The Minister's Role in the 'Mr. Director General' Scandal; The Minister of Culture's Negligence in Dismissing Taqati Led to the Film's Release

In the ongoing saga of the release of the 'sexual relationship' video of the Director General of Culture in Gilan province, the manager of the Telegram channel 'Radio Gilan' stated that if the Minister of Culture had heeded warnings and dismissed Taqati, the film of this scandal would never have been published. Peyman Behboudi, who manages the Telegram channel Radio Gilan and was the first to publicly release the video of Reza Taqati's sexual relationship, told Voice of America: 'As a free media outlet, we performed our professional duty in publishing this film for informational purposes, but if the Minister of Culture had paid attention to the warnings from the National Security Commission of the Parliament and the representatives of the IRGC and had dismissed his Director General sooner, we would have refrained from releasing this film.' He claimed that 'dozens of films of sexual relationships of various individuals in society' reach Radio Gilan daily, adding: 'We refrain from publishing videos of ordinary people, but we keep an eye on those who are affiliated with power structures and hold positions such as ministers, deputy ministers, or directors general, and we will publish their videos without question.' The manager of Radio Gilan referred to the statements of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of Parliament, who said: 'The actions of those who published the video are worse than Mr. Taqati's actions,' emphasizing: 'The negligence of the Minister of Culture of the Islamic Republic led to the release of this film, and members of Parliament can impeach and dismiss the Minister for this negligence.' Peyman Behboudi also told Voice of America that prior to the release of this film through Radio Gilan, the IRGC's intelligence department in the province had possession of the video and had sent it to the center, and the IRGC intelligence organization had shown this film to the Minister of Culture, asking him to dismiss Reza Taqati from his position in Gilan's Culture Department as soon as possible, but the Minister refused. According to the manager of Radio Gilan, the 'sexual relationship' video of the head of the 'Morality and Hijab Headquarters of Gilan' was also shown in the National Security Commission of Parliament, and members of Parliament had asked the Minister of Culture to dismiss this manager as soon as possible, which request also went unanswered by the Minister. Reza Taqati, the Director General of the Culture Department of Gilan province, who was also the founder of the 'Morality and Hijab' workshop and had emphasized the necessity of adhering to 'hijab and morality' in society, was dismissed from his position after the public release of the video attributed to his sexual relationship with a young man. It is reported that he is currently detained along with 50 others in connection with this case. Peyman Behboudi: If the Minister of Culture had dismissed Taqati in time, I would not have allowed the release of this film. The whistleblower of Taqati's sexual relationship recounts more details in an interview with Voice of America. Peyman Behboudi says he obtained the sexual relationship video of Reza Taqati from his victim. The editor of the Telegram channel Radio Gilan told Voice of America: Reza Taqati has had many sexual partners; at least 7 people. Voice of America’s interview with Peyman Behboudi follows revelations of sexual relationships and moral corruption among government officials in Gilan. The dimensions of the release of the 'forbidden relationship' video are expanding; the whistleblower claims the Minister of Culture was aware of this scandal. Civil resistance against mandatory hijab is intensifying; the Minister of Culture states that hijab is a 'red line.' A member of Parliament: We had warned the Minister of Culture about Reza Taqati's relationships. The whistleblower of Taqati's scandal told Voice of America: He has had multiple sexual partners who have been detained. A former member of Parliament: The lack of action against Saeed Toosi and Reza Taqati has political reasons. Qalibaf's reaction to the scandal of the Director General of Culture in Gilan province; revealing this issue requires a judge's order.