Mohsen Sazegara is a political activist, journalist, and university researcher. He served as the political and social deputy of the Minister of Executive Affairs in the government of Mohammad-Ali Rajai and is considered one of the founding members of the Revolutionary Guards.

We have discussed with Mr. Sazgara about the reasons for the lack of development in border regions and the fight against small-scale smuggling in the country in the face of large-scale smuggling and smugglers. He emphasizes the role of the Revolutionary Guards in these areas and says: “The goal of killing kolbars is to harm the network that is actually a rival to the Guards and big smugglers.”

Mohsen Sazegara adds in his conversation about peace: “Part of these strictnesses is because these rivals come unknowingly and interfere in their work; take a small porter for example, or a medium-sized smuggler who may transport several kilograms of heroin and opium.”

Dear Mr. Sazgara, despite the fact that border areas have great potential for creating employment, investment, and generating revenue, the living conditions of border residents in the country, from the western provinces to Sistan and Baluchestan, are significantly worse than other people. This issue can have many reasons, but do you know the most important reason for the centralization that has led to unbalanced development in the country?

Deprived areas, mostly located in border regions, are trapped in underdevelopment circuits, meaning they lack efficient human resources or do not attract investment. As a result, poverty, insecurity, and hardship have arisen. Removing these underdevelopment circuits from this situation requires a national determination and large-scale investment, especially in infrastructure such as roads. Unfortunately, the government’s approach to these areas is more security-oriented, and it is better to say that due to dissatisfaction and security conflicts, the administration of these provinces has fallen more into the hands of the Revolutionary Guards and other security-intelligence agencies who are more focused on suppression and control of thought rather than a proper economic plan and investment. As a result, these areas, mostly inhabited by religious minorities such as Sunnis or other sects, are still suffering from deprivation and problems and are experiencing a kind of double oppression and pressure compared to the whole country. However, it should be noted that the Revolutionary Guards have also benefited from economic interests in these areas due

On what basis do you believe that the Sepah has gained economic interests in those regions?

After the end of the Iran-Iraq war, despite being a military organization, the Sepah (Revolutionary Guards) became involved in economic issues with the recklessness of Mr. Rafsanjani, who was the president at the time, and the permission of Mr. Khamenei, who had recently become the leader. Of course, when we talk about its economic interests, it includes everything from Sepah’s microchips to tractor manufacturing, from oil and gas projects to roads and power, from imports and exports to smuggling of goods and raw materials, and even drug and alcohol trafficking. This strange and unique organization, which may be unparalleled in the world, is involved in all kinds of activities and has even ventured into highly profitable trades, including smuggling and organized crime.

The head of the anti-smuggling headquarters says that between 20 to 25 billion dollars worth of goods are smuggled into the country annually. This means that almost 50% of Iran’s imports are smuggled into the country. Everyone has known this for years; now sometimes someone like Ahmadinejad talks about it, and recently Mr. Rouhani has issued a directive in this regard. However, these docks are controlled by the Revolutionary Guards and other forces do not have access to the military areas that the Guards have set up on the country’s borders, and they are not allowed to get close to them. So how can a customs officer with a weapon stop this amount of smuggling? As a result, boats and ships bring goods for themselves and unload them at their own designated docks without anyone seeing, and then they sell them in Tehran. They have also done this several times in major cities under the guise of border markets, especially on the Iraq border.

During a period when Saddam Hussein was under UN sanctions and could not sell oil or buy goods, and the issue of oil versus food was raised, Iran practically went to Saddam’s aid. They would bring oil from Iraq and sell goods to him. Such exchanges were taking place and the Revolutionary Guards were involved, and no one had the right to interfere. This process became so intense that even four poor individuals who were carrying smuggled goods on their backs and using mountain and smuggling routes to feed themselves were not spared. In order to eliminate competition, they would beat and kill them.

Well, in border economic transactions, a few people from Shahram Jazayeri to Babak Zanjani have become public and these are just a few examples of corruption, otherwise there are dozens of people like them who are caught under the wings of these gentlemen of the Revolutionary Guards.

Many people do not consider kolbars as smugglers and see it as an honorable profession. Even Omid Karimian, the representative of Marivan in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, does not consider kolbars as smugglers. What is your opinion on this matter?

