The Theft of 20 Cars Belonging to Iranian Parliament Members in the Past Year

A parliament member reported that in the past year, 20 cars belonging to representatives, which had special tags for passing through the main gates of the parliament building, have been stolen. Mohammad Hassan-Najad stated on Tuesday, July 2, in an interview with the Young Journalists Club affiliated with state media, that most of these cars were stolen in western Tehran. He also mentioned that a year ago, his own car, which had a special parliament hologram, was stolen and has not been found yet. This representative questioned, 'If these cars are filled with explosives and brought into the House of the Nation, who will be responsible?' Mr. Hassan-Najad did not provide further details about the thefts. Some parliament members live in organizational houses in the western Tehran neighborhood. The parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran were targeted in two simultaneous attacks on June 7, 2017, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility shortly after. In that attack, 17 people were killed and over 50 were injured. Following these events, the head of parliament security was changed, and criticisms of the performance of parliament security and law enforcement were raised. Subsequently, several representatives, including Aladdin Boroujerdi, reported an 'increase in security measures' for the parliament. Abbasali Mohammadian, head of Tehran's Criminal Investigation Police, stated in 2016 that '93 percent of stolen vehicles are discovered within the first three months after theft.' However, Mr. Hassan-Najad criticized the unclear status of these vehicles, saying, 'When we exceed the speed limit by one kilometer, we are immediately fined via text message, but these cars have still not been found.' The parliament and law enforcement have not yet responded to these statements.