Pourmohammadi among Iran intelligence candidates as lobbying intensifies

Detailed summary

Mostafa Pourmohammadi is among candidates being considered as Iran's next intelligence minister, but some names circulating in the media are being floated to influence the…

Mostafa Pourmohammadi is among candidates being considered as Iran's next intelligence minister, but some names circulating in the media are being floated to influence the selection process, a presidential aide said Sunday.

Seyed Abbas Mousavi, a senior official in President Masoud Pezeshkian's office, told Iranian media that Pourmohammadi, a former intelligence official and justice minister, was among those under consideration, but any appointment would require consensus.

Mousavi said some of the other names reported by the media were unlikely to be under consideration by the government's selection committees. He accused unnamed individuals of promoting candidates to influence the decision-making process for their own purposes.

Pourmohammadi has a history of involvement in political repression, including serving on Tehran's notorious "death committee," responsible for the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. He later held senior positions in the Intelligence Ministry during a period marked by assassinations of Iranian dissidents abroad.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Iran International. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.