Reactions to the Arrest of Former Deputy Mayor Under Ghalibaf in Tehran

One day after the confirmation of the arrest of the former deputy mayor of Tehran on "financial charges," the director general of the Tehran municipality's security department announced that "the arrest of the deputy of the municipal regions is not related to his responsibilities in the municipality." According to Mehr News Agency, the director general of the Tehran municipality's security department stated on Tuesday, September 4, that until now, there has been no "case of misconduct" against Eisa Sharifi in the municipality's security department, and "the arrest of the former deputy mayor of Tehran has no connection to his responsibilities in the mentioned organization." This news was published one day after Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, announced on Sunday: "The arrest of Eisa Sharifi is correct, and his charges are financial; I do not have details about the news, and even if I did, I would be unable to disclose them." The arrest of the Tehran deputy mayor occurred while Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the former mayor of Tehran, is on a pilgrimage trip. According to the Entekhab website, Hossein Ghorbanzadeh, a former advisor to the mayor of Tehran, stated that to gain more details about the reason for Mr. Sharifi's arrest, one must wait until Qalibaf returns from pilgrimage. Nevertheless, the Ta'adol newspaper does not find Qalibaf's absence at the time of introducing the new mayor and the arrest of his former deputy unexpected, stating: "In 2005, when he was first elected as the mayor of Tehran, he was on a pilgrimage. When the second city council elected him as the mayor of Tehran, Qalibaf was also on a pilgrimage. Now, he has gone on pilgrimage again at the end of his management term in the Tehran municipality." Iranian media have introduced Eisa Sharifi as "one of Qalibaf's stable managers" and one of the "record holders for presence in the Tehran municipality over the past twelve years." Mr. Sharifi even temporarily took over the municipality during times when Qalibaf was involved in presidential election campaigns. However, immediately after Hassan Rouhani's victory in the 2017 presidential elections, news about the departure of Qalibaf's deputy from the country emerged. Nonetheless, in June, Ghodrat Ghodrzi, the financial deputy of the Tehran municipality, explained in an interview with Fars News Agency that "Mr. Sharifi's daughter was ill, and he had to take his child abroad for treatment." Prior to that, the deputy for planning and councils of the Tehran municipality had announced the acceptance of Mr. Sharifi's resignation due to his child's illness. This resignation was soon overshadowed by news of his departure from Iran. With the publication of this news, the background of the man who was called the "shadow mayor" was once again brought to light, including the fact that he came to the Tehran municipality from the police force alongside Qalibaf. Mr. Sharifi has a history of serving as the deputy of the 14th Imam Hussein Division, deputy for logistics and support of the IRGC, deputy for logistics of the police force, and deputy for municipal affairs in the Tehran municipality. Although the Tehran municipality's security department has stated that Sharifi's arrest is unrelated to his activities in the municipality, the Entekhab website has called this reaction from the municipality "deflection" and stated: "Assuming the claims are true, how is it that some factions of principlists, who are the main critics of the Rouhani administration, have selected individuals as their first deputy and deputy who have backgrounds that lead to their arrest?"