Spotlight on Iran

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Spotlight on Iran

June 2011—Khordad 1390 Week of May 26-June 1, 2011 Editor: Raz Zimmt

Highlights of the week

 Internal conflict in Iran’s conservative camp—President Ahmadinejad warned,“deviant faction” increasingly accused of economic corruption

 Strong objections to possibility of Foreign Minister Salehi visiting Saudi Arabia

 More voices calling for reexamination of policy banning use of satellite dishes

 “Temporary marriage”, 2011 version: marriage arranged by text messaging

 Internal conflict in Iran’s conservative camp—President Ahmadinejad warned, “deviant faction” increasingly accused of economic corruption

Internal conflict in Iran’s conservative camp—President Ahmadinejad warned, “deviant faction” increasingly accused of economic corruption

This week’s political developments in Iran once again centered on the deep conflict within the conservative camp, some of whose leaders unleashed yet another attack on the president’s associates as part of the traditional- conservative faction’s escalating campaign against the so-called “deviant faction”.

117-11 1 Ali Sa’idi, the Supreme Leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, warned the president about the continuing influence of “deviant faction” elements on his government, saying that in recent years the government has distanced itself from the values of the Islamic revolution. He said that if one of the leaders of the three branches of government crosses any red lines, the Supreme Leader must take action against that individual.

The ultra-conservative cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi also continues making attacks on the president’s associates. Speaking at a meeting with the Islamic Society of Engineers, the senior cleric issued a warning about the growing influence of the “deviant faction”, saying it was a threat to Islam and to the achievements of the revolution.

Meanwhile, the president’s associates, mainly Rahim Masha’i and Hamid Baqa’i, are increasingly accused of economic and financial corruption. This past week, conservative websites (such as Alef) and Fars News Agency have accused Masha’i and Baqa’i of being involved in a dubious contract for building a hotel and celebration venues in the free trade zone on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, illegally obtaining land from the government, and holding shares in a company that engaged in illegal activities in the sphere of tourism.

Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad-Ali Ja’fari also claimed this week that the “deviant faction” seeks to fulfill its objectives and deepen its influence in the coming Majles elections (slated for early 2012) by distributing funds and economic benefits.

The internal disagreements in the conservative camp reached a peak when clashes broke out in the south Iranian Fars Province following Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar’s decision to sack the governor of the province, Abdollah Hosseini, affiliated with Masha’i’s opponents. The decision provoked a great deal of anger among Masha’i’s opponents, who demonstrated last weekend in front of the province governor’s office in the city of Shiraz. Chants of “Death to Masha’i” were heard during the demonstrations.

Strong objections to possibility of Foreign Minister Salehi visiting Saudi Arabia

Following reports about Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi’s plan to hold a visit to Saudi Arabia (which Salehi himself denied), some elements in the conservative camp voiced strong objections to the possibility of such a visit. Members of the

117-11 2 Majles Foreign Policy and National Security Committee claimed that if Salehi were to visit Riyadh, Iran would be seen as condoning “the crimes of the Saudi regime” and Saudi Arabia’s military involvement in Bahrain. Ahmad Tavakoli, the head of the Majles Research Center, termed the potential visit “a strategic mistake”, arguing that the very intention to hold it demonstrates how weak the Iranian diplomacy is when it comes to regional developments, and that the one to blame for it is the president.

The Iranian media also voiced objections to the foreign minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia. The daily Keyhan said Saudi Arabia should not be rewarded for its crimes in Bahrain and Yemen, its betrayal of the people in Lebanon and Gaza, and its anti-Iranian policy.

With the internal political strife in the background, some took the reports on Salehi’s plan to visit Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to slam President Ahmadinejad’s associates. Fars News Agency cited a “reliable Majles source” as saying that members of the “deviant faction” are putting considerable pressure on Salehi to hold the visit to Saudi Arabia, while the Asr-e Iran website reported that the president’s associates insist on holding the visit despite the objections of the Foreign Ministry’s official staff.

