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Kaveh Barzegar

The recent public speech by president Ahmadinejad of Iran in the religious city of Qom ‎carried with it a number of new shocking claims one of which related to illegal cigarette ‎smuggling activities of a prominent Iranian politician. This charge was so general and ‎ambiguous that it was quoted verbatim by the media. But now a website loyal to the ‎president has posted a news item that describes this charge in more detail. The site ‎indirectly identifies the person Mr. Ahmadinejad has charged who is none other than ‎Mohsen Rezai, former commander of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards and the ‎current secretary of the State Expediency Council led by ayatollah Rafsanjani.‎

Rejanews website which in news circles is known as the site operated by close allies of ‎president Ahmadinejad and the election campaign headquarters for him carried a news ‎report titled “Uncovering the President’s Expose: Former Military Commander is a ‎Member of Cigarette Smuggling Mafia.” The story also said “the individual is a member ‎of a Council as well,” while also referencing news reports by a website belonging to the ‎individual over the issue of Parsian bank, which is a direct reference to the Baztab news ‎website that is operated by Mohsen Rezai, the former Passdaran commander.‎

Previously, Mr. Ahmadinejad had described this person as, “This person is currently ‎active in one of the ‘centers’, gives many interviews and makes large claims while ‎presenting unusual and strange analysis.”‎

and makes large claims while presenting unusual and strange analysis.” ‎

These references together clearly point to Mohsen Rezai who just last week was accused ‎of forcefully getting money from a rival importer and exerting pressure on the head of the ‎government’s tobacco agency. Now Rejanews explicitly accuses Rezai of being affiliated ‎with a cigarette smuggler and the smuggling of Marlboro cigarettes into Iran through the ‎Al Rashedein trading company in Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, while using his ‎influence in favor of cigarette smugglers and the provision of financial support for ‎operational and electioneering purposes of a number of political parties across the ‎country in return for providing a safe sanctuary to these profiteers. The site also ‎complains about the reticence of the judiciary over these violations.‎

Last week, while giving a public speech in the city of Qom, president Ahmadinejad had ‎said, “There is a person whom you will recognize if I give away his details. To disrupt ‎this business gang, the (government) tobacco agency announced recently that it would ‎end the monopoly of importing cigarettes into the country and turn the business over to ‎the open private market. So anyone who wanted could import cigarettes provided they ‎followed the existing health and import regulations. Following that an individual came ‎forward and said that he wanted to import cigarettes into the country without engaging in ‎corrupt and deceitful practices. But another person who is currently active in one of the ‎‎(official) ‘centers’, who gives many interviews and makes large claims while presenting ‎unusual and strange analysis came forward, and told the person who wanted to import ‎cigarettes outside the corrupt practices that he had to pay 5 billion dollars to a named ‎individual. When the person asked why he had to pay him that money, he was told that ‎unless he did he would not be allowed to import cigarettes.”‎

These open allegations by Mr. Ahmadinejad’s allies against the former Passdaran ‎commander come at a time when former Passdaran commander Rezai and current ‎secretary of the State Expediency Council had succeeded in creating a powerful ‎opposition choice Ahmadinejad’s allies in the last Majlis elections held on March 2, 2008 ‎through the complicity of Tehran mayor Qalibaf and former National Security secretary ‎Larijani.‎

Ahmadinejad’s allies suffered a setback during the Majlis elections because of Rezai’s ‎separation from the president’s alliance and hurt his Principalists (as they are called), and ‎they still look upon the Extensive Coalition of Principalists (formed by opponents of ‎Ahmadinejad which includes Rezai) with bitter memories.‎