THE POWER TRIANGLE IN IRAN
The people who remember “the 1357 H.S.
(Hegira- Shamsi) (1978) Events” in Mashhad, the center of
the city of Khorasan, would also recall the people that were
in the front lines at the protest demonstrations or the
people who attended the meetings at the houses of the
Mujtaheds (the senior clergymen who could make reforms in
the religion according to the contemporary necessities). In
order to understand the on-going events that are experienced
in our country today, we should be aware of the friendships
that has developed after the Revolution and distinguish the
beginning of some bonds and know how some connections
between some people had a role in the Iranian Islamic
regime.
I am talking about the years in which
Ayatollah Ghomi was actually a source of role-modeling in
the city of Mashhad. The man who identified Khomeini as a
mujtahed in the 1342 H.S. Events and by this way played one
of the most significant role in preventing Khomeini from
going to the jail was Ayatollah Ghomi as well. Ghomi who was
known as a political and religious figure, namely as a
Mujtahed, had lived in the exile for years in the city of
Karaj until the Palace wanted him to move to Mashhad. After
he had moved to Mashhad, the house of this Mujtahed
commenced to host more “guests”.
At that period, Sheikh Vaez Tabasi and
the present spiritual leader of Iran, Seyyed Ali Khamenei
were hosting the guests at the house of the newly-moved
Ayatollah and in more accurate words they were serving tea!
Younger and less known Hashameinejad was more hard-working
compared to them. At that period, there existed an other
young noteworthy spiritual (Mullah) in Khorasan and
especially in the religious circles of the city of Mashhad.
Although this young Mullah did not attend such kind of
gatherings very frequently, his canonical jurisprudence
knowledge of Islam was better than Khamenei’s and Vaez
Tabasi’s of that. That spiritual was Ayatollah Shehroudi,
the head of judiciary today. It is like a tale, isn’t it!!?
The people that remember the protest
demonstrations during the Revolution years would certainly
recall that they had seen these five Mullahs at the front
rows. Ali Khamenei was sent into exile to the Sistan region
after having been kept in the prison for a little while.
Later, the Shah’s Regime let him turn back to the city of
Mashhad, since Ali Khamenei dealt with literature, poetry
and even music rather than being a political figure. Due to
this fact, the young poets of the city of Khorasan dropped
by his house and read poems from time to time.
After the success of the Revolution,
Ayatollah Ghomi, who had a certain position in the religious
circles of Khorasan that has a particular importance within
the Shiite Sect, and who had a “previous conviction as a
supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini” came to Tehran with the
particular study program known as Islamic Government
Announcement and went to Khomeini. This particular program
brought by Ghomi was not in compliance with the demands of
Khomeini. Actually, no one could have dared to write a
program in order to guide Khomeini. This fact would have not
been changed even if that man had been Ghomi who had saved
Khomeini’s life and who was the ally of the Shah regime at
back stage… In spite of this fact, Ayatollah Khomeini, who
remained to be silent, got rid of Ghomi. Later on, Khomeini
did not accept him at the Revolutionary Council and moreover
he did not put Ghomi in charge of the religious circles of
Khorasan. However, one of the five above-mentioned
spirituals should have been recognized as the “trustee” of
Khorasan’s and the Eighth Imam’s (Reza) tomb and the chest.
Apart from Ayatollah Ghomi, among the
four individuals, Ayatollah Shehroudi was the older and
wiser spiritual. However, he had two major problems: first
of all, he was more Iraqi rather than being an Iranian.
Secondly, Khomeini believed that the Mullahs that had
completed their education in Najaf were less committed to
Iran…
When we have a look at the other
candidates, it can be assessed that besides being a very
young Mullah, Hashameinejad was very devoted to Ayatollah
Montazari who was a disliked individual among the religious
circles that were committed to the conservative and Islamic
traditions and especially among the people of Mashhad, where
was known as the stronghold of the Hojjatiya movement.
Sheikh Mohammad Halebi, who is the founder and the
mastermind of the Hujjatiya movement, departed from Mashhad
and this departure was deemed very significant by Khomeini.
Khomeini did not want to loose the Hojjatiya and the circle
devoted to the movement, likewise Shah Reza who always
preferred to have the Qajar family around him in order to
take the advantage of this family’s influence on the people.