The daily Tehran Emrouz took a different approach towards Salehi’s possible visit to Riyadh, expressing support for negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The daily argued that while Saudi Arabia’s actions run counter to Iranian national interests, it is precisely for the purpose of protecting these interests that Iran’s diplomats should hold negotiations with the Saudi authorities. According to Tehran Emrouz, Salehi’s command of Arabic may allow him to hold productive negotiations in Riyadh which may even lead to increased cooperation between the two countries.

117-11 3 More voices calling for reexamination of policy banning use of satellite dishes

In recent days internal security forces in Tehran have launched yet another operation to confiscate satellite dishes from the residents of the capital city. As the Iranian authorities resume the campaign to reduce the use of satellite dishes, initiated several years ago, there have been more voices recently calling for a reevaluation of official policy on the matter.

Some members of the Majles Culture Committee announced their intention to examine the law banning the use of satellite dishes, first drafted in the mid- 1990s. The confiscation of the satellite dishes, a spokesman for the Culture Committee claimed, requires a reevaluation that will take into account the conditions prevailing in society, adding that the implementation of the law must be reconsidered in a way that will not stir discord among the people.

In recent days several Iranian websites have criticized the ineffective campaign to confiscate satellite dishes from the houses of Iran’s citizens. The Fararu website said that all attempts to fight the growing use of satellite dishes since 1994 had ended in a failure, and that the numerous operations conducted by the internal security forces could not resolve the problem and even triggered increased smuggling activity of high-tech telecommunications equipment that makes it possible to receive satellite television signals in a concealed fashion. The way to combat the phenomenon, according to Fararu, is not by security operations but rather by cultural activity that will include showing higher-quality programming on Iran Broadcasting.

“Temporary marriage”, 2011 version: marriage arranged by text messaging

In recent weeks the Iranian media reported that young men and women in Tehran and Esfahan had recently received text messages offering “temporary marriage” by returning a paid text message, requiring neither the approval of the young woman’s father nor registration with the marriage registrar office.

Borna News, the website which first reported the illegal phenomenon, warned that many young men may be tempted to use the service, which supposedly allows them to have relationships with women according to Islamic religious law while circumventing the official procedure, requiring the marriage to be registered with a government ministry and the woman’s father to give his approval. The website cited fatwas issued by senior clerics, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah

117-11 4 Ali Khamenei, according to which a temporary marriage without the father’s approval is forbidden in Islamic law.

In recent years there has been a sharp increase in temporary marriage, an arrangement permitted in Iran’s Shi’ite tradition. Iranian researchers suggest that this has to do mostly with economic problems, which cause a continuing increase in the average age of marriage and force many young couples to find temporary solutions to formalize their relationship within the confines of the law.

Internal conflict in Iran’s conservative camp—President Ahmadinejad warned, “deviant faction” increasingly accused of economic corruption

This week’s political developments in Iran once again centered on the deep conflict within the conservative camp, some of whose leaders unleashed yet another attack on the president’s associates, mainly Rahim Masha’i, as part of the traditional-conservative faction’s escalating campaign against the “deviant faction”.

Ali Sa’idi, the Supreme Leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, warned the president about the continuing influence of “deviant faction” elements on his government, saying that in recent years the government has distanced itself from the values of the Islamic revolution.

In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Sa’idi said that the support of the “Hezbollah nation and the clerics” for the government and the president is dependent on their loyalty to the rule of the religious jurisprudent. He criticized the attitude shown by the president towards the Supreme Leader’s instructions in the intelligence minister’s dismissal affair, and said that the Iranian people, the clerics, and the regime leaders had expected the president—who was elected based on his loyalty to the Supreme Leader—to fully comply with the desires of Khamenei without having to be given an explicit written request.

Sa’idi noted that if one of the leaders of the three branches of government attempts to break the government structure and crosses the “red lines”, the Supreme Leader must take action against that individual, just as Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution, fought against those who opposed the revolution in its early days, and just as the current Supreme Leader is fighting against the reformist opposition.

117-11 5 Speaking about the growing influence of the “deviant faction” in the government, Sa’idi criticized what he referred to as the actions of corrupt individuals who spread deviant, anti- sharia ideas among the president’s associates and the government (Mehr, May 28).

