The Artery of the Frontline Stability
The genealogy of a mysterious political current
The Artery of the Frontline Stability is a strategic network of supporters of the Islamic Revolution, also known as the fundamentalist group. It declared its existence at the end of last year. Initially, this political organization appeared to be a second branch of the Frontline Stability, as most of its members had a history of membership in the Frontline Stability. For example, Hamid Rasaei and Seyed Mehdi Hashemi were among the participants in its general assembly. Another noteworthy point is that two members of the government cabinet were present at the same general assembly: Mehrdad Bazrpash, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, and Seyed Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the Deputy President.
After the release of images showing the presence of the minister and the deputy president among the members of this political organization, there were many criticisms among the Artery supporters. These criticisms suggested that the presence of a minister and a deputy president in the midst of a political and, of course, election-related organization could indicate government interference in the elections. However, President Rouhani later stated that the government has no intention of interfering in the elections. But this statement was not sufficient to address the criticisms, as the appointment of the central council members of the Artery occurred after that.
It has been determined that many of them have clear connections with the influential figure, Bazarbash, and in a way, it seems that Bazarbash was the architect of this electoral coalition. However, Bazarbash had done the same thing before the eighth parliamentary elections when the Fragrant Service Organization was formed, led by Mehrdad Bazarbash, who was the Deputy Chief of the Ninth Government at that time.
With his political maneuvering, he managed to allocate a significant portion of Tehran’s list to forces close to the government, and at the same time, it was said that the Fragrant Service was the electoral arm of the Ahmadinejad government. However, this coalition did not last long, as Bazarbash separated from the government after the 88 elections, and the Fragrant Service disappeared, with many of its members, such as Aghatehrani and Rasaee, continuing their activities within a new organization called the Stability Front.
Now, due to the electoral nature of the Shirian movement and the presence of Bidarpash, it is said that Shirian wants to have the same role for the main government as the pleasant scent had for Ahmadinejad. When we carefully examine the track record of the members of the Central Council of Shirian, the dimensions of Shirian become clearer. It is clear that there are two main issues: a meaningful connection of a significant number of them with Mehrdad Bidarpash, and numerous government responsibilities held by many members of the Central Council of Shirian. In the following, we will examine the track record of all of them.
Abolghasem Jarareh, Secretary-General
When Jarareh was only 30 years old, he entered the parliament as a representative of the people of Bandar Abbas. In a strange coincidence, he was one of the three members of the Sunni presiding board during that period. From the beginning of his representation, Jarareh acted in harmony with the Endurance Front and was among the opponents of the JCPOA during the parliamentary voting. After his term as a representative in 2016, he joined the People’s Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, abbreviated as Jamna, and became a member of its Central Council as well.
In the 2017 presidential election, Jarrar supported Raisi. Later, when Mehrdad Bazrpash was elected as the head of the 11th Parliament’s Audit Court, Jarrar introduced 12 individuals as advisors to the Audit Court, one of whom was Abolghasem Jarrar. After Bazrpash left the Audit Court to assume the responsibility of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Jarrar was appointed as the Acting Head of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Department of the Audit Court.
Seyed Mehdi Hashemi, Head of the Central Council
On August 14, 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated him for the position of Minister of Welfare and Social Security in the 9th government, but he failed to obtain the vote of confidence from the members of the Parliament. Hashemi then went to the Ministry of Interior and took on the responsibility of Deputy for Urban Affairs and Head of the 13th Clause Command. After the impeachment and dismissal of Ali Akbar Kordan from the Ministry of Interior, until the appointment of Sadegh Mahsouli as the current Secretary General of the Steadfast Front as the new Minister, Seyed Mehdi Hashemi served as the Acting Minister of the 9th government for a few months.
He entered the parliament in the ninth round of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections in Esfand 1390 (February/March 2012) with the support of the Steadfast Front and acted in line with the political approach of the Steadfast Front. Interestingly, like Jarareh, his term was only one period. He was in charge of the Tehran Election Headquarters during the presidential elections in 1396 (2017) as well.
Hamid Rasaei
Rasaei entered the Tehran United Front list in the eighth round of the parliamentary elections with a vote coupon. When the Steadfast Front announced its existence a few months before the ninth parliamentary elections, Hamid Rasaei became a member of its Central Council. When the Steadfast Front refused to form a coalition with the United Front of Principlists in those elections, Rasaei, by being on the Tehran list of the Steadfast Front, made his way into the parliament. Like Jarareh and Hashemi, he followed the ideological line of the Steadfast Front in the ninth parliament and was one of the serious opponents of the JCPOA agreement in the parliament. Although Rasaei separated from the Steadfast Front a few years later, he always maintained a close alignment with their political positions.
Saleh Eskandari
He is a graduate of Imam Sadegh University and joined the Resalat newspaper through Kazem Anbarloui. He started his career as the political secretary of this newspaper. Later, he became a member of the central council of the United Party and the political deputy of this party. He became a member of the central council of Jamna in the 96 presidential elections and supported Raisi.
Mohammad Reza Mirshamsi
Not much information is available about him, except that he has a record of being the executive deputy and election affairs of the Guardian Council.
Shahram Ashrafi
Ashrafi is one of the 12 people that Mehrdad Bazrpash introduced as advisors to the Parliament after taking office as the head of the Audit Court of the 11th Parliament.
Hossein Mazenab
Mazenab is the director general of the Office of Inspection, Evaluation of Performance, and Citizen Rights of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, a ministry that Mehrdad Bazrpash currently heads.
Fatemeh Sadat Hamidian
Hamidian is a senior manager and the head of the Center for Development and Strategic Policies of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, a ministry that Mehrdad Bazrpash currently heads.