These events exactly resemble to have
glass and stone in the same bag. From then on, the time to
share had come… Ayatollah Shahroudi, who knew only Najaf
very well, one of the most important cities of the Shiite
sect, and who was in touch with the religious circles of
Iraq , was sent to Iraq in order to establish the Revolution
Majles with the cover mission of looking for black chickpeas
in order to gain time! Ali Khamenei, who did not have a
political history and who did not possess a significant
position at the religious circles, was called to Tehran in
order to undertake a practical task according to the
recommendation of Hashemi Rafsanjani and the approval of
Ayatollah Montazari as well. Khamenei had not even been a
member of the Revolution Council, in which it had had
members as Doctor Peyman and Engineer Sahabi until that
time. Meanwhile Khamenei expanded his area of work in Tehran
and became one of the founders of the Party of Islamic
Republic (Hizbe Cumhuri Islami). This party consisted of
Mullahs like Ayatollah Bahashti, Bahoner, and Rafsanjani,
and civilian revolutionaries like Kazem Bojnourdi and
Abulghasem Sarhaddizade who were in prison for a long time
as a result of their religious activities. Meanwhile, the
leaders of today’s Motalefeye Islamic Movement, who were the
direct delegates of the bazaar’s tradesmen and the indirect
delegates of the Hojjatiya Movement, played an important
role in the foundation of this party.
From then on, the triangle of rivalry in
Khorasan turned into a two-sided competition between Vaez
and Hashameinejad. Considering age and experience as
criteria, Khomeini appointed Vaez as the “trustee” of
Astanghods Razavi (namely, the Institution of the Tomb of
the Eighth Imam) and Hashameinejad as the delegate of
Friday’s prayers. Prior to the foundation of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, management of Astanghods Razavi and the
religious circles of Khorasan had been carried on by a
“deputy trustee”. The Shahs had considered themselves as the
inheritor of the wealthy Imam who was known as the “Sultan
of the Shia”. There had been experienced a tension again and
again between Shah Reza, his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and
the Mullahs in order to get this title; and finally Shah
Reza and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had succeeded to have
the title… Consequently, at the time of Pahlavi, the great
wealth of Astaneghos Razavi had been pocketed by the Palace
and no account had been given for this… However, when the
Islamic regime began to rule in Iran, the title of “deputy
trustee” was removed and the power of trustee of this
wealthy institution was directly given to Ayatollah Vaez
Tabasi. The works of this institution are now directed by a
council controlled by Ayatollah Khomeini’s group. (Ayatollah
Tavassoli, who falls from favor today, was a member of that
council and was cognizant of many secrets).
One of the most important reasons of
Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi’s being appointed to this task was his
honesty. No one ever doubted about the honesty of Vaez
Tabesi; however his son Naser Vaez Tabasi exploited his
father’s scope of influence excessively. Ayatollah Vaez, who
was very influential in decision making processes and
on-going works in the Islamic regime, lived in his former
house on the contrary to Rafsanjani or Nategh Nouri who were
living in the palaces. The reason behind Vaez’s interference
into the works of and his criticism about various political
circles in Iran was that he seemed to have a good record
when it came to the matter of thievery. Meanwhile, the
province of Khorasan as a whole was passed to the reign of
Vaez with the help of “terror of Hashameinejad”… And now Ali
Khamenei from those circles is in the position as the
religious leader of Iran for good (!!) … Hashameinejad is in
the list of Martyrs!!… and Ayatollah Ghomi is in a respected
seclusion… Ghomi still puts a lot of visitors up at his
house… However everything is under control now… Since the
house of Ghomi is in a courtyard under the constant
monitoring of IRGC forces… From the very beginning of the
revolution, Ghomi commenced to be offended to Khomeini.
However, there did not exist a great difference between his
former and present points of view. Nevertheless, Ghomi’s
opinions never suited to that of Khomeini.
Ayatollah Shehrudi stayed in Mashhad
during the life time of Khomeini and he could not find a
chance to prove himself at a governmental stage except from
the Sublime Majles of Iraq due to the above-mentioned
reasons. During those years, Shahroudi was committed to
Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi rather than Khamenei, the president of
that time. Shahroudi, who was once wiser and in a better
position than both of the Mullahs, could comprehend the
political maneuvers of Vaez Tabasi well and he felt sympathy
to them. Following the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, there
commenced a struggle of power in the country, and the
triangle remained from the five Mullahs of Mashhad began to
promote by the help of each other.