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the daily Keyhan, once again attacked the “deviant faction” this week. Speaking at a meeting with conservative activists in Kerman Province, Shariatmadari said that the activity of this faction is essentially similar to the activity of the reformist opposition in the riots that broke out following the 2009 elections. Unlike the reformist opposition, however, the “deviant faction” works by increasing its influence in the president’s inner circle. Shariatmadari claimed that activists belonging to the faction have set their sights on winning the majority of seats in the next Majles elections (slated for 2012) to further strengthen their influence for the 2013 presidential elections. He accused the president’s associates of encouraging deviant religious ideas based on superstition, and attempting to hurt Islam by embracing the “Iranian school of thought” at the expense of the “Islamic school of thought”. Speaking about the president’s associates’ preference of national Iranian views over religious Islamic views, the editor-in-chief of Keyhan said that if their notion of the “Iranian school of thought” was grounded in the Iran of the Islamic republic, they wouldn’t portray King Cyrus as the symbol of this school of thought (Fararu, May 27).

The ultra-conservative cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi also continues making attacks on the president’s associates. Speaking at a meeting with the Islamic Society of Engineers, the senior cleric said that the Iranian people have stood the test of the 2009 riots, and that there are even more difficult tests ahead. Mesbah Yazdi issued a warning about the growing influence of the “deviant faction” in society, saying it was a threat to Islam and to the achievements of the revolution. Religion is in danger, Mesbah Yazdi said, and one should be wary of any more “incitement” similar to that which spread after the last presidential elections (Aftab, May 27).

Meanwhile, the president’s associates, mainly Rahim Masha’i and Hamid Baqa’i, are increasingly accused of economic and financial corruption.

This past week, conservative websites (such as Alef, affiliated with Majles Research Center chairman Ahmad Tavakoli) and Fars News Agency have accused Masha’i and Baqa’i of economic corruption and activity that breaches the law. Among other things, the president’s confidants are accused of being involved in a dubious 450-million-dollar contract for building a hotel and celebration venues in the free trade zone on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, illegally obtaining land from the government, and holding shares in a company that engaged in illegal activities in the sphere of tourism.

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Baqa’i himself has firmly denied the allegations. In an interview to IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, Ahmadinejad’s vice president for executive affairs claimed that the accusations leveled against him and Masha’i are groundless and false. He noted that the accusations are used by the foreign media and anti-revolutionary elements to compromise Iran, and may hit Iran’s economic interests in the Persian Gulf region (IRNA, May 28).

Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad-Ali Ja’fari also accused the president’s associates of involvement in corruption. Speaking at a meeting with senior University Basij officials, Ja’fari said that the “deviant faction” seeks to fulfill its objectives and deepen its influence in the coming Majles elections (slated for early 2012) by distributing funds and economic benefits. He added that the presence of people holding certain religious, cultural, and political views in the president’s vicinity is now a cause for much concern among those committed to the revolution, but the Supreme Leader’s efforts have kept this issue from becoming the main problem facing the country (Fars, May 27).

The internal disagreements in the conservative camp reached a peak when clashes broke out in the south Iranian Fars Province following Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar’s decision to sack the governor of the province, Abdollah Hosseini. Fired only four days after receiving his appointment, Hosseini had replaced Ahmadzadeh Kermani, appointed by the president as the head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. Hosseini, affiliated with Masha’i’s opponents in the conservative bloc, was replaced by Farhad Sajjadi.

Mashregh, a website affiliated with the president’s critics in the conservative camp, claimed that, during his few days as governor, Hosseini had come under severe pressure from Masha’i’s supporters to resign. After he refused, he was laid off by the interior minister. The decision on his dismissal provoked a great deal of anger among Masha’i’s opponents, who demonstrated last weekend in front of the province governor’s office in the city of Shiraz. The protestors called on the president and the interior minister to sack Sajjadi and chanted slogans against Masha’i and the “deviant faction”, including “Death to the deviant Masha’i” (Mashregh, May 28).

