The Artery of the Stability Front
Genealogy of a Mysterious Political Movement
The Artery of the Stability Front, or the Strategic Network of the Friends of the Islamic Revolution, is a conservative group that announced its existence late last year. Initially, this political organization seemed to be a second branch of the Stability Front, as most of the members who attended its general assembly had previously been members of the Stability Front, such as Hamid Rasaei or Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi. Another controversial aspect of the Artery was that two members of the government cabinet were present at the same general assembly: Mehrdad Bazrpash, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, and Seyyed Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Vice President.
After images of these two among the Artery members were published, many criticisms arose, suggesting that the presence of a minister and vice president in a political and electoral organization could indicate government interference in the elections. However, Raisi later stated that the government had no intention of interfering in the elections. Still, this was not enough to quell the criticisms, especially when the central council members of the Artery were elected.
It became clear that many of them had obvious connections with Bazrpash, and it seemed that Bazrpash was the founder of this electoral organization. In fact, Bazrpash had done something similar before. Prior to the eighth parliamentary elections, the organization ‘Rayehe Khosh Khedmat’ was formed, centered around Mehrdad Bazrpash, who at the time was the deputy of the ninth government.
Through his political bargaining, he managed to allocate one-third of the Tehran list to forces close to the government. At that time, it was said that ‘Rayehe Khosh Khedmat’ was the electoral arm of Ahmadinejad’s government. However, this organization did not last long, as after the 2009 elections, Bazrpash separated from the government, and Rayehe disbanded. Many of its members, like Agha Tehrani and Rasaei, continued their activities in a new organization called the Stability Front.
Now, due to the electoral nature of the Artery and Bazrpash’s presence in this organization, it is said that the Artery intends to play the same role for Raisi’s government that ‘Rayehe Khosh Khedmat’ did for Ahmadinejad. When we closely examine the records of the Artery’s central council members, the dimensions of the Artery become clearer. Specifically, two main points: the significant connection of many of them with Mehrdad Bazrpash and the many governmental responsibilities held by the Artery’s central council members. We will continue to review the records of all of them.
Abolghasem Jarareh, Secretary-General
At just 30 years old, Jarareh entered the parliament representing the people of Bandar Abbas, and in a surprising turn of events, he became one of the three senior members of that session. From the beginning of his parliamentary term, Jarareh aligned with the Stability Front and opposed the nuclear deal during the parliamentary vote. After his parliamentary term ended in 2016, he joined the Popular Front of Islamic Revolutionary Forces (known as JAMNA) and became a member of its central council.
In the 2017 presidential elections, Jarareh supported Raisi. Later, when Mehrdad Bazrpash was elected as the head of the Court of Audit in the eleventh parliament, he introduced 12 people as advisors to the Court of Audit, one of whom was Abolghasem Jarareh. After Bazrpash left the Court of Audit to take on the role of Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Jarareh was appointed as the acting deputy for legal and parliamentary affairs of the Court of Audit.
Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi, Chairman of the Central Council
On August 14, 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated him for the position of Minister of Welfare and Social Security in the ninth government, but he failed to secure the parliament’s vote of confidence. Hashemi then moved to the Ministry of Interior, taking on the role of Deputy Minister for Urban Development and Head of the 13th Clause Headquarters. After Aliakbar Kordan was impeached and removed from the Ministry of Interior, until Sadeq Mahsouli, the current Secretary-General of the Stability Front, was appointed as the new minister, Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi served as the acting Minister of Interior for a few months in the ninth government.
In the ninth parliamentary elections of March 2012, he entered the parliament with the support of the Stability Front and acted in line with the political approach of the Stability Front. Interestingly, like Jarareh, Hashemi’s parliamentary term was also just one term. During the 2017 presidential elections, he chaired the election headquarters for Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran.
Hamid Rasaei
In the eighth parliamentary elections, Rasaei entered the Tehran list of the United Principlists Front with the backing of ‘Rayehe Khosh Khedmat’. When the Stability Front announced its existence a few months before the ninth parliamentary elections, Hamid Rasaei became a central council member. When the Stability Front refused to form a coalition with the United Principlists Front in that election, Rasaei joined the Tehran list of the Stability Front and entered the parliament. Like Jarareh and Hashemi, in the ninth parliament, he followed the ideological line of the Stability Front and was a staunch opponent of the nuclear deal during its review in parliament. Although Rasaei separated from the Stability Front after a few years, his political positions remained closely aligned with the Stability Front.
Saleh Eskandari
He is a graduate of Imam Sadiq University and was introduced to the Resalat newspaper by Kazem Anbarlouei, starting his career as the political editor of the newspaper. Saleh Eskandari then became a central council member of the Motalefeh Party and its political deputy. In the 2017 presidential elections, he became a central council member of JAMNA and supported Raisi.
Mohammadreza Mirshamsi
Not much information is available about him, except that he has served as the Deputy Executive and Election Affairs of the Guardian Council.
Shahram Eshragh
Eshragh was among the 12 individuals introduced by Mehrdad Bazrpash to the Islamic Consultative Assembly as advisors to the Court of Audit after Bazrpash took over as its head in the eleventh parliament.
Hossein Maznib
Maznib is the Director-General of the Office of Inspection, Performance Evaluation, and Citizens’ Rights at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, where Mehrdad Bazrpash is the head.