Vaez Tabasi came to Iran with the will of
Khomeini and objected to the Leadership Council in Iran from
the beginning and stated that the religion leadership
position should have been turned over to Khamenei. The true
reason behind this suggestion was Vaez Tabasi’s having an
influence on Khamenei rather than Khamenei’s own skills and
leadership qualities. Ayatollah Vaez did not put himself in
for that position, since he knew very well that behind the
curtains, to dominate the power axis in Khorasan means more
than having the opportunity to be the leader of Iran. So,
having a person who had that position under his influence
was enough for Vaez.
After the end of the council meeting and
entombing Khomeini, there emerged a period in Iran
resembling to the time of Anvar Sadat, the former president
of Egypt. Some similar developments experienced in the
Islamic Republic just as the events in Egypt. As it was
articulated by Ahmad Jenneti, “the Mullahs such as Karroubi,
Khoiniha and Abdollah Nouri who had been spoilt by the
master” should have been put aside… and that came into
reality exactly.
In this complicated period, the aim of
Ayatollah Shahroudi was to be a member of the Guardian
Council and he succeeded in this way and gained another
achievement in the way to his future. The people of Iran
were unaware of all these events while they were happening.
Ayatollah Sanei and Ayatollah Ardabili were discharged from
the council and went back to their home, namely the city of
Qom. As a continuation of the project that had been started
before, Ayatollah Montazari was got out of the way as well.
“After cleaning out the dirt on their
robes”, the ones, who realized the plan of boycotting
Ayatollah Montazari and the massacre of the political
detainees, got themselves ready to undertake the counseling
and counseling deputy positions in the security forces and
armies of the Judgment Branch and Velayet Faghih (religious
leader). (Mullahs such as Neyyeri, Reis, Razini,
Pourmuhammadi, Ejei and Masbah could be counted among these
individuals).
With the beginning of the new period, the
verdicts that were signed by the leaders were coming one by
one, and by this way ruthless eliminations were realized.
The successful Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousevi, who did
not let Khamenei interfere in his job during his term of
presidency, was eliminated and put aside. By this way, “the
wheel of the government” was completely left to the hands of
Rafsanjani. Ali Akbar Velayeti, who was nominated by then
President Khamenei repeatedly, and could not have seemed
proper to Khomeini in anyway, was appointed as the Minister
of Foreign Affairs. (Ali Akbar Velayeti is the present
adviser of the religion leaders responsible for the
International Affairs (!)).
At the beginning of the Islamic Republic,
the Motalefe Movement and the leaders of Islamic Fedaeen
operating under the Party of Islamic Republic suddenly
founded their own parties, under the name of “Islamic
Motalefeye Society” (Cemiyeti Motalefeye Islami). After the
school of Ayatollah Montazari was closed down, the people
that had been educated there moved to the “Haghani Madrasah”
and started to constitute the members of judgment and
intelligence units. Following these, Ayatollah Shahroudi
came onto the stage and became the head of Judiciary. By
this way, the pyramid of Vaez Tabasi, Shahroudi and Khamenei
was completed again like in the old days. The ties between
these three people were so tight and close; such as the
amendments that are made in the Judiciary firstly notified
to Vaez Tabesi -like they are informed to “Alizade”, the
director of the “Central Courts”- and the decisions are
taken after the consultations made with Vaez Tabesi. Alizade,
whose contradictory decisions that he made during the term
of the third Majles were criticized and who was accused of
confiscating the lands of the people by force, encountered
with such treatments of which at the end reached the stage
of taking his spiritual clothe away. Certainly, Mortazavi,
the prosecutor general of Tehran, was also appointed in
accordance with the harmony of this trio. Because of this
reason, no one has the power to bring him down from his
present position.
In regard with the amount of Astan Ghods’
income after the revolution, it can only be said that his
wealth is so much that it could not be calculated… It is
known that 10% of the income obtaining from the sale of the
natural gas in the Sarakh region is passed on to this
religious institute. As it is known, the vast land that is
possessed by this institution is covering almost the whole
Khorasan region. The offices of this religious institution
are existing in all cities and villages just like the
branches of the banks. The incomes of Astan Ghods Razavi are
used in many areas such as in making Islamic propaganda or
in covering the expenses of Ilmiyye Religious Area in Qom
and the religious leaders in and outside the country.
Especially the terrorist attacks that take place abroad, and
all of the activities such as the existence of Iran in
Lebanon and the financial support that are given to the
Hezbollah militants in that country and the financial
support to the studies of Seipah Mohammad in Afghanistan are
materialized with the “unquestioned” money that is obtained
from the Astan Ghods Razavi, because the budget of the state
is an open money source that could be calculated; however it
is impossible to calculate the income of Astan Ghods Razavi.