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Members of the Students Basij in Shiraz protesting against the Masha’i and the “deviant faction” (www.mashreghnews.ir, May 28)

Strong objections to possibility of Foreign Minister Salehi visiting Saudi Arabia

This week some elements in the conservative camp voiced strong objections to the possibility of Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi holding a visit to Saudi Arabia.

There have recently been several reports claiming that Salehi intends to visit Riyadh in the near future to discuss regional developments—mainly the situation in the Persian Gulf—with the Saudi leaders. Salehi himself denied the reports and said he had no plans to visit Saudi Arabia. His deputy, Hassan Qashqavi, claimed that Salehi has no intention and never had an intention to hold such a visit (Fars, May 30).

Despite the denials, the Majles Foreign Policy and National Security Committee summoned Salehi to provide explanations. Committee member Esma’il Kowsari argued that that if the foreign minister were to visit Saudi Arabia, Iran would be seen as condoning the crimes of the Saudi regime. In an interview to Fars News Agency, Kowsari said that, considering the crimes committed by the Saudi leaders in Bahrain, the Saudi involvement in that country, and Saudi Arabia’s efforts to encourage other Arab countries to take a similar stance towards the revolutionists of the Arab world, a visit to Saudi Arabia is uncalled for and has to be canceled by the president (Fars, May 30).

Ahmad Tavakoli, the head of the Majles Research Center, also voiced his objections to Salehi’s possible visit to Saudi Arabia, referring to it as “a strategic mistake”. There is no justification for such a visit given the developments in the region and the suppression of Bahraini citizens by Saudi Arabia’s military forces, Tavakoli said. He further added that the very intention to hold the visit demonstrates how weak the Iranian diplomacy is when it comes to regional developments, and that the one to blame for it is the president, who takes a rather vague stance towards the developments in the region. Tavakoli warned that a visit by Iran’s foreign minister to Riyadh may provoke despair in Bahraini citizens, compromise the

117-11 8 Islamic awakening in the region, and be construed as Iran’s approval of the crimes committed by the Saudi royal family (Fars, May 30).

The Iranian media also voiced strong objections to the foreign minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia. A commentary article published by the daily Keyhan, titled “Don’t reward the crimes of the Saudi royal family”, says that there is no reason for the visit considering the crimes committed by the Saudi royal family in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia’s military involvement in Bahrain. According to the daily, the Saudi royal family is facing political instability and is losing its supporters in the region, and is now seeking to take advantage of Salehi’s visit to conceal its failures and its crimes against the Islamic nation. The Saudi media even reported that the purpose of the visit was to deliver an apology from Iran to the Saudi regime. The daily stressed that the Saudi regime is repressive and illegitimate, cooperating with the Americans against Iran and supporting the reformist opposition. This visit may provoke despair in Muslim nations and serve the interests of the Americans and the Zionists, who would like to stir anti-Iranian sentiments in the region. There is no reason to reward the Saudi regime for its crimes against the peoples of Bahrain and Yemen and its betrayal of the people in Lebanon and Gaza (Keyhan, May 29).

With the internal political strife in the background, some took the reports on Salehi’s plan to visit Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to slam President Ahmadinejad’s associates. Fars News Agency cited a “reliable Majles source” as saying that members of the “deviant faction” are putting considerable pressure on Salehi to hold the visit to Saudi Arabia (Fars, May 30). The Asr-e Iran website reported that Ahmadinejad’s associates insist on holding the visit despite the objections of the Foreign Ministry’s professional staff. The website even claimed that former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki had been laid off due to his refusal to bow to pressure from the president’s associates to hold a visit to Saudi Arabia (Asr-e Iran, May 29).

The daily Tehran Emrouz took a different approach towards Salehi’s possible visit to Riyadh, expressing support for dispatching him to Riyadh to negotiate with the Saudi authorities.

In its editorial, titled “Why should Salehi go to Saudi Arabia”, the daily said that while Saudi Arabia’s actions run counter to Islamic principles and Iranian national interests, it is the diplomats’ role to resolve the problems between the two countries through negotiations. The public displeasure with Saudi Arabia’s policy does not spell the end of official diplomatic activity. The worst-case scenario is that the Saudi authorities will show no respect to the foreign minister; however, it is a chance Iran must take to protect its national interests and attempt to improve the situation.

