Ahmadinejad Wants To Be Iran's Yeltsin, Says Former Adviser
A former adviser to Iran's ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the controversial politician wishes to do for Iran what Boris Yeltsin did for the Soviet Union.
A former adviser to Iran's ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the controversial politician wishes to do for Iran what Boris Yeltsin did for the Soviet Union.
The adviser said Ahmadinejad believes that the collapse of the regime is imminent and that he wants to play a part during the transition period similar to what Yeltsin did in Russia. So, it is important for him to preserve his position in the system, that is currently limited to his membership in the Expediency Council.
Abdolreza Davari who was loyal to Ahmadinejad during his presidency (2005-2013), but later turned against him to appease the current hardliner government, also opined that President Ebrahim Raisi’s government is in fact the continuation of Ahmadinejad's administration.
He claimed that if Ahadinejad was to form a cabinet for a third term, he would have more or less chosen the same ministers. "The difference is that this third government is far less efficient than the first two," he said.
Davari pointed out in his interview with Khabar Online website in Tehran, that the difference between Ahmadinejad and Raisi is that the former had a lot of managerial track record, but the latter lacks any executive experience.
In fact, most of the hardliner Paydari front dominating the parliament and many of Raisi’s ministers were Ahmadinejad supporters and officials who broke away from him, at least publicly, after he fell out of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s favor.
Ahmadinejad turned into an effective critic of the ruling elite, when he levelled all sorts of accusations against Iranian officials including Khamenei after 2017. The charges Ahmadinejad made against Khamenei, former President Hassan Rouhani and former Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani and former Majles Speaker Ali Larijani included accusations of financial corruption, and political inefficiency.
Nonetheless, Davari observed that Ahmadinejad has been conspicuously silent during recent months. He said this is because the former President does not wish to lose his position at the Expediency Council by making comments that might annoy Khamenei. His job at the EC gives him a margin of security that protects him against his political rivals. Davari also said that another reason for Ahmadinejad's silence is that the team that administered his social media accounts has separated from him and he no longer has access to those accounts.
Davari further claimed that Ahamadinejad cannot gather more than 200 to 300 people in Tehran while his predecessor former President Mohammad Khatami can have up to 10 thousand of his supporters gathered in the Iranian capital. This claim runs counter to facts, however, as thousands of people showed up at some of Ahamdinejad’s rallies in provinces prior to June 2021 elections.
Meanwhile, he wrote letters to US Presidents Obama and Trump, as well as renowned artists including Angela Joly and voiced his ideas about almost everything in tweets in English addressing well-known celebrities.
Ahmadinejad also went to international exhibitions abroad including in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, where he seized the opportunity to give interviews to the press and expressed his ideas about "managing the world," a topic that was his favorite during the eight years of his presidency.
Ahmadinejad was the first Iranian President who went to New York to take part in the UN General Assembly every year. When in New York, he made all sorts of controversial remarks about hot topics including the Holocaust, homosexuality, Iran's problematic ties with the United States and its enmity with Israel.
Last year, Iran International published a facial composite of Salarvand that was obtained from Lab-Doukhtegan (Sealed Lips) hacktivist group, and the new photo – released for the first time by an account called ‘3ackd0or’ on Tuesday – corroborated his identity.
He is the head of the ‘Intelligence Group 13,’ which is apparently a sub-group within the Shahid Kaveh unit, headed by an IRGC cyber warfare commander, Hamidreza Lashkarian (Lashgarian)
Salarvand’s team was in charge of preparing a database of targets for cyberattacks, including cargo ships, gas stations and maritime control centers in the US and elsewhere.
The 30-year-old with a bachelor’s degree in information technology engineering from the South Branch of Tehran’s Azad University with a lower-than-average grade of 13, according to his BS certificate, which was also released by Lab-Doukhtegan.
On Monday, Iran International released photos of key Iranian players in global cyberattacks who are affiliated with various government intelligence agencies in Tehran.
Last week, Albania cut diplomatic relations with Iran and expelled its diplomats and immediately its security forces entered the embassy compound looking for evidence.
The United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s intelligence ministry and its minister, with NATO also expressing support for its member state Albania.
Mohammad Saleh Jokar a hardliner lawmaker told the media on Monday, that that the bill has been handed over to the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and nothing can be done about it.
Jokar, who is an IRGC general, called on other lawmakers not to follow the case any longer as "this is a job done" and that "there is nothing to be followed up about the case." He said the bill is no longer on the agenda of the Majles.
To dissuade lawmakers from following up the matter, he added: "The bill is now like a dead man who is buried. What are you looking for now?"
The Siyanat (Protection) plan is a draft bill from June 2021 by ultra-hardliners titled “Legislation to Protect Cyberspace Users’ Rights”. An ad hoc parliamentary committee in February approved the outlines of the Siyanat bill which will result in broad restrictions on social messaging platforms and access to the global net.
Many Iranians on social media have expressed concern over the handover of the case to the Supreme Council of Cyberspace which operates under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Moderate website Rouydad24 quoted Mohammad Keshvari of the council as saying that the bill has been already approved and the executive bodies involved have been duly notified.
Explaining the process lawmaker Jalal Rashidi Koochi said some of those who initiated the motion to restrict Internet access at the Majles, are also present at the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. So, when they found out that the Majles is against the bill, they took it to the council for approval.
Former lawmaker Ali Motahari had said in a September 10 tweet: "According to the Constitutional Law, no institution other than the parliament (Majles) is entitled to make laws." He added: "The recent resolution by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace is in fact the same as the former bill to restrict Internet access that remained inconclusive at the Majles."
Motahari pointed out that "This is some kind of legislation and therefore, it is not valid." He warned that it is time for the Majles to defend the people and its own rights."
Meanwhile, another former lawmaker, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, said in an interview on Monday, "What is the role of the Majles if councils are going to make laws?" She further called on lawmakers to defend the authority of the parliament.
Ms. Jelodarzadeh added that the bill to restrict Internet access was sent to the Majles several times before and it was rejected it every time. “This means that restricting Internet access is not something the people of Iran want." She further stressed that "The revolutionary Majles should uphold and safeguard the rights of the nation."
She stressed that "In the age of communication we should be moving toward expanding access to cyberspace rather than trying to restrict it," adding that the people of Iran do not like the idea of creating a closed network inside Iran and restrict people's access to the outside world.
Earlier, in a statement released in March 2022 The US State Department criticized Iran over its plans to tighten Internet access and urged the government “to allow its citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression and to freely access information.” The statement also said that the so-called “User Protection Bill" aims to further limit Internet access, increasing censorship and restricting free speech online.”