Fatemeh Sadat Hamidian
Hamidian is a senior manager and head of the Center for Development and Strategic Policies at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, where Mehrdad Bazrpash is currently in charge.
Zabihollah Zare
Last summer, he was appointed as a board member of the New City Development Company of Hashtgerd-Mahestan by the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development. Again, Mehrdad Bazrpash is now the Minister of Roads and Urban Development.
Meysam Nadi
Nadi, a eulogist of the Ahl al-Bayt, was appointed as the Director-General of Public Relations and International Affairs at the Court of Audit during Mehrdad Bazrpash’s presidency. After Bazrpash moved to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Nadi was dismissed from his role as Director-General of Public Relations at the Court of Audit in February 2023. It seems he has connections with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, as he recently tweeted that socializing services and utilizing the capacity of jihadist groups are among Mr. Bazrpash’s definite policies at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Mohammad Hossein Rahmani Khalili
He is involved in jihadist activities and was appointed in 2020 as the head of the Follow-up Affairs Office of the Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution, which is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Mojtaba Akbari
Akbari was appointed as the CEO of the SATCAB Water and Electricity Equipment Management and Supply Company by Aliakbar Mehrabian, the Minister of Energy in the thirteenth government. An interesting point in Mojtaba Akbari’s political career is his shift from reformism to conservatism. At one point, he was the son-in-law of Mohsen Sarkhou, the political deputy of the Islamic Labor Party and a reformist member of the fourth Tehran City Council. Akbari was a member of the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s campaign headquarters in the 2005 presidential elections. In 2008, he founded the Islamic Azad University Alumni Party and entered the 2009 elections with an approach close to the Kargozaran Party.
Seyyed Akbar Mousavi Moqaddam
Mousavi Moqaddam was appointed as the CEO of Saipa Automotive Company in Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s government.
Benyamin Shekouhfar
In Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s government, he was appointed as the Deputy for Legal Affairs, the Parliament, and Provinces at the Ministry of Sports and Youth.
Rouhollah Mohammad Hossein Zadeh
In Raisi’s government, Hossein Zadeh was appointed as the CEO of the Iran Tourism Development Company.
Afshin Safahan
Safahan’s career includes being an assistant professor of geography and urban planning at Payame Noor University, Director-General of Economic Affairs and Assemblies at the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and Chairman of the Day Bank Assembly.
Mohammad Hossein Taheri Akordi
In 2014, Hojjatoleslam Akordi was appointed by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi as the head of the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute in Qom and head of the Virtual and Part-time Education Center of this institute, a position he still holds.
Gholam Abbas Mousavi Moqaddam
Hojjatoleslam Mousavi Moqaddam has been the content production and research manager at the University of Islamic Culture and Teachings, affiliated with the Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute, since 2010.
Seyyed Morteza Mahmoudi
He was responsible for support and finance at Saeed Jalili’s campaign headquarters during the presidential elections.
Asadollah Taghizadeh
At the beginning of the thirteenth government, Taghizadeh was appointed as an advisor and Director-General of Performance Management, Inspection, and Legal Affairs at the Tehran Governorate.
Navid Salehvand
He is a researcher in the field of archaeology and was appointed as the director of the Glass and Ceramics Museum in Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s government.
Ahmadreza Shahali
He is a professor in the Islamic Studies Department at Iran University of Science and Technology and a researcher in the field of the Islamic Revolution.
Mansooreh Masoumi Asl
Masoumi Asl is the chairman of the board of the Union of Popular Cultural Quran and Atrat Institutions and Associations of Alborz Province and a board member of the Union of Quran and Atrat Institutions and Associations of the country. The public may remember her name due to a video released before the 2021 presidential elections. In the video, Masoumi Asl’s teenage daughter invited Fa’ezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani to a debate, which went viral on social media. However, when Fa’ezeh Hashemi accepted the debate, the teenage daughter withdrew her request, leading to Masoumi facing severe criticism from her like-minded peers for releasing such a video.
Reyhaneh Akhlaghi
She is the daughter of a martyr, holds a PhD in English, is a university lecturer, and a high school teacher in the same field. In 2019, she was a candidate for the eleventh parliamentary elections but did not succeed in entering the parliament.
Mohammad Hossein Azadbakht
Most of his political activities are limited to supporting the thirteenth government on social media, and his membership in the Artery’s central council is 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
He appears to be a faculty member of the Islamic Studies Department at Imam Sadiq University.
Zeinab Ghaderi
She is a consultant and researcher in the field of family.
Zahra Mahmoudi
Mahmoudi is an art and media lecturer and researcher.
Looking at the members of the Artery’s central council, it seems that this group could be the second branch of the Stability Front. Recently, Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi, the Chairman of the Central Council, stated that various organizations have diverse movements. We do not have such an impression, nor are we in opposition to anyone. We are in interaction with all organizations to utilize all capacities. Hashemi’s statement is vague, and it is unclear what distinguishes this group from the Stability Front.
It is also unclear whether the Artery intends to unite with other conservatives. Recently, the Artery’s spokesperson mentioned that the Artery plans to have internal competition, but shortly after, Jarareh said they have not yet decided on a coalition with other conservatives.