117-11 9 According to Tehran Emrouz, Salehi’s command of Arabic allows him to hold negotiations without mediators or interpreters, and tell the Saudi authorities that their policy benefits neither side. Iran should not miss the opportunity and use the regional conditions to increase its cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Avoiding negotiations will not solve the problem but only aggravate the misunderstanding between the two countries (Tehran Emrouz, May 31).

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has announced this week that Saudi Arabia is not in a position to threaten Iran, and that the Saudi royal family will never dare to pose a military threat to Iran. In an interview to Fars, Vahidi addressed the claims brought up by the Gulf Cooperation Council about the Iranian meddling in Bahrain’s internal affairs, saying that those who follow the developments in Bahrain know who it is that really meddles in Bahrain’s affairs (Fars, May 29).

More voices calling for reexamination of policy banning use of satellite dishes

In recent days internal security forces in Tehran have launched yet another operation to confiscate satellite dishes from the residents of the capital city. Over 2700 satellite dishes and 4000 LNB devices (electronic components used for satellite reception and conversion, usually fixed on the satellite dish) have been confiscated in the operation (ISNA, May 21).

As the Iranian authorities resume the campaign to reduce the use of satellite dishes, initiated several years ago, there have been more voices recently calling for a reevaluation of official policy on the matter. This week some members of the Majles Culture Committee announced their intention to examine the law banning the use of satellite dishes, drafted in the mid- 1990s.

Sattar Hedayat-Khah, a spokesman for the Culture Committee, argued that the confiscation of the satellite dishes requires a reevaluation that will take into account the conditions prevailing in society, and that the committee intends to discuss the matter. He added that while the confiscation cannot be avoided as long as the law banning the use of satellite dishes exists, it is necessary to reconsider the implementation of the law and act in a way that will not stir discord among the people (www.inn.ir, May 29).

In an interview to Mehr News Agency, Ramazan Shoja’i-Kiasari, also a member of the Culture Committee, said that the committee is looking into ways to revise the law which completely prohibits the use of equipment for reception of satellite TV channels. He noted that such channels also broadcast positive content, such as documentaries and science programs, that

117-11 10 Iranian TV would do well to show. He did not rule out the possibility of carefully selecting certain programs shown on satellite TV and airing them on Iranian channels (Mehr, May 29).

In recent days several Iranian websites have criticized the ineffective campaign to confiscate satellite dishes from the houses of Iran’s citizens.

The Fararu website covered the futile attempts made by the authorities and the internal security forces to fight the growing use of satellite dishes in Iran, claiming that all the attempts since 1994 ended in a failure. According to the website, studies conducted by Iran Broadcasting last year indicate that every year some 10 percent of Tehran residents join the growing number of people who watch satellite TV from foreign providers. The current law, which imposes a fine of several hundred dollars for installing a satellite dish, has no effect, and most people prefer watching foreign-based stations that broadcast in Persian. The website argued that senior clerics had ruled that, in principle, the use of equipment for satellite TV reception is not an issue under Islamic law, as long as such equipment is not used for watching broadcasts which the sharia prohibits.

The website reported that, in recent months, there has been ongoing smuggling of high-tech telecommunications equipment to Iran, which may be used for inconspicuous reception of satellite broadcasts without large satellite dishes. While still expensive (about 3000 dollars), past experience has shown that the price of telecommunications equipment tends to decrease over time. Hence, not only were the operations conducted by the internal security forces unsuccessful in stopping the use of satellite dishes, they have resulted in increased smuggling activity of telecommunications equipment to Iran. Past experience has shown that the operations to confiscate satellite dishes have no effect, and that technology always stays ahead of the policy. The efforts made by the internal security forces are only a waste of manpower that could have gone to other, more productive areas.

The website suggested that the authorities change their policy and focus on the cultural sphere: improving the quality of television programming shown by Iran Broadcasting and introducing private bodies into the television industry. Only then will it be possible to

117-11 11 successfully deal with the growing influence of the foreign satellite channels (Fararu, May 29).

