What Was the Dismissed Minister Doing at the Russian Embassy?

What was the dismissed minister doing at the Russian embassy?

What was the dismissed minister doing at the Russian embassy? The Russian embassy in Iran has hosted the ‘Sanctioned Club.’ The official Telegram channel of the Russian embassy in Tehran announced a meeting with the members of the club against sanctions, chaired by Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, the former Iranian Foreign Minister. Mottaki is the same foreign minister from Ahmadinejad’s government who was dismissed in an unusual and strange manner during a work trip, informed by his Senegalese counterpart.

In 2010, during a trip to Senegal to deliver Ahmadinejad’s message to the president of that country, in the middle of a negotiation session, he heard about his dismissal from the host country’s officials. Mottaki’s current position is the senior advisor to the Secretary of the World Assembly for the Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, and he has recently become the head of the House of Parties. This meeting took place as Levan Jagaryan, the current Russian ambassador, is leaving Iran and handing over the post to his successor, Alexey Dedov, a Russian diplomat.

The threatener of rape, the secretary of the club

But who are the members and founders of this club? A look at the backgrounds of some influential figures in this club highlights the presence of two groups: the dismissed members of Ahmadinejad’s administration and the Imam Sadegh University affiliates. Manouchehr Mottaki seems to be the head or manager of this club, who also has a very good relationship with Imam Sadegh University and has regularly visited this university for speeches over the past years.

Alireza Forghani, who became the governor of Kish at the age of 30 in 2011, is also the secretary of the club’s policy council. According to his own claim, he was dismissed due to his opposition to the so-called ‘deviationist’ faction in Ahmadinejad’s government.

He has said that the idea of forming the ‘Sanctioned Club’ was raised in Iran in 2013, but it did not find much ground for implementation. However, after the Crimea crisis, when Russia was also sanctioned by the United States, a very good capacity was created for the sanctioned countries to form a club against the US and its sanctions. Notably, in the same year, he made a bizarre statement threatening Obama’s daughter with rape.

He wrote on his personal blog, ‘I hope Obama makes the mistake of attacking Syria, in which case…

1. The publication of all weaknesses of all American interests around the world for all people worldwide. Simple operation training.

2. Within 21 hours, a member of the family of all American ministers, ambassadors, and military commanders worldwide will be kidnapped.

3. In the next 18 hours, videos of their dismemberment will be publicly displayed. Manual delivery of the video.

4. Obama should be reminded that if there are bastards in the US and other parts of the world, they are bastards who can easily rape Sasha, Obama’s daughter.

Just befriend them and make connections, which has already happened. 5. Obama, attack Syria so you can be erased from the face of the earth forever, and the global public opinion will justify it.

Some American news sites published this with headlines like ‘Iran threatens to rape Obama’s daughter if Syria is attacked’ and linked this individual’s personal stance on his blog to Iran’s stance. The Daily Caller website, publishing this news, wrote that given Forghani is an analyst and strategist member of the Ammar Base, which the website described as a radical think tank in the Islamic Republic of Iran, his words can be seen as reflecting the views of parts of the Islamic system regarding the US.

What is the club seeking?

It is unclear how much this anti-sanction club is on paper and how far it has taken practical actions. Have they really been able to bring a country into their anti-sanction domain as they claim? They claim they want to include 32 countries involved in US sanctions in this club. Is Russia also a member of this club or not yet, and did Mottaki meet with the Russian ambassador to attract Russia? The leaders of the ‘Sanctioned Club’ believe that an alliance can be beneficial when the benefits of joining it for members are greater than the benefits of not joining.

In a situation where Russia is also involved in US sanctions, and even talk of exchanging methods to bypass sanctions between Iran and Russia is happening, the members of the anti-sanction club have probably thought of aligning with this country, and who better than Russia against the US? Mehdi Sadeghi, the head of the Economics University of Imam Sadegh University, stated in a TV program that the ‘Sanctioned Club’ has a clear and organized foundation, aiming to enhance social welfare, improve economic conditions, prepare suitable international and domestic markets, and improve national production conditions.

In a note written by Seyed Mohammadreza Mousavi, a political economy researcher at the Economic Diplomacy Studies Office of Imam Sadegh University, and Amirhossein Arabpour, a political marketing researcher at the same office, it is mentioned that some sanctioned countries may find the formation of a new pole against the US far-fetched and may not have the will to join this alliance. This note, which you will read more sections of, can be considered as the manifesto or theoretical and practical framework of this club.

Will Russia join the ‘Sanctioned Club’?

Despite the escalating tensions between Russia and the US, whether Russia truly wants to define itself in an anti-sanction club against the US, especially not under its own leadership but under Iran’s, is highly questionable. The fact that Iran views Russia as its strategic partner does not mean that Russia holds the same view of Iran, especially what can be inferred from this country’s actions in the nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA is that Russia sees Iran more as a bargaining chip in its relations with the US rather than a strategic ally.

On the other hand, the club that has been launched is unofficial or, in other words, non-governmental. A group of ousted members of Ahmadinejad’s government and the Imam Sadegh University faction initiated it. Although the country’s diplomatic apparatus is currently in the hands of Imam Sadegh graduates, at least outwardly, there is no official and clear representative relationship between this club and the country’s diplomatic apparatus for Russia to consider it credible.

The creators of this club have probably realized their capabilities and influence and know that in reality, they may not be able to achieve much. While the common ground of the club members is initially the issue of sanctions, due to some differences that exist among sanctioned countries from various aspects, perhaps in the club’s future work, some members may not be able to remain solely focused on the issue of sanctions.

Especially when the club faces a big goal like creating a new pole against the US, thus, the issue of sanctions alone is not enough to sustain the club’s work and strengthen the bond among members. So far, no statistics or information has been published about how many countries have joined this club and what its practical output has been.