Islamic Revolution Documents Center exceeds four million and 500 thousand pages of documents. During debates and electoral speeches, PourMohammadi revealed or spoke about several issues that had not been mentioned before. For example, his disclosure about Saeed Jalili's attempt to prevent Iran from joining the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during Hassan Rouhani's government sparked widespread reactions. When Alireza Zakani, one of the candidates who later withdrew, criticized PourMohammadi in a debate, PourMohammadi stated that he could not disclose 'half' of the actions he had taken over the past decades. PourMohammadi also mentioned in a meeting with some students that during the 1980s, when Mohammad Reza Shahrudi was the Minister of Intelligence, he was urged by him to join the ministry. PourMohammadi emphasized that he had never been the Minister of Intelligence, but he is now the 'symbol of the country's information and security.' 3. Inadequate explanations about the 'Death Committee' Although PourMohammadi claims to have various sensitive information, he did not disclose much about the most significant issue concerning him, namely his role in the executions of the 1980s. One of PourMohammadi's actions that has always been discussed over the past decades is his role in the 'Death Committee' formed to execute thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. At that time, PourMohammadi was the representative of the Ministry of Intelligence at Evin Prison. The Islamic Republic has not transparently clarified this issue and has severely suppressed the families of the victims to prevent the continuation of their quest for justice. During the electoral campaigns, PourMohammadi referred to this matter several times but always defended himself. In an interview about his role in the execution of political prisoners in the 1980s, he described these executions as a project of the 'Islamic Republic' and 'the hard moments of the regime.' Or in a television program, he stated that the Mojahedin-e Khalq intended to establish a government after the operation known as Eternal Light, with the participation of those he referred to as 'prisoners and others and their supporters.' Such claims about political prisoners have never been confirmed, and human rights activists say that the Islamic Republic executed them without any legal process while they had no new charges against them. Additionally, Hossein Ali Montazeri, the then-deputy leader of the Islamic Republic, referred to the 1988 executions as 'the greatest crime in the Islamic Republic.' Despite abundant evidence and reports regarding PourMohammadi's role in these executions, he claimed during the election campaign that '30 committees' were active in Iran regarding the executions, each consisting of three to five members, and he was 'not responsible for this work and was not part of the security team.' PourMohammadi even attempted to present a positive image of himself in this regard. This former security official claimed that he was invited to play a role in the case of these executions and was told to 'control a bit so that there would be no excesses.' Some observers and social media users, even pro-government users, believe that one of PourMohammadi's goals for running in this year's election was to attempt to rebuild his image regarding this issue. Mostafa PourMohammadi. Abolfazl Faizikhah, an Instagram user, wrote about PourMohammadi that in his opinion, 'one of PourMohammadi's motivations for participating in the election was to respond to these rumors and discussions.' 4. Statements against Raisi's government However, one of the reasons for PourMohammadi's surprising statements was his criticism of the performance of Ebrahim Raisi's government. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly supported, defended, and praised Ebrahim Raisi and his government's performance even after his death. In his latest remarks on this matter, just before the election, Khamenei stated that Raisi had a 'heartfelt and genuine belief' in the principles of the Islamic Republic. The leader of the Islamic Republic added: 'From the time I knew him; during his three-year presidency, he regularly met and visited us; it was completely evident that he was moving with heart and soul, with conviction.' In addition, conservative candidates in the election strongly emphasized the continuation of Raisi's path in the next government. In such circumstances, when asked about how much he would continue Raisi's path if he won the election, PourMohammadi questioned Raisi's performance. He stated to students at Tehran University that he knows Raisi better than others and that Raisi 'has not been successful in all his endeavors,' and praising him 'does not mean that all his measures have been correct.' PourMohammadi emphasized that 'many of Raisi's measures were weak and created problems,' mocking the idea of 'continuing Raisi's path' and adding: 'Perhaps if Ebrahim Raisi were alive, he himself would not be willing to continue his own path.' Contrary to the opinion of the leader of the Islamic Republic, he insisted that there should be no constraints regarding Raisi's performance. 5. Advocate for negotiations with the 'enemy' and opponent of the 'Hijab and Chastity' bill Two other positions of PourMohammadi fueled surprises about him; one was his support for negotiations with the West to lift sanctions, and the other was his opposition to the controversial 'Hijab and Chastity' bill, which was drafted after the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. During his electoral statements, PourMohammadi emphasized the need for the government to pay attention to other women's issues besides the hijab. He stated: 'The needs of women and girls and their job positions must be taken into account, and women's issues should not be limited to hijab and covering.' In his third debate, he said: 'My agreement with you, dear women and girls, is this: If I manage to gain your trust, I will withdraw the Hijab and Chastity bill that is being discussed.' Although later, Nira Ghavi, PourMohammadi's women's affairs advisor, stated that if this candidate wins, the hijab bill would be withdrawn 'for reform and completion.' PourMohammadi, both he and his daughter, who attended a television roundtable as his economic advisor, explicitly referred to the negative consequences of sanctions. In this regard, he stated in a television program: 'Sanctions cannot be easily ignored. In the early 1990s, we were on par with successful economies in the region, but in the past 10 to 12 years, we have not had this success. Internally, we have faced self-sanctioning and strengthened flawed foundations. We have witnessed an increase in rents and the granting of facilities that have led to corruption.' PourMohammadi even published a photo of himself meeting with Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, to show that he is willing to negotiate with anyone who was once an 'enemy' of the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Atrianfar, a key member of the Construction Workers Party and former head of Tehran City Council, stated before the first round of elections that PourMohammadi portrayed the image and approach of a 'moderate principlist without controversy and aggression' that Ali Larijani, the disqualified candidate, was supposed to follow. However, after PourMohammadi's defeat in the election, Ahmad Zeydabadi, a political analyst, attributed his loss to the 'thick stamp of disapproval on his forehead and the white powder on his head.' PourMohammadi himself referred to his 'short opportunity' in a statement after his defeat and said without providing details that 'there are many untold stories.'