Parliament's Persistence in Investigating the Status of Dual-National Officials and Senior Managers

Following the remarks of a parliament member regarding the arrest of 12 dual-national managers, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly voted on Tuesday, November 25, to investigate senior dual-national managers and those with green cards and to identify legal gaps. According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, a parliament representative from Shahinshahr, after reading the report of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission about the request to investigate the status of dual-national individuals and those with green cards among officials and senior managers, stated: "Fortunately, several dual-national managers who had infiltrated important managerial and decision-making sectors of the system have been arrested and convicted, or their cases are ongoing." Mr. Haji Deligani announced that, based on the statistics he has, 12 dual-national managers have been arrested so far, adding that the exact number of those arrested or identified is unknown. This parliament member also referred to Abdolrasool Daryaei Isfahani, a member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, saying: "This Mr. Daryaei Isfahani, who is dual-national and whose wife and children are in Canada, comes to the economic and banking committee related to the negotiations and receives a merit badge from the highest executive authority of the country, and now he is free in the country after posting bail." Hossein Ali Haji Deligani also mentioned another individual who, according to him, "was part of the legal team of the negotiators and was arrested for espionage and collaboration with hostile governments." He asked the judiciary to "provide the rest of the explanations to the people" without naming this person. This parliament member also referred to a minister whose wife and children are in Italy, adding: "What events can be imagined that might occur in the ministry under his management?" The issue of dual-national officials has become one of the critical points of attack by conservatives against the eleventh government since Hassan Rouhani took office. These conservatives refer to Iranian officials with "dual nationality" as one of the most important channels of "influence" in Iran and have repeatedly called for their dismissal from their positions over the past three years. Mr. Haji Deligani continued his remarks in parliament, regarding Sirous Naseri, a former member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, stating that his family lives in Britain and holds dual nationality, adding: "It is even said that he wants to obtain a third nationality." He pointed out that an arrest warrant for Sirous Naseri has been issued by the judiciary on charges of espionage for a year, but he has "fled the country." Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, denied this news in June, stating that this individual has not been arrested and no arrest warrant has been issued for him. However, the parliament's insistence on the issue of dual-national managers comes at a time when Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, on November 1, referred to the fact that there are no longer any "dual-national managers" among Iranian officials, considering the issue of dual nationals as one of the "scenarios" prepared by the opponents of Rouhani's government. According to ISNA, the Minister of Intelligence stated: "The only dual-national manager resigned two weeks ago, and no such manager is currently working in the country's institutions." According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, in his remarks, asked the judiciary to "clearly state to the people how many dual-national individuals have infiltrated important managerial and decision-making sectors in the past two years." He said: "When dual-national individuals want to enter our country, they are not viewed as foreign nationals, and the necessary formalities in this regard are not observed, which can pose risks to the country." This parliament member added: "These managers, as they consider themselves Iranian, get close to the country's officials and even take their personal information and reflect it to foreigners. Additionally, by getting close to the officials, they change the perception of the decision-making and policymaking system of the officials." He also pointed out that "the risks of dual nationality are not limited to managers alone" and said: "A greater danger exists in the realm of decision-makers; who owned the Atieh Bahar company? This company belonged to Mr. Siamak and Baqer Namazi, who were sentenced to prison, and this company provided the information systems for many important centers and produced software for banks." According to Fars, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani also stated that "recently, three individuals with dual nationality entered the country under the guidance of a specific foreign country and took on sensitive research projects, dictating the opinions of leading countries in their summaries to our officials." This parliament member did not name these individuals. According to Mehr News Agency, after this representative's speech, parliament members voted with 65 in favor, 133 against, and three abstentions, out of a total of 238 present in parliament, opposing the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission's request to reject the investigation. Thus, the investigation into dual-national managers and those with green cards was placed on the agenda of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.