Parliament Supports Ministry of Intelligence; Request to Annul Chamber of Commerce Elections

After the Ministry of Intelligence and security agencies' pressures to prevent Hossein Salahvarzi from participating in the private sector parliament elections proved unsuccessful, now members of parliament have come to the aid of the Ministry of Intelligence and have requested the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (IMT) to annul the Chamber of Commerce elections. According to Tasnim News Agency, a group of parliament representatives in a letter to the IMT minister called for the annulment of the 'illegal elections' of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce. Following the election of the new president of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, some conservative media outlets published images of Hossein Salahvarzi's posts on Twitter and Instagram during the days of public protests, labeling the new president of the Chamber of Commerce as a subversive and urging responsible authorities to prevent his participation in councils where, by law, the Chamber president can be a member. Some of them also demanded an apology and resignation from Salahvarzi. Reports indicate that the IMT representative on election day announced that the Ministry of Intelligence had requested the security of the IMT to prevent Salahvarzi's participation in the elections. The Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture is registered as a non-profit institution aimed at 'creating coordination and cooperation between merchants, industrialists, and miners with government institutions.' Representatives from both the government and the private sector participate in the meetings of this chamber. The Iran Chamber also manages the secretariat of the government-private sector dialogue council. One of the most important local chambers is the Tehran Chamber, which has 60 representatives, of which 40 are elected from the private sector and 20 from the government. The board of representatives of the Iran Chamber currently consists of over 400 members from various associations and local chambers.