As rivalry between conservative groups in Iran is getting more overt ahead of the March 2024 parliamentary elections, name calling and accusations become public.
A moderate conservative figure has branded the members of ultraconservative party Paydari [steadfastness] “political businessmen” out to secure power and make money.
Mohammad Mohajeri, a former hardline conservative figure turned “moderate” who was once one of the editors of hardline daily Kushan, says the ideological games being played by Paydari are nothing but moves to secure the interests of ultraconservative politicians.
Mohajeri said in an interview widely covered by the Iranian press this week that moves to expand power and influence have spread to the state television, where leading Paydari member Vahid Jalili, a brother of former nuclear negotiator and Khamenei confidant Saeed Jalili, has been placing likeminded individuals on key posts ahead of the elections.
Exerting influence on the state TV is key to electioneering in Iran because it is the only broadcaster in the country. It targets regime supporters and promotes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s hardline political views. However, it has lost its reach and influence among the middle class to a great extent after the disputed presidential election in 2009.
Mohajeri charged that state TV chief Payman Jebelli has put the national broadcaster totally at the disposal of hardliners by appointing Jalili as his deputy. He said that the television with its exclusive right to broadcasting in Iran has already been promoting the electoral agenda of the hardliners and paving the way for a landslide victory for Paydari.
However, he pointed out that polls conducted in Iran show that the state TV has lost three quarters of its viewership in a decade and the ideological management is hurting its popularity even more.
Mohajeri pointed out that there are four major groups of conservatives in the Iranian political landscape: Paydari, the neo-cons around Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, traditional conservatives close to former Majles Speaker Gholamreza Ali Haddad Adel, and another group that calls itself “moderate and rational.” From among these four groups, Paydari currently has the upper hand among regime insiders.
Mohajeri had said in another interview last week that “Paydari is President Ebrahim Raisi’s strategic ally,” and are most likely to give all their support to Raisi and the candidates he picks for the Majles election in March. He added that Paydari is working on a plan to minimize the turnout next March so that mostly regime supporters come out to vote and most of them cast their ballots for its candidates.
Furthermore, Gholamreza Ali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi, a former lawmaker from Rasht in northern Iran, revealed that Paydari has been reaching out to ultraconservative figures who they believe can secure votes, encouraging them to run as representatives of the party in the upcoming elections.
Reformist politician Mohammad Reza Javadi Hesar told Etemad Online on Wednesday that Paydari has been exploiting state television in a manner that has even frustrated other conservatives. He may have been referring to a report on the website of the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency, which stated that Jalili's actions at state TV have deeply annoyed individuals devoted to the ideology of the Islamic Republic.
In response to criticism, Jalili argued that he possesses the appropriate background for the position of deputy director at state TV, stating that some of his predecessors came from the IRGC and were experts on missiles rather than having a background in a cultural organization such as the Art Bureau of the Islamic Propagation Organization, where he previously worked before being appointed as deputy state TV director.