Student Basij Reaction to Dismissal of Political Deputy of the Ministry of Interior; Protest Gathering and Letter Writing

The Student Basij of 'Greater Tehran Universities' reacted to the dismissal of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior by sending a 'protest letter' to the Minister of Interior and holding a gathering in front of the Ministry of Interior building. The 'protest letter' from eight Basij student organizations at Tehran universities stated that the Minister of Interior should know that with this 'extortion', he has established a bad precedent that will affect other branches and institutions until the end of this parliament's term. The letter, published by the 'Mehr' news agency, emphasized that if executive officials cannot stand against greed, they should resign so that 'revolutionary and courageous managers can replace them.' The Student Basij of Tehran universities declared the representatives pursuing the dismissal of the political deputy of the Minister of Interior as 'traitors to the people's vote.' Yesterday, several Basij members gathered in a 'protest gathering' in front of the Ministry of Interior building, which was simultaneously covered by government-affiliated media, including the 'Fars' news agency. According to the 'ISNA' news agency report, the protesters held placards in protest against the parliament representatives for insisting on the resignation of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior and criticized the Ministry of Interior for accepting the representatives' request. They chanted slogans claiming that 'extortion, rent-seeking, and corruption' were 'behind the scenes' of this dismissal. These reactions intensified after the Ministry of Interior's information center announced on August 14 that the political deputy of this ministry had been dismissed. This dismissal followed pressure from members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on the Minister of Interior and threats of impeachment. Mohammad Reza Gholam Reza, a commander of the IRGC and Quds Force, was appointed as the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior at the beginning of Ebrahim Raisi's government by Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior, who also has a background in the IRGC and Quds Force. The challenge between the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Ministry of Interior began when, on June 1, a letter from the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior was sent to the governors and district governors, prohibiting the entry of representatives 'in executive affairs in the final year of the parliament.' This issue became an excuse for criticism of this decision, leading to claims by the Minister of Interior and the Speaker of the Parliament that parts of the Ministry of Interior's 'controversial directive' were canceled. However, this was not the end of the matter, as representatives threatened Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic, demanding the dismissal of 'Mohammad Reza Gholam Reza.' Although Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, denied this demand, several representatives confirmed it. Yesterday, the Minister of Interior appointed another IRGC commander, who had served as the governor of Qom for the past two years, as Gholam Reza's successor in the political deputy position of the Ministry of Interior. Mohammad Taghi Shahcheraghi, 62, a former commander of the IRGC, was appointed as the governor of Qom two years ago by the cabinet of the thirteenth government. Shahcheraghi has a record of commanding the IRGC in Qom, Tehran, Semnan, Markazi, Golestan, and Mazandaran. The dismissal of 'Gholam Reza' was under pressure from the parliament; the governor of Qom became the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior. The pressure from the parliament was effective; the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior was dismissed.