Removal of 'Gholamreza' Under Pressure from Parliament; Qom Governor Becomes Political Deputy of Interior Minister

Following the dismissal of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, Mohammad Taghi Shahcheraghi, the governor of Qom, was appointed to this position and to head the election headquarters on Tuesday, August 15. Mohammad Taghi Shahcheraghi, 62, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was appointed as the governor of Qom two years ago by the cabinet of the thirteenth government. He has a history of commanding the IRGC in Qom, Tehran, Semnan, Markazi, Golestan, and Mazandaran. The appointment of military personnel to political and governmental positions is a longstanding practice in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the thirteenth government led by Ebrahim Raisi came to power in the summer of 2021, the presence of military personnel in senior management positions has significantly increased, with a notable rise in the number of military ministers, military officials in various agencies, as well as military governors, mayors, and district governors. Mohammadreza Gholamreza, the dismissed political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, had previously held positions such as deputy of the Quds Force of the IRGC, deputy minister of intelligence, and head of Tehran's intelligence organization. Among the governors with military backgrounds are eight individuals, including Gholamreza Fakhari, governor of Tehran, Abedin (Zain al-Abidin) Khoram, governor of East Azerbaijan, Gholamali Heydari, governor of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Yaqoub Ali Nazari, governor of Razavi Khorasan, Mojtaba Abdollahi, governor of Alborz, Sadegh Khalilian, governor of Khuzestan, Mehdi Doosti, governor of Hormozgan, and Bahman Amiri Moghaddam, governor of Kermanshah. Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior in the thirteenth government, also has a background as a commander of the IRGC. However, the dismissal of Mohammadreza Gholamreza, the political deputy and former head of the election headquarters in the Ministry of Interior, occurred following threats from Parliament to impeach the Minister of Interior. Gholamreza's directive in June of this year addressed to the governors and mayors regarding the prohibition of the entry of parliament representatives into executive matters in the final year of Parliament faced widespread criticism from representatives. These objections continued with the removal of sections from this 'controversial directive' until the government finally agreed to dismiss Mohammadreza Gholamreza 'to strengthen cooperation between the branches.' The pressure from Parliament was effective; the political deputy of the Minister of Interior was dismissed. Criticism from a member of Parliament regarding the extensive presence of military personnel: 'The country has become like a barracks!' A 'non-public' session of Parliament to review the Ministry of Interior's directive; 'tension in the public session' upon the arrival of Ahmad Vahidi.