The Role of a Former Security Agent in the Babak Zanjani Case

The Iran newspaper, close to the government, reported that "Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, visited this principlist representative in the hospital less than 24 hours after Rouhollah Hosseinian threatened him and wished him health." The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front page to Rouhollah Hosseinian on Tuesday and reviewed the "political positions" of this current member of parliament and former security-judicial figure. The newspaper wrote: Hosseinian, whose name is memorable with nostalgic headlines from the reformist era newspapers, has returned to the forefront of the news after a long time. This time, what made him a focal point in political news was his threat of execution and burial; a promise he made to Salehi and Zarif. The Etemad newspaper, on its front page titled "JCPOA Under Bombardment of Proposals," wrote: During the review of the details of the JCPOA plan in parliament, the "opposition faction" bombarded this plan with proposals; 170 proposals for one plan. This newspaper emphasized that these proposals are the same ones that were raised and rejected in the National Security Commission, writing: "However, the opponents are not willing to back down; neither from their efforts to change the course of the JCPOA nor from their ideals for what they consider a good agreement." The Qanoon newspaper, in its Tuesday issue, reported on one of Babak Zanjani's partners named Hamid Fallah Heravi, stating that this "former security manager turned to economic activities after being dismissed from a security agency" and after connecting with Babak Zanjani, became "the connecting link between him and many institutions and officials." The Shahrevand newspaper, in a report titled "Citizens Under Siege of Unhealthy Foods," examined the "consequences of jeopardizing food safety." The statements of the President during his trip to Mazandaran have drawn the attention of several newspapers. The Shahrevand newspaper, while dedicating its front page photo to Hassan Rouhani's speech in Sari, quoted him as saying, "Do not shout from the people's pockets in response to critics of the nuclear agreement." The Iran newspaper also quoted the President as saying, "I will not allow the continuation of sanctions to hurt people's lives." Kayhan dedicated its front page to the remarks of the Supreme Leader, quoting Ayatollah Khamenei as saying, "Preserving the appearance and changing the essence of the system is the main goal of the enemy." According to this newspaper, the Supreme Leader, in a meeting with officials and managers of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization and members of the Supervisory Council of this organization, said: "Within the framework of the enemy's soft war objectives, the name of the Islamic Republic remaining and even the presence of a cleric at its head is not important; what matters is that Iran fulfills the goals of America, Zionism, and the global power network." Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, the Minister of Interior during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, during an interview with the Bahar newspaper spoke about the reformists' plans for the upcoming parliamentary elections and emphasized that "we must prevent extremists from seizing power." The Arman newspaper reported that "nine Iranian teachers detained by the UAE government are still in prison." This newspaper wrote: "About seven days ago, nine male Iranian teachers and thirteen female teachers were arrested on the pretext of not having business cards and work permits in the Al Ain area, which is under the supervision of Abu Dhabi, although the female teachers have currently been released on bail." According to the Aftab Yazd newspaper, Mostafa Moein, the Minister of Science during the reformist era, during remarks at the inauguration of the Islamic Association of Amir Kabir University regarding the issue of "starred students during his ministry" said: "This was another one of the lies that came out of the mouth of the then President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] during that infamous debate. I was in Mashhad at the time, and our candidate [Mir Hossein Mousavi] did not have accurate information about this issue due to his 20-year absence from executive work, so Dr. Jafar Tofighi and a group of other colleagues wrote a response to this accusation and sent it to Ezzatollah Zarghami, which, however, was never broadcast by the state television but was published in newspapers." Mostafa Moein also stated that "starred students" as "a violation of academic records" has existed for a long time, but "the number of individuals whose selection was requested for explanations was very small, just as I said it existed in previous governments. But as far as I know, in the government whose president made this accusation