Intelligence Failure: Hajjarian’s Introspection, the IRGC in Denial

Saeed Hajjarian, who was one of the co-founders of Iran’s feared Ministry of Intelligence in 1983, has since the 1990s been a reformist political strategist criticizing the regime he helped establish and consolidate. In his latest interview, Hajjarian comments on the state of Iran’s intelligence services, which appear to have been infiltrated by regional adversaries. These comments are not welcomed by mouthpieces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ever ready to shoot the messenger.

• December 3: In an interview with reformist monthly Cheshmandaz, republished by reformist Ensaf News, Hajjarian was asked if Iran and its allies have experienced “intelligence failure,” to which he responded:
  • “When we established the Intelligence Ministry in the 1980s, we wanted to have a unified intelligence organization shaped as a Cabinet ministry. This means the ministry would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. As long as members of the Parliament scrutinize the work and evaluate the performance of a ministry, the ministry will not use illegal means.”
  • Parliamentary control, however, does not equal improved quality of intelligence work, Hajjarian warned, and he said the regime needs to establish “lasting security,” which most likely was a reference to his earlier calls for democratization of Iran.
  • When the reporter specifically asked Hajjarian about the ability of other powers to infiltrate Iran’s security services, he responded: “Just as Max Weber predicted, what we have witnessed since the revolution is ‘routinization of charisma,’ which also resulted in ideology guiding our human resources less than other factors … How much does a member of the Revolutionary Guard or someone in the security services make? If they take a trip to Cyprus or Turkey, and someone offers them $5,000, they may make their calculations and may not immediately turn down the offer. This, of course, is true of all jobs and not necessarily just true of those working in the security services. Wherever there is poverty and inequality, people are more unhappy about their own circumstances. It is therefore only natural that these people will cooperate,” with foreign intelligence services. “This is even true of those engaged in the field of religious propagation and the like and not just limited to personnel of intelligence services.”
  • Hajjarian then discussed Ronen Bergman’s book “Rise and Kill First” on the history of Israel’s targeted assassinations, saying: “When it is argued in the book that Iran has vulnerabilities, this is correct. We could have been strong. We could have addressed our vulnerabilities. One of the factors worsening our vulnerabilities is the existence of parallel institutions. We now have two counterintelligence organizations, and this is a great mistake … We need to professionalize, and the path to reach public approval, too, is well known,” another reference to Hajjarian’s earlier calls for democratization of Iran.
• December 3: Mashregh News, a mouthpiece of the IRGC, commenting on Hajjarian’s interview, wrote:
  • “At times of regional crisis and intelligence war, making such statements amounts to treason …! When confronting the enemy, no lover of Iran, nor any Muslim, would be willing to badmouth Iran’s intelligence services and make the Mossad appear stronger by talking of the possibility of the ‘Soldiers of the Hidden Imam’ collaborating with the enemy.”

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