The Borna News website also said that the fundamental solution to the problem of the growing number of people watching foreign satellite channels is to produce local programs that can successfully compete with the entertainment programs shown on satellite TV. It is impossible to deflect a missile with a knife, the website claimed, and it is no longer enough to call on Iranians to avoid watching satellite broadcasts simply because “they are bad” (Bultan News, May 28).

In the past several years the Iranian authorities have continued conducting sporadic operations to remove satellite dishes from the houses of private individuals, confiscating thousands of dishes. Such operations, however, have failed miserably, since most satellite dishes are promptly replaced with new ones. Elements in the religious and conservative establishment expressed concern over the increasing use of satellite dishes, claiming they are used to introduce Western culture into Iran. For example, Seyyed Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, the Friday prayer leader in Mashhad, formerly ruled that satellite dishes were worse than drugs, and that those who placed them on their rooftops were single-handedly poisoning their children. Satellite TV channels, the conservative cleric said, spread corruption, sex, and anti- Islamic and anti-revolutionary incitement, and the authorities must combat the smuggling and distribution of satellite dishes in Iran.

“Temporary marriage”, 2011 version: marriage arranged by text messaging

Borna News, the website which first reported the phenomenon, warned that many young men may be tempted to use the service, which supposedly allows them to have relationships with women in accordance with Islamic religious law while circumventing the official procedure, requiring the marriage to be registered with a government ministry and the woman’s father to give his approval.

The website stressed that the phenomenon is illegal and warned about its consequences. Hojjat-ol-Eslam Mohammad Reza Zamini, the former head of the Religious Information Center for Youth, referred to the sending of the text messages as “a ploy designed to lead young

117-11 12 people astray”. The cleric argued that temporary marriage is a religious-legal need designed to prevent social depravity; however, if implemented as suggested by the authors of the text messages, it may have just the opposite effect. He stressed that the registration of temporary marriage is necessary to maintain the rights of the women and make sure that, if a child is born as a result of the temporary relationship, the father can be required to pay the child’s living expenses. The cleric also warned that unsupervised temporary marriage may have additional serious consequences, including the transmission of such infectious diseases as AIDS between the partners (Borna News, May 16).

The head of the Social Work Organization also warned about the phenomenon, saying that it is illegal and that the authorities are required to combat it and increase monitoring of advertisements in the written press that encourage it. He added that temporary marriage without the knowledge of the family is dangerous and may pose severe problems to women. Women who marry in secret are considered immoral in Iranian society, he said, and may encounter difficulties when they wish to enter a permanent marriage. They may also face considerable problems in case that a child is born as a result of the temporary marriage (Borna News, May 20).

As part of the struggle, the Borna News website cited fatwas issued by senior clerics, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to which a temporary marriage without the father’s approval is forbidden in Islamic law (Borna News, May 25).

“Temporary marriage”, http://www.pix2pix.org/show.php?ID=429

In recent years there has been a sharp increase in temporary marriage (Mut’a or Sigheh marriage), an arrangement permitted in Iran’s Shi’ite tradition. Iranian researchers suggest that this has to do mostly with economic problems, which cause a continuing increase in the average age of marriage and force many young couples to find temporary solutions to formalize their relationship within the confines of the law. Some top Iranian officials have

117-11 13 suggested encouraging the institution of temporary marriage to help young Iranians. Former interior minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi argued that the increase in the age of marriage particularly affects young people, as it prevents them from fulfilling their emotional and sexual needs. He therefore suggested that the government assist them by encouraging the institution of temporary marriage. His proposal was strongly criticized on the grounds that it may further erode the status of the family institution, as well as the status of women.

According to an Iranian study released last year, temporary marriage has become a source of income for many Iranian women in recent years. The study shows that many women— particularly housewives without a permanent income as well as divorcees and widows who find themselves in a financial crisis—choose the option of temporary marriage in the hopes of improving their financial situation.

Pictures of the week: Supreme Leader visits officers’ college in Imam Hossein University

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