Promotion of Reza Taqati in the Ministry of Culture; Journalists Claim Controversial Manager Has Been Promoted, Officials Deny

On Sunday, November 5, news spread on social media platform 'X' regarding Reza Taqati, the dismissed head of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Department of Gilan Province, accused of 'unconventional sexual relations.' Pejman Mousavi, editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Tajrobeh, claimed that Taqati, who was removed due to moral corruption, had been appointed again in the Ministry of Culture, this time at the central office in Tehran, working in the Coordination Office for Provincial Affairs. Mohammad Mehdi Samouei, head of the Ministry's Public Relations Center, immediately denied the news, stating, 'This news is false, and Mr. Pejman Mousavi is completely spreading lies. Taqati was removed that same day, and his replacement was introduced, while the judiciary is investigating and pursuing his case. Due to unavoidable personnel matters, he has been assigned to the Provincial Affairs Office until his legal case is resolved, and he holds no responsibilities.' In response to this denial, Bahman Babazadeh, a music journalist and activist in the Ministry, published a document from the Ministry's administrative automation showing Taqati's name and new title in central Tehran. Babazadeh wrote, 'I will show you with evidence that the Ministry of Culture has falsely denied Taqati's presence in the new position; here is the document. The administrative automation of the Ministry of Culture. Six days ago, Taqati was appointed to this position with the recommendation of the Minister of Culture and without the knowledge of oversight and supervisory bodies.' Pejman Mousavi also reshared images from the Ministry's automation, stating, 'This image is from the administrative automation system of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, dated November 7. Until an individual is appointed and approved by the administrative director, no name is placed there. The same office I mentioned, the Coordination Office for Provincial Affairs. I hope they do not deny their own automation anymore.' Payman Behboudi, editor of the Telegram channel 'Radio Gilan,' who first published details of Taqati's moral corruption last summer, confirmed in an exclusive interview with VOA that Taqati has been appointed to the Deputy Office for Coordination of Provincial Affairs in the Ministry of Culture with the approval of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Raisi government. According to Behboudi, 'Taqati has been residing for free in a house belonging to the Ministry of Science and Gilan University since his dismissal and had been present in the Provincial Affairs Office for a month before receiving his appointment.' This summer, a video surfaced on social media showing a sexual relationship between two men, one of whom was allegedly Reza Taqati, the then head of the Islamic Guidance Department of Gilan. Following the release of this video, Taqati, who was also the founder of a 'Chastity and Hijab' workshop, was dismissed from his position. Mohammad Mehdi Ismaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the Raisi government, stated regarding this 'scandal' to the ILNA news agency, 'Before these news reports were published, I had not received any negative or contradictory reports about him.' Mohseni Ejei, head of the judiciary, also reacted on August 1 to the videos released about the sexual relationships of several government officials in Gilan, calling the release of these videos 'a diversion by the enemy to mislead the public' and said, 'We must increase our awareness and prioritize our issues, distinguishing between insiders and outsiders, and be cautious not to play into the enemy's hands, as we are all members of one family. If there are problems, we must solve them through cooperation and wisdom within the family; we must not allow outsiders to take the lead and let incompetent and infiltrating individuals take charge.'