Military Commanders Replace Police Forces in Iran

Meysam Tavvab, Rooz Online:

Rooz reporter from Tehran reports that as former Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel and commanders continue their take over of the government, the swapping is now also engulfing the law enforcement agencies. READ MORE

Following the replacement of Mohammad Ghalibaf from the police with the former commander of Tehran’s Basij (Iran Militia), the new hard-line commander immediately began his scheduled cleansing of Tehran’s police forces, replacing the old staff with senior Passdaran commanders. In his most recent measure, Naser Shabani, the Passdaran Commander in Kurdistan province who is also the head of the Passdaran Ground Forces University is appointed as the Commander of Greater Tehran’s Police Forces.

Commander Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, the new commander of the police forces is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s brother-in-law. This appointment takes place amid the struggle between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mohammad Ghalibaf, at one time both presidential candidates and rivals, and especially after the appointment of the former head of Tehran’s police forces to be Tehran’s new mayor, a decision that has sparked off controversy a hot controversy among Iran’s media.

The battle of words heightened, if not publicly begun, when Tehran’s new mayor launched a harsh criticism over Ahmadinejad’s management of Tehran’s municipality during his term. In return, Ahmadinejad’s hard-line administration banned Ghalibaf from attending government cabinet meetings. It has also been reported that Ahmadinejad’s close allies have launched a financial scandal lawsuit against Ghalibaf’s brother.