Zabihollah Zare
Last summer, he joined the board of directors of the New City Construction Company of Hashtgerd County as a member by the order of the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development. It should also be mentioned that Mehrdad Bazrpash is now the Minister of Roads and Urban Development.
Meisam Nadi
Nadi is one of the eulogists of the Ahl al-Bayt (the family of Prophet Muhammad) who was appointed as the Director General of Public Relations and International Affairs of the Supreme Audit Court during the presidency of Mehrdad Bozorgpash. After Bozorgpash moved to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Nadi was dismissed from his position as the Director General of Public Relations of the Supreme Audit Court in February 2023. It seems that he has connections with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, as he recently tweeted about the socialization of services and the utilization of the capacities of jihadist groups, which are the definite policies of Mr. Bozorgpash in the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Mohammad Hossein Rahmani Khalili
He is actively involved in jihadist activities and in 2020, he was appointed as the head of the Office of the Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation. The Islamic Revolution Housing Foundation is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Mojtaba Akbari
Mojtaba Akbari has been appointed as the CEO of Satkab, the parent company specialized in managing the construction and procurement of water and electricity products, by the decree of Ali Akbar Mehrabian, the Minister of Energy in the thirteenth government. An interesting point in Mojtaba Akbari’s political career is his shift from reformism to fundamentalism. At one point, he was the son-in-law of Mohsen Sorkhou and the political deputy of the Islamic Party and a member of the reformist City Council of Tehran’s fourth district. Akbari was a member of the campaign headquarters of the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the 2005 presidential election. In 2008, Akbari launched the Party of University Graduates and took a similar approach to the Executives of Construction Party and participated in the 2009 elections.
Seyed Akbar Mousavi Moghadam
Mousavi Moghadam has been appointed as the CEO of Saipa, a subsidiary company of Iran Khodro, in the government of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
Beniamin Shokouhfar
He has been appointed as the Deputy for Legal Affairs of the Parliament and Provincial Affairs of the Ministry of Sports and Youth in the government of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
Ruhollah Mohammad Hosseinzadeh
Hosseinzadeh has been appointed as the CEO of Iran Tourism and Travel Development Holding Company in the government of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.
Afshin Safahan
Safahan’s resume includes being an assistant professor of geography and urban planning at Payame Noor University and serving as the Director of Economic and Community Affairs at the Martyrs Foundation and the Affairs of Martyrs and Veterans, as well as the Chairman of Bank Day.
Mohammad Hossein Taheri Akordi
In 1993, Hojatolislam Akordi was appointed by Ayatollah Mosbah Yazdi as the head of the educational and research institute of Imam Khomeini in Qom and the head of the virtual and semi-presence education center of this institution, and he still holds this responsibility.
Gholamabbas Mousavi Moghadam
Hojatolislam Mousavi Moghadam has been the content production and research manager of the University of Culture and Islamic Teachings affiliated with the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute since 2009.
Seyed Morteza Mahmoudi
He was responsible for support and financial matters of Saeed Jalili’s presidential campaign.
Asadollah Taghizadeh
Taghizadeh was appointed as the advisor and director of the Performance Management Office, Inspection, and Legal Affairs of the Tehran Governorate at the beginning of the thirteenth government.
Navid Salehvand
He is a researcher in the field of archaeology who was appointed as the manager of the Abgineh and Ceramics Museum in Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s government.
Ahmadreza Shahali
He is a professor in the Islamic Teachings department at the University of Science and Industry and a researcher in the field of the Islamic Revolution.
Mansoureh Masoumi Asl
Masoumi Asl is the head of the Board of Directors of the Union of Cultural Institutions and Organizations of the Quran and Ahlulbayt in Alborz province, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Quran and Ahlulbayt Institutions and Organizations in the country. Perhaps the issue that would make the public remember his name is related to the pre-election video of the 1400 presidential election. In the video, Mansoureh Masoumi Asl invited Fa’ezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani to a debate. This video spread widely on social networks. However, when Fa’ezeh Hashemi accepted the debate, the teenage girl withdrew her request. As a result, Mansour Masoumi received severe criticism from his fellow thinkers as to why he published such a video.
Reyhaneh Akhlaghi
She is the daughter of a martyr and a PhD student in English language. She is also a university lecturer and a teacher in the field of education. In 1998, she ran for the 11th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, but she was not able to enter the parliament.
Mohammad Hossein Azadbakht
His political activities are mainly focused on supporting the thirteenth government on social networks, and his membership in the Central Council of the prominent Shirian Party is considered the most prominent title in his political career.
Samaneh Pourhatam
She is an activist in the field of women and family.
Mohammad Saleh Zandi
He is a student activist.
Mojtaba Azizi
It seems that he is a member of the faculty of Islamic Studies at Imam Sadegh University.
Zeynab Ghaderi
She is a consultant and researcher in the field of family.
Zahra Mahmoudi
Mahmoudi is a lecturer and researcher in art and media.
Looking at the members of the Central Council, it can be inferred that this group will be the second branch of the Stability Front. Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi, the head of the Central Council, had previously mentioned this speculation. Different organizations have various movements, but we do not have and do not have such an interpretation. We are not in confrontation with anyone, but we are in interaction with all organizations to utilize all capacities. Hashemi’s words are ambiguous and it cannot be understood what the difference is between this group and the Stability Front.
Now, of course, it is not clear whether with these characteristics, Sharayan intends to achieve unity with other principledists or not. Recently, the spokesperson of Sharayan said that Sharayan intends to have internal competition, but a while later, the spokesperson said that they have not yet made a decision about forming a coalition with other principledists.
