Iran's Judiciary Spokesman: Charges Filed Against a Member of the Nuclear Negotiation Team

The spokesman for Iran's judiciary announced that an indictment has been issued in the case of Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani, a member of the nuclear negotiation team, and the case has been sent to court. According to the state news agency IRNA, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, on Sunday, March 5, in a press conference, responded to a question about the issuance of an indictment for the case of 'D. A.', a dual-national member of the nuclear negotiation team, stating that 'an order was issued for this individual and the case has gone to court.' Mr. Ejei had previously mentioned on September 7, without naming Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani, that someone had been arrested as an 'infiltrator in the Iranian nuclear negotiation team,' but 'the accusation has not yet been proven.' In September of this year, media close to the Revolutionary Guard reported the arrest of a close member of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team on charges of 'espionage for the enemy.' Subsequent reports identified this individual as 'Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani,' but the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the published reports. Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, also stated on Tuesday, October 25, in a note to Masoud Pezeshkian, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani had not engaged in espionage according to the experts of this ministry. Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani is currently a non-executive member of the board of directors of Asia Insurance and an advisor to Valiollah Seif, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran. Earlier, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, head of the expert group of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, denied that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani held dual citizenship. The spokesman also announced the arrest of a dual-national Iranian-American individual, accusing him of defrauding several people of '10 billion tomans' under the promise of obtaining a U.S. residency permit. Mr. Mohseni Ejei did not mention the name of this individual or provide further details about this case. Currently, several Iranian-Americans, including Siamak and Baqer Namazi, Reza (Robin) Shahini, and Karan Vafadari, are imprisoned in Iran. Siamak and Baqer Namazi have been sentenced to 10 years, while Reza (Robin) Shahini has received an 18-year sentence. Afrin Niyasari and Nizar Zaka are two other prisoners who do not hold U.S. citizenship but have permanent residency in the country. Jared Genser, the American attorney for Siamak and Baqer Namazi, reported that the Obama administration made unsuccessful attempts in the final weeks of its term to secure the release of these Iranian-Americans through 'confidential negotiations.' Simultaneously with the implementation of the JCPOA, on January 16 of last year, Jason Rezaian, a journalist for the Washington Post, Amir Hekmati, a former Marine, Saeed Abedini, a Christian convert, and Nasratollah Khosravi Roudsari, four Iranian-American citizens, were released from Iranian prisons, and in exchange for their release, the U.S. government agreed to release seven Iranian prisoners in the country. It later became clear that alongside the release of these four prisoners from Iranian prisons, the U.S. sent $400 million in cash, part of Iran's confiscated assets related to arms purchases from the U.S. during the Shah's era, to Tehran by plane. This issue drew criticism from Republicans, and Barack Obama, the U.S. President, responded to the criticisms by stating that following the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding Iran's frozen assets, lawyers and legal advisors recommended that this money be paid; otherwise, billions of dollars in damages would need to be paid to Iran in the future. Subsequently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on October 24 that prohibits any cash payments to Iran and requires the government to inform Congress before settling financial disputes with Iran. The spokesman also announced that the case of Hamid Baqaei, the deputy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his presidency, remains open, but this alone will not lead to his disqualification, and he may have an open case and be approved by the Guardian Council. According to the state news agency IRNA, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Sunday, March 5, in a press conference that Hamid Baqaei's case is 'open and a final decision has not been made about it.' He added, 'The qualification assessment by the Guardian Council is not necessarily related to having or not having a judicial case because someone may have a case and still be qualified, and vice versa is also possible.' Supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have expressed hope that Hamid Baqaei will be approved as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff during his presidency, commented on the possibility of Baqaei's disqualification due to his open case, saying, 'They say Baqaei has a case; who doesn't have a case?' Mr. Baqaei, known as one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's closest allies, was arrested last June on charges of 'embezzlement' and was released in January of the same year. He has stated that he intends to run for election 'completely independent of individuals, groups, parties, and political factions.' Mr. Baqaei served as the deputy of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization during Ahmadinejad's first term and later became the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and then the executive deputy of the President in 2011 during Ahmadinejad's second term. Before Baqaei's candidacy, Ahmadinejad issued a statement declaring that he would not support 'any individual, faction, party, or group' in the upcoming presidential election. However, reports have emerged about the possibility of his support for Mr. Baqaei. On Sunday, coinciding with Tree Planting Day, videos were released showing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, and Hamid Baqaei planting trees together. Ahmadinejad also introduced his Twitter account in English through a video on Sunday. On Saturday, Ahmadinejad accused Hassan Rouhani of 'providing false statistics and information' about the treasury's inventory and stated that some have a 'Qajar-era definition and perception of the treasury.' Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, responded to Ahmadinejad's statement on Sunday, saying, 'During your time, the purchasing power of the people was destroyed.'