Iranian Media Talk About Canada Ventures Of Political Elite
A recent scandal at the higher echelons of Iran’s ruling elite has revealed the degree of hypocrisy and self-interest dominating the authoritarian clerical system.
A recent scandal at the higher echelons of Iran’s ruling elite has revealed the degree of hypocrisy and self-interest dominating the authoritarian clerical system.
Iran International reported about the full-blown scandal involving the female vice president of Ebrahim Raisi (Raeesi), Ensieh Khazali, who comes from a tough religious hardliner family. As hardliners condemn the “moral decay” and “indecency” engulfing Western countries, it was revealed that Khazali’s son has emigrated to Canada and has established a lucrative internet company.
That by itself would not have been so embarrassing if critics had not accused Khazali’s son, Hamid Rezazadeh, of being in the business of selling VPNs, software to circumvent Iran’s draconian Internet censorship wall. Critics alleged that he was the owner and software manager at a company called Betternet in Canada.
Khazali, the hardliner politician and her sister, who is another government official, have been on the forefront of advocating strict Islamic norms and defending Iran’s internet censorship that blocks thousands of websites and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
Iranian social media exploded over these revelations, which many users labeled hypocrisy within the clerical regime. Some traditional media in Tehran followed up with their own reporting. Matters got worse when Khazali began defending her son. First, she said that he is in Canada for a “knowledge-based” project – a favorite term for the regime that tries to find any jargon possible to promise economic miracles amid its dismal record.
Second, after the controversy about Rezazadeh selling VPNs, Khazali and her supporters claimed that he was not marketing the software to Iranians. Then hardliners started to defend Khazali and her son with more outrageous claims.
Hamshahri newspaper, a former reformist publication hijacked by hardliners,claimed that it investigated the matter and Khazali’s son was never involved in selling VPNs, while his own profile said, “Software Manager @Betternet”. Firthermore, there is clear evidence that Betternet’s VPNs are being sold in Iran through intermediaries.
Once the controversy intensified and others insisted that Betternet was in the business of selling VPNs, Rezazadeh deleted his profile on Rocketreach website.
Some hardliners even began arguing that there is nothing wrong with children of officials emigrating to Western countries and ultimately their success would benefit Iran. Some even suggested that family members of top officials residing abroad can help Iran circumvent sanctions.
Rouydad 24, a website relatively independent of Iran’s hardliners wrote that Rezazadeh started a “computer company” several years ago and immediately through family connection he was promoted as technology and IT pioneer on national TV and began receiving lucrative government contracts.
Rezazadeh’s father, Mohammadreza Rezazadeh, is also a well-known hardliner, which has strengthened the family’s connections. Khazali’s father Ayatollah Abolghasem Khazali was an ultra-fundamentalist cleric who held influential positions in the Islamic Republic.
According to Canada’s National Post, Rezazadeh used a federal program called Start-Up Visa (SUV) to receive permanent residency in the country, but for that one needs to secure at least $200,000 from an approved venture capital fund. But that was also arranged. Betternet received funding from Gate Ventures, which was established by an Iranian investor with ties to Iran’s government.
An ordinary Iranian technology entrepreneur could never receive such backing or have $200,000 to start a business in Canada. As a matter of fact many would never even get a visa to go to Canada.
In an article published by the National Post Wednesday, author and journalist Terry Glavin said Ottawa has allowed an Iranian vice president’s son to live and work in British Columbia while refusing visas to relatives of Iranian victims of Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752.
The flight was shot down by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) missiles in January 2020, and relatives of those killed in the tragic event wanted go to Canada for memorial services. Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has ruled that IRGC’s downing of the flight was intentional.
In his article Glavin referred to frequent visits of high-ranking former Revolutionary Guards officials such as former police chief of Tehran, Morteza Talaei, and former brigadier-general Alireza Razm-Hosseini, in the past few years and said Razm-Hosseini was “free to wander Canada’s streets as though Ottawa and Tehran were on intimate speaking terms.”
“Allowing Talaei to freely enter Canada sends a dangerous message; a message that is an affront to Iranians who have themselves sought refuge in Canada,” several human rights groups said in an open letter in February.
Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, citing its support for the Syrian government, non-compliance with United Nations resolutions over the nuclear program, and fears for Canadian diplomats after protestors stormed the British embassy.
Over the past five years, the federal Start-Up Visa (SUV) Program has been a wildly popular way for Iranian entrepreneurs to obtain permanent resident status in Canada. Since 2015, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has received a total of 3,203 permanent-resident applications from 70 countries via the SUV program. Of those applicants, 615 were Iranians.
Glavin also mentioned the more recently revealed case of Hamid Rezazadeh, Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Ensieh Khazali's son, who has been living and working in Canada for several years.
Khazali has denied her son's immigration to Canada and claimed he is there only on a short visit for further "knowledge-based" research. This is one of the favorite terms of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who has nicknamed the current year as "the year of knowledge-based production."
But social media activists have provided some evidence that Rezazadeh is running a company in Canada that sells a VPN application called Betternet to circumvent government censorship of the Internet inside Iran. Vice president Khazali is an advocate of limiting Iranians' access to the Internet.
According to National Post, applicants for the visa program are required to show that their business ideas are backed by at least $200,000 from one of a variety of federally designated organizations in Canada that operate as venture capital funds, “angel investor” groups or business “incubators.”