against us, many students were starred and expelled." Rouhollah Hosseinian from "Chiragh" to "JCPOA" The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front page to Rouhollah Hosseinian on Tuesday and wrote: Hosseinian, whose name is memorable with nostalgic headlines from the reformist era newspapers, has returned to the forefront of the news after a long time. This time, what made him a focal point in political news was his threat of execution and burial; a promise he made to Salehi and Zarif. This newspaper pointed out that "Rouhollah Hosseinian, after the approval of the generalities of the JCPOA plan, went to the hospital," emphasizing that Majid Ansari, who sat next to Zarif and Salehi in the Sunday parliamentary session, confirmed the story of Hosseinian's threat against these two government officials, and of course stated that "Salehi and Zarif are used to hearing such words." Shargh emphasized that "perhaps that is why Ali Akbar Salehi, regardless of whether Hosseinian's threat was serious or a joke, visited Hosseinian in the hospital on Tuesday to capture the image of their smiles in one frame." The newspaper referred to Gholamreza Tajgardoon's account of Hosseinian's goal in threatening Salehi and wrote about the acceptance of this member of parliament: "Hosseinian said he did this to anger Salehi, and in the end, he achieved his goal." This newspaper pointed out that "angering the opponent with threats of execution is exactly what has caused Hosseinian's name to be circulated with images and poems about cement on social media since Sunday," writing: To answer why Hosseinian should use such a tactic against his political rival, one must "go back to earlier years; years when reviewing the events of that time reveals the political origins and intellectual roots of Rouhollah Hosseinian, and consequently, one can judge the reason for his behavior on Sunday." Shargh wrote that Rouhollah Hosseinian, born in 1955 in Shiraz, entered the judicial-intelligence apparatus from the early 1980s and held positions such as deputy representative of the Revolutionary Court in the Ministry of Intelligence, deputy prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in the Ministry of Intelligence, prosecutor of the Special Clergy Court, and head of the Islamic Revolution Document Center. In the previous government, he was also "security advisor in Ahmadinejad's first government." This newspaper pointed out that what made Rouhollah Hosseinian a media figure was his presence in the television program "Chiragh," writing: "IRIB invited Rouhollah Hosseinian to the evening program 'Chiragh' on January 21, 1999, just six days after the Ministry of Intelligence of the reformist government published a historic statement declaring the self-styled forces of this ministry responsible for the chain murders. In that program, he accused the reformist officials of the murders and attributed the chain murders to them." Shargh wrote that "two weeks after Hosseinian's appearance in the Chiragh program, Saeed Imam was arrested by the judicial organization and introduced as the main perpetrator of the chain murders," but "shortly after, with the announcement of Saeed Imam's suicide in prison, Hosseinian referred to him as martyr Saeed Islami, spoke at his memorial service, and in an extensive speech at Haqqani School, once again introduced the security forces of the reformist government as responsible for the chain murders and also for the murder of Saeed Imam." According to this newspaper, after the reformist era, Rouhollah Hosseinian came to the government with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and became the security advisor to the ninth government, and later in the eighth parliamentary elections, he entered the parliament as a representative of Tehran and established a faction called the Islamic Revolution Faction. This faction's structure and discourse were a carbon copy of the Young Builders and the reproduction of this team supporting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad within the eighth parliament caused the name of the deputy to remain associated with Hosseinian and his friends such as Rasayi and Koochakzadeh until the end of the eighth parliament's term. Shargh pointed out the internal disputes within the principlist faction, stating: "If until 2011, the identity of supporting the government and opposing moderate principlists seemed sufficient for Hosseinian's faction and friends, after the events of April 2011 and Ahmadinejad's house arrest, supporting that government was no longer advisable," and thus "the supporters of Ahmadinejad's government became the founders of the Stability Front, and once again, Hosseinian played a prominent role in the leadership of this organization. He entered the ninth parliament with the list of this organization along with his fellow companions." This newspaper also referred to Hosseinian's implicit