Crisis of Betrayal in the Chamber of Commerce to the Private Sector
According to Iran Gate, the appointment of Hussein Salavati as the new head of the Chamber of Commerce, after receiving unconditional support from the private sector, has caused a crisis of betrayal. Independent economic activists accused him of betraying them, despite his claims of being independent from the government. Salavati’s recent actions over the past month and a half have shown that he only intended to exploit his supporters in the private sector to solidify his position.
The Chamber of Commerce, the largest and oldest non-governmental institution in Iran, has been grappling with serious crises for over 4 months. These crises have their roots in extensive government interventions in this institution, aimed at aligning the private sector parliament with Ibrahim Raisi’s policies. However, many believe that Hussein Salavati, the new head of the Chamber of Commerce, has betrayed his supporters and colluded with the Raisi government to safeguard his position.
Where did the crisis originate from?
From the early days of Ibrahim Raisi’s government, there was a sharp angle in the policies adopted by the managers and heads of the Chamber of Commerce, which gradually intensified and reached its peak at the beginning of the year 2023. The government intended to place individuals like Yahya Ab Isaac as obedient pawns at the helm of the Iran Chamber of Commerce. However, this decision faced strong reactions from private sector activists, and the government failed to achieve this goal.
The Commercial Chamber Security Project
Four months ago, when the issue of arming was not yet raised, Iran Gate published a report warning about the security of the Chamber of Commerce by Ibrahim Raisi’s government. However, other media outlets and private sector activists remained silent against this warning and allowed the government’s approach to dominate the private sector in parliament.
Although extensive disqualifications were carried out to support and endorse individuals favored by the government of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi for the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce, the passage of time has shown that such a plan did not yield results. This is despite the fact that the Ministry of Intelligence does not have permission to directly intervene in the mechanism of the Chamber of Commerce elections, and this action by the thirteenth government is illegal.
Interestingly, the Ministry of Intelligence has announced the qualification results to more than 25 candidates participating in the elections through text messages. Hossein Salavati was one of these 25 individuals who had received a text message containing the content of disqualification, but things proceeded in a way that he participated in the elections and secured the top position in this non-governmental institution with the decisive votes of the Chamber of Commerce members.
Younes Zhaleh Project
Many believe that after Ibrahim Raisi’s failure in the Al-Isaac Prime Ministerial project, he decided to design a new project that would put Yunus Zhaleh, a former member of the Revolutionary Guards and owner of the Shirin Asal industrial complex, behind the presidency of the Chamber of Commerce. Some sources even report that Majidreza Hariri, the head of the Iran-China Chamber, was supposed to implement this project and engineer the elections in a way that another Guardsman would be placed at the helm of Iran’s largest and oldest non-governmental institution.
A weapon against the government
However, as mentioned, the absolute majority of Chamber of Commerce members neutralized the government’s project, and Hussein Salavari emerged victorious in the elections with a decisive vote. In other words, Salavari, in a volatile and tense situation, managed to attract the negative votes of Chamber of Commerce members. But immediately, the government and security institutions released documents accusing Salavari of financial corruption and supporting the so-called republic overthrowers.
Some media figures collaborated with security institutions and provided distorted documents to the Yunus Jazileh team to turn the tide against the weapons dealer. However, the members of the Chamber of Commerce strongly defended their choice, and independent media outlets also supported this decision. As a result, Hussein Salarvarzi has been able to hold the leadership position and the government has been unable to assert its authority.
The weapon in the hands of the government
However, the recent performance of the weapons dealer indicates that the new head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce not only lacks value among independent members of the private sector, but also is willing to do anything to maintain the leadership position. In his first official press conference after the chamber’s election, he aligned himself so closely with Ibrahim Raisi that it shocked private sector activists.
From weapons to Sasan
However, the strange and shocking decisions regarding weapons did not end here. It went on to select individuals who provoked the anger of the Chamber of Commerce members. In the past week, Sasan Shahvisi was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce. Shahvisi, who introduces himself as an international economic expert, is known in the media as a radical and fundamentalist individual.
Being a graduate of Imam Sadiq University, he has a very close relationship with the economic and political policies of Ibrahim Raeisi’s government. This relationship not only exists, but Shahvisi is excessively close to the most radical faction in Raeisi’s government. Shahvisi’s strange interviews criticizing the private sector or accepting FATF and Palermo bills have been published in the media. He has a peculiar ideological affinity with individuals like Hojatollah Abdolmaleki and Mehrdad Bazrpash. Now, he has reached the top of the largest non-governmental institution in Iran’s hierarchy.
That’s why it is said that by choosing Sasan Shah Vaisi as the Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce, which is practically a private parliament that represents all aspects of the private sector, a complete betrayal has been committed against the private sector activists who had fully supported him. This betrayal not only erodes the trust in the Chamber of Commerce but also indicates that interesting days are ahead for the Chamber of Commerce and the larger economy of Iran.
What does Reisi want from the Chamber of Commerce?
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