Moghadamfar: Some Anti-Revolution Channels on Telegram Are Run by 'Aghazadeh'

The head of the publication and promotion office of the Supreme Leader's letter to Western youth claimed that several 'anti-revolution' channels on Telegram, managed by some 'Aghazadeh', are affiliated with foreign intelligence services. Hamid-Reza Moghadamfar, who is also an advisor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated on Saturday, January 8, in an interview with the 'Mizan' news agency that 'foreign intelligence services have provided substantial amounts of money to these anti-revolution channels.' He added that this money is also given to individuals within Iran who are 'ready for betrayal' and that such 'traitorous individuals' have been present in the country since the beginning of the revolution. While he did not name these individuals, he accused them of being 'infiltrators' whose 'minimum role' is to maintain relations with these channels and exchange false information and, in rare cases, accurate information and rumors. Moghadamfar stated that these channels only convey part of the 'truth' to their audiences and, by 'exaggerating' and adding some 'lies', derive a completely 'false' conclusion from the news. The IRGC advisor also mentioned that some of these Telegram channels are currently operating in 'America, England, and some neighboring countries like Turkey.' He added: 'Whenever the anti-revolution feels that it has something to do in its future assessment that requires the judiciary to be subdued, they increase their attacks on this governing institution.' According to Moghadamfar, 'the anti-revolution has a new plot in mind and therefore wants to paralyze the judiciary.' The Iranian judiciary is one of the institutions defending the filtering of the mobile social network 'Telegram', and its efforts to block it in recent years have been unsuccessful. A few months ago, a Telegram channel published a report about some accounts in the judiciary, stating that these accounts are 'personal' and the profits from their deposits are at the disposal of the head of the judiciary. Following the publication of this report, some members of parliament, including Mahmoud Sadeghi, raised questions in the open session of parliament about these accounts and demanded explanations from judicial officials. Attacks on the judiciary regarding these accounts continued to the extent that Sadegh Larijani last week also accused Hassan Rouhani and his government, stating that Babak Zanjani had financially supported his electoral headquarters in 2013. Larijani also spoke of transferring some 'specific' technical equipment to the presidency, questioning this presidential action. The next day, Hassan Rouhani, in his Twitter account, pointed out that 'the government is ready to clarify all its income and expenses and accounts by establishing a system' and asked the judiciary to clarify its accounts as well. The tension between the heads of the executive and judiciary branches over the Babak Zanjani case, some arrests, and the performance of the two branches in various areas has escalated to the point where some Friday prayer leaders have asked Rouhani and Larijani not to discuss their differences in the media. Meanwhile, some members of parliament have also entered this verbal dispute in favor of the head of the judiciary, and the ministries of culture, foreign affairs, intelligence, and oil have also responded to the head of the judiciary. Some officials of the Islamic Republic believe that one of the reasons for the increase in verbal disputes between the heads of the branches is the publication of some classified documents on social networks and Telegram channels. In recent years, with the expansion of Telegram usage among the Iranian people, significant channels have also been established that publish news and classified government documents. Iranian officials have also announced that channels with more than five thousand subscribers must obtain a license to continue their activities.