In May 2018, Betternet showed up in the Portfolio of 7 Gate Ventures’ investment, designated by Ottawa as a qualifying venture-capital company, as a VPN that promises access to blocked websites with a capacity to bypass internet censorship firewalls, encrypt data and guarantee online privacy, the National Post said.
Whistleblowers and activists in Iran have also revealed that some other hardliner officials’ children including Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, and former Majles Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel are also living abroad.
Hardliners have used emigration issue against rivals including former moderate conservative former Majles Speaker Ali Larijani who was barred from running for president in 2021 on accusations that his daughter lived abroad.
In May this year, General Morteza Mirian, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ ground forces, claimed that 4,000 relatives of “senior officials”live in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Mohammad-Mehdi Rahimi, head of Raisi’s public relations office on Tuesday said the president has no account on Twitter. The announcement has left many wondering about the identity of those behind the account thought to be the president's official account, as it introduces itself. The account has been tweeting in his name since before he won the controversial presidential elections of June 2021.
According to Twitter the account was created in March 2021. It has been in regular use since May 26, 2021, more than 3 weeks before the election, and has over 173K followers including Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and the official news agency IRNA. The last tweet from the account which posted a quote from the president was posted on August 12th.
Most official news agencies and pro-Raisi news websites retweeted the tweets from @raisi.com account in Raisi's name throughout this time but the president’s media team never denied their authenticity until now.
“Denial of authenticity of Raisi's Twitter is one of the greatest blunders of the president’s media team … The question arises, if the account belongs to him, how come nobody is taking responsibility for it. Has something been said there that doesn’t suit the purposes of Raisi's team?” reformist Rouydad24 asked Wednesday.
The second scenario is that there is a Twitter account in Raisi's name that nearly all ministers, vice presidents, as well as the official government and cabinet accounts follow, retweet, and quote but nobody knows who it belongs to, Rouydad24 added.
“This is even a bigger blunder. One should ask not only the administration’s media team, but also security and intelligence bodies, how such a blunder could happen without anyone noticing?How is it that a fake Twitter account was publishing the Iranian government and president’s official stances, and no one investigated the matter for once?” Rouydad24 asked.
The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency, ISNA, was the first to report on June 1, 2021 that Raisi had officially joined Twitter. ISNA provided a link to the account.
Many of the earlier tweets posted on the account were written in first person voice and expressed then-Chief Justice and presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi’s views on domestic and foreign policies, including accusations against his predecessor’s government and his election rivals.
“I have been making calls and consultations to make the elections more competitive and inclusive, which you and [the disqualified candidates] themselves may not know about, since yesterday evening when I found out about the vetting results,” the very first tweet made from the account said.
The tweet referred to the controversial disqualification of three of Raisi’s main rivals -- former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri – by the election watchdog, the Guardian Council.
Later tweets, after Raisi took office, often described his administration's approach to US sanctions, negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers (JCPOA), selling oil, and regional and international matters. These tweets were regularly quoted by both domestic and foreign media.
Instagram is the only major social media platform not blocked in the country where other platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram cannot be accessed without the use of anti-filtering software and VPNs (virtual private networks).
Khabar Online website has quoted reformist commentator Abbas Abdi on Wednesday as saying, "I have been informed by reliable sources that the leader has vested Rasi with the responsibility of deciding on the nuclear issue."
In the absence of Khamenei from the public scene for about two weeks, the handover gives rise to speculations whether the leader delegated part of his authority because of a medical emergency, or he simply wanted to shift the responsibility for a key decision to Raisi so that he could remain in a position to criticize any possible deal, if things do not work well.
Abdi noted that although it has been said over and over in Iran that accepting or rejecting a nuclear deal can be done only by the Supreme Leader, it is now evident that Raisi is in charge of the nuclear deal and whether he signs an agreement or rejects it, he will be responsible for it.
The Iranian government has not denied social media reports about Khamenei's illness. Meanwhile, the leader's office has cancelled two scheduled meetings with the Assembly of Experts members and Bassij militia during the past days.
In another development, a picture released by the official news agency IRNA last week about Khamenei's meeting with athletes, turned out to be at last three years old and the agency pulled the story. All this may indicate that Khamenei is not physically in a good position for public appearances.
Khamenei's previous absences ended with his powerful re-emergence to deny the report and discredit foreign media who went out of their way to say he was dead. That kind of a publicity stunt cannot be ruled out before more solid evidence emerges about his condition.
In still another development, former lawmaker Ahmad Mazani, a reformist figure, said in an interview with conservative Nameh News that Raisi and Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf should be held accountable for the consequences of any delay in reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA. Like Abdi, Mazani also said, "The news that has reached us says that the Supreme Leader has delegated the responsibility for the revival of the JCPOA to President Raisi as the chairman of the Supreme Council of National Security."
Nonetheless, Abdi noted that still anyone who thinks Khamenei does not have the final say on the nuclear case, has no proper understanding of the status of the Supreme Leader and the significance of a nuclear deal for the Islamic Republic.
Abdi said, this explains why and how the Iranian parliament approved the JCPOA in 2015 within 20 minutes and the Guardian Council uncharacteristically did not find any fault in the decision made by the Majles.
In another development, the Jomhouri Eslami [Islamic Republic] newspaper, a daily founded by Khamenei, wrote in its editorial on Wednesday that "The key to lift the sanctions on Iran is in the hands of the Raisi Administration." The daily further called on the government to "end this story."
The editorial went on, "Now the people expect the Iranian government to solve this problem in this suitable situation and conclude several years of negotiations from a position of power."