Pezhmanfar: Detainees in Population Control Field Provided False Statistics to Top Officials

A conservative member of the Iranian parliament defended the arrest of several activists in the 'population control' sector, claiming that these individuals 'manipulated' policies and demographic statistics and presented them to 'top figures in the regime.' Nasrollah Pezhmanfar, a member of the Cultural Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, made these statements in an interview with Young Journalists Club. His remarks come after Fars News Agency, a media outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported the arrest of several individuals in the 'population control' field by one of the 'security agencies' and labeled them as 'infiltrators.' Hassan Rouhani's advisor, Hesameddin Ashna, reacted to this news by accusing the news agency of targeting the field of demography after previously 'securitizing' the environmental sector, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of several individuals. Pezhmanfar, without providing sources for his claims, described the recent detainees as individuals who 'significantly altered Iran's demographic statistics in a concentrated manner over the past five years and, in collaboration with some individuals within the government, were able to present false statistics even to top figures in the regime.' He did not name any of these top officials, but previously, Ali Khamenei had called the population control policies of past decades a mistake. Pezhmanfar also claimed that 'evidence and documentation regarding the connection of these individuals with Western espionage networks' exist and that 'security agencies will publish them at the appropriate time.' According to this representative, 'these individuals were those who presented false statistics regarding demographic policies' and caused a kind of 'indifference and negligence' about Iran's population among officials and the Ministry of Health. He introduced part of the 'enemy's assault' on Iran as 'population reduction' as a 'total war' and claimed that for this reason, 'the enemy is planning and executing a coherent program.' Pezhmanfar asserted that the actions of the detainees in the population control field, who worked in 'research centers,' have brought Iran into a 'crisis' regarding its population. He also added that although the United Nations declared Iran's demographic situation as 'critical' in a report, 'active individuals in these research centers lobbied at the UN to erase all reports from the UN's reporting pages and prevented the continuation of these issues.' This representative also stated that the actions of these 'infiltrators' became 'apparent' and were 'controlled' when the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic issued a 'warning' regarding the reduction of Iran's population, and 'investigations' were conducted afterward that revealed 'manipulation' in the statistics. He provided no documentation for his statements and claims. The population control policy in Iran has been promoted since 1989 with slogans like 'two children are enough' and 'better life, fewer children,' and was even encouraged by clerics. However, Khamenei, in a sudden shift, deemed the preference for fewer children as a 'malady' and for the first time in 2013 called his previous stance on population control a mistake, subsequently issuing a decree titled 'General Population Policies' to the three branches of government. Following this decree, the Islamic Republic's demographic approach changed to the point where procreation was encouraged from all government platforms, and several hardline political figures accused Hassan Rouhani's government of negligence in properly implementing the general population policies.