support for the assailants against Ali Larijani during the speech on February 11, 2013, in Qom, writing: "Rouhollah Hosseinian, who seemed to have lost his last ticket in the political game with the end of Ahmadinejad's era, found a new ground for play with the beginning of nuclear negotiations. The reproduction of the confrontation atmosphere with reformists, this time in the negotiation space and under the banner of anti-Americanism, provided a new platform for the hardliners' discourse, and this was the space that peaked on Sunday. From accusations of treason and betrayal of the homeland and hostility to the guardianship of the Islamic jurist directed at the supporters of negotiations, it went further to threats against Zarif and Salehi so that Rouhollah Hosseinian, as the number one man against the agreement, began his return to the peak days with a promise of cement." Shargh also wrote that in the elections of the upcoming March, it will be revealed whether Hosseinian's return is "a return for a long-term period or the last effort of a survivor for a final display at the end of his days in presence." The role of a former security agent in the oil broker case; Hamid Fallah Heravi, partner and introducer of Babak Zanjani The Qanoon newspaper, in its Tuesday issue, reported on one of Babak Zanjani's partners named Hamid Fallah Heravi, stating that this "former security manager turned to economic activities after being dismissed from a security agency" and after connecting with Babak Zanjani, became "the connecting link between him and many institutions and officials." The Qanoon newspaper mentioned Hamid Fallah Heravi's name only once in its report and referred to him mostly by the abbreviation "H-F-H," writing: Hamid Fallah Heravi "was active in the petrochemical field and also in the Social Security Organization of Armed Forces of Iran, known as SATA, before joining Babak Zanjani. In one of the transactions, in September 2008, SATA purchased 51% of the investment company 'G' [Ghadir], which was estimated to be worth about 1800 billion tomans in 2008. (H-F-H) was introduced by SATA as one of the board members of the investment company 'G.'" The Qanoon newspaper also referred to Hamid Fallah Heravi as the person who signed the sales contract during the transaction between Babak Zanjani and Saeed Mortazavi, the then head of the Social Security Organization, regarding some companies under this organization. This newspaper also wrote that Hamid Fallah Heravi "was also involved in oil transactions alongside Babak Zanjani" and was one of the main intermediaries and introducers in the two billion euro oil transaction between Babak Zanjani and M-Sh [Mahdi Shams] with the Oil Pension Fund affiliated with the Ministry of Oil of Iran, and in fact, Hamid Fallah Heravi "was both the chairman of the board and the main representative of Babak Zanjani's companies and also his introducer to important state companies in Iran." The Qanoon newspaper wrote about the extent of Hamid Fallah Heravi's influence in the previous government: "His influence in Ahmadinejad's government was so great that, according to the indictment, ultimately with the introduction of H-F-H and other individuals, Babak Zanjani managed to obtain a resolution on July 7, 2012, from three ministers of Ahmadinejad's government, the former ministers of oil, economy, and industry, mining, and trade, and the former head of the Central Bank, a resolution that was the 'key' to Babak Zanjani's presence in Iran's economy and extensive trust-building in state institutions and all subsequent transactions." This newspaper also pointed out that Hamid Fallah Heravi was present alongside Babak Zanjani in the meeting of three ministers and the head of the Central Bank, where the bank F.I.A.B.I belonging to Babak Zanjani received permission to deposit oil money into accounts controlled by the accused, and this permission led to the disappearance of "two billion eight hundred million euros" that now, three years later, the government of Hassan Rouhani is "looking for." The Qanoon newspaper noted that "the first time Babak Zanjani's name became public was with the disclosure of a tape that Saeed Mortazavi recorded from Fazl Larijani and was broadcast by Ahmadinejad in parliament," writing: "Following media disclosures, his connection with Hamid Baghaei and Seyed Hassan Mir Kazemi kept Babak Zanjani at the top of the news related to Ahmadinejad." After three sessions of the court hearing the charges against Babak Zanjani, the indictment of the three main defendants in the case was read. During these sessions, the charges against the three main defendants regarding forgery of documents and records, debts to the National Oil Company, contracts with the Social Security Organization, and Babak Zanjani's relationships with the ministers and managers of Ahmadinejad's government received more media attention than other charges.