Jerusalem Post columnist on Iranian reformists and the Khomeinist left
Iranian journalist Tina Ghazimorad, in a column for the Jerusalem Post, argues that the reformist movement in Iran was not the result of political reconsideration after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. According to the author, representatives of the Khomeinist left changed their public rhetoric after Ruhollah Khomeini’s death in 1989 but retained ties to the power system of the Islamic Republic.
Roles in the state apparatus
Ghazimorad links the Khomeinist left to the work of the Islamic Republic’s state, security, and censorship structures in the 1980s. She mentions Sadegh Khalkhali, who headed the revolutionary courts after 1979, and Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha, whom she calls the organizer of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the holding of American diplomats hostage.
The author writes that Saeed Hajjarian, later called the “architect of reforms,” participated in the formation of the Islamic Republic’s security and intelligence apparatus. She also notes that Mir-Hossein Mousavi was prime minister throughout the 1980s, while Mohammad Khatami became minister of culture and Islamic guidance in 1982. The columnist holds Khatami responsible for the censorship of literature, art, cinema, and the press during this period.
Claims about foreign ties
Separately, Ghazimorad examines the activities of Seyyed Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipur, who was Iran’s ambassador to Syria in 1981–1985. She claims that he helped spread Khomeinist ideology in Lebanon and links him to the process of creating Hezbollah. According to the author’s version, the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, which killed 241 Americans, was carried out under Mohtashamipur’s leadership.
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The column also mentions Mostafa Tajzadeh, who served as deputy for international affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 1984–1988. Ghazimorad claims that Iran’s cultural centers abroad were used during this time to spread the ideology of the Islamic Revolution, support terrorist operations, and promote Shiite sectarianism.
The author writes that by 1997, figures whom she links to the repressive apparatus of the 1980s had regained political influence under the name of reformists. She also makes claims about representatives of this wing having ties to Western think tanks, universities, and media outlets, mentioning Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Ghazimorad is communications director for Prince Reza Pahlavi and previously worked as editor-in-chief of news at the Persian-language Manoto TV channel in the United Kingdom.
