In his appointment letter, Ghalibaf described Aslani as an IRGC commander who has a “glorious” history in the 1980s Iran-Iraq. Notably, the new Speaker himself is notoriously renowned as a commander who employed human waves technique to open minefields. Therefore, it seems Ghalibaf has admired Aslani for a similar history in the war. As the old saying goes, “birds of the same feather flock together.”
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On April 15, 2017, then IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Aziz Jafari appointed Aslani in charge of the Center of Documentation and Research of the so-called Holy Defense [referring to the Iran-Iraq war]. Aslani was simultaneously an executive deputy of the IRGC.
According to a report wired by the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) on January 28, 2019, Aslani was the head of human resources of the IRGC-affiliated Mahan Airlines.
“Hamid Aslani, currently advisor to Hamid Arabnejad [Mahan Air CEO], is a brigadier general of the IRGC. He is a former member of the IRGC’s SWAT teams and later became head of the human resources in the IRGC. At the same time, he was appointed as head of HR in Mahan Air,” the PMOI/MEK website wrote.
Notably, Mahan Air has a crucial role in transporting IRGC manpower and equipment to maintain the butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, in power. The IRGC also uses Mahan Air to deploy its foreign national militias, such as the Afghan Fatemiyoun Brigade, Pakistani Zainabiyoun Brigade, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, and Houthi rebels of Yemen, to implement their foreign policies across the Middle East.
Furthermore, this aviation company plays a significant role in the IRGC’s profiteering policies. For instance, Mahan Air continued its flight to and from China, while all international aviation companies had suspended their flights to the coronavirus epicenter. Iranians believe that the company played a critical role in transferring the novel coronavirus to Iran, leading to the death of more than 50,000 people so far.
Additionally, Mahan Air recently transported refinery equipment to Venezuela. Mahan’s planes returned with gold cargoes in return for reviving Venezuela’s petrochemical industry.
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Back in 2003, Aslani entered Tehran’s Stock Market as an IRGC investor as chairman of the “Talaye Nour-e Hejrat Tourism and Traveling Services Company” and vice-chairman of the “Ansar ol-Mojahedin Flat Loan Pensions Fund Institute.”
Of course, Aslani is merely a member of Iran’s new parliament, which has recently been filled with many IRGC officers and members of the paramilitary Basij force. In this respect, the new Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, commanded the IRGC Airforce for several years. He also was head of the State Security Forces (SSF) and built his career on crackdown measures against nationwide protests during his tenure.
Moreover, several renowned IRGC commanders of the eleventh Iranian Majlis include Presidium spokesperson Mohammad Hossein Farhangi, and Presidium members Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, Ahmad Amirabadi, Nasser Mousavi Largani, Mohsen Dehnavi, Mohsen Pirhadi, former chairman of the National Security and Foreign Affairs commission Mojtaba Zolnuri, and Javad Karimi Qoddousi, Alireza Zakani, Elias Naderan, etc.
The regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei displayed his intention of leading the country to more isolation and aggressive measures by selecting his thugs as MPs. However, his real concerns are about domestic protests tantamount to those of November 2019 and January 2020, which shook the very pillars of the fascist mullah’s regime.
Notably, the Iranian people showed their actual desire for regime change through a nationwide boycott of the last Parliamentary elections in February. In recent months, brave youths practically demonstrated that they are in ambush to seize any opportunity to bring down the regime and its oppressive rulers. Back in November 2019, they proved that they are much stronger than armed IRGC, Basij, security forces, and agents of the Ministry of intelligence and Security (MOIS) even with their bared hands. This truth is the genuine reason for Khamenei’s dilemma and his need for reorganizing his political hierarchy.