See, of course, in a healthy and proper economy, we do not have such a thing where someone goes to another country and brings goods illegally from the mountains and passes it off as a job. But in the current economy of Iran, where poverty and unemployment are rampant in these areas, and moreover, the biggest smugglers in the country are other people, it is not worthy of condemnation for a poor and desperate citizen to come and carry on their back, for example, forty kilos – the equivalent of one person’s strength – and make a living by selling it. The government, because it cannot control the Revolutionary Guards, deals with these individuals under the guise of smuggling. Of course, these carriers are also part of a network; in such a way that there are other people who buy the goods they bring, and in fact, the goal of killing the carriers is to harm that network, which is actually a competitor to the Revolutionary Guards and major smugglers. All of this is happening

“The evidence suggests that the government is lenient in dealing with drug traffickers, while being harsh on couriers carrying small amounts. This is despite the fact that according to Article 2 of the Smuggling Law, if the smuggled goods are worth less than one million tomans, no punishment will be imposed on the individual. Do you know the reason for this strict treatment?”

Kolbars, or those who want to enter the network of smuggling outside of their control, include individuals with criminal backgrounds or those with a history of wrongdoing. It is as if these individuals have extended their reach beyond their own rug and are stepping on the tail of large interests. Therefore, you can see that in such situations, they are very violent and will even drag a poor citizen up a mountain and break their back. As for the drugs you mentioned, the government has the highest number of executions in this area, but the names of these big players and main instigators never come up and they remain safe. Part of this strictness is to prevent these rivals from unknowingly getting involved in their operations, from a small kolbar to a medium-sized smuggler who may transport several kilograms of heroin and opium.

Border markets, as one of the important factors in creating employment and developing trade relations with neighboring countries and their impact on the country’s economic activities, were discussed and emphasized. However, it seems that these markets did not have a significant impact on improving the quality of life for citizens, or even in Sistan and Baluchestan, these markets currently have almost no external presence. What do you think is the reason for this?

I don’t know exactly and I haven’t studied it, but now in this forest of power in Iran, if you just look at the executive headquarters of the Imam’s command, you will be terrified by the vastness of this organization. For example, only three banks, Pasargad, Iranians, and Karafarin, are in control, which one of them benefits more in a border market, for example, in Kurdistan, which one takes advantage of profit for the people and citizens of that region through these markets, and so on. But I can say one general thing: as one of our economist friends pointed out, when I look at this country, it no longer has a formed political structure or a clear economic structure. The country has turned into a number of mafia gangs that rotate the country with their wheels, and unfortunately, this is a sad story that exists in our country now. These mafia gangs cooperate and compete with each other. If they put their feet on each other

Regarding the discussion about border markets, as I mentioned, I am not exactly sure who was involved, but certainly the members of the Revolutionary Guards who have been present in those areas since the Iran-Iraq war and are armed, are currently engaged in trade. When we talk about the Revolutionary Guards, it doesn’t mean that all of these activities are carried out by the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters. They can establish hundreds of companies, including border cooperatives, with the support of the commander of the Kurdistan, Kermanshah, or West Azerbaijan Guards…

Regarding the executive headquarters of the Imam’s order that you mentioned, what documents exist that are involved in profitable trade such as smuggling? Is there no other organization that can stop them?

In this regard, I must say that Reuters news agency has published a detailed report from the executive headquarters of the Imam’s command, thanks to the efforts of two reporters who had been investigating for six months to a year. In addition, the US Treasury has created a chart of the same executive headquarters of the Imam’s command or ICO, which is one of the organizations that has been sanctioned by the US due to human rights violations. However, as far as I know, the executive headquarters of the Imam’s command is much larger than what the US Treasury has published in that chart, but because it is a documentary work, if you see this report, you will be horrified by the size of this organization and realize that neither the parliament has the right to oversee it, nor do they pay taxes for the Ministry of Finance to understand what is going on there. According to the country’s official authorities, forty-four percent of our total gross domestic product is made up of these kinds of institutions that are exempt

“The Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Order, also known as the Nameless Command, was established based on the instructions of Mr. Khomeini and the eight-article command in the 1960s, one of which stated that if a property is ownerless, a temporary guardian should be appointed until the owner is found. And for the implementation of this article, it was founded, but later it turned into an empire in practice. It is estimated that the ownerless properties, mostly belonging to those who are abroad or have political problems, are worth nearly fifty billion dollars, taken from the people. Now consider hundreds of other institutions; when there is no rival party involved, when there is no oversight and they are not accountable to anyone. When they do not pay taxes, and when there is no free press to expose them, what do you expect other than corruption?”

In the sixth assembly, which was dominated by reformists, in the first year they realized that ninety-four percent of the budget of the Relief Committee was given by the government from the general budget and all of these iron charity boxes and others were six percent of their income. The assembly protested and said, now that you are taking your money from the government, you should come and answer what you are doing. They brought a letter from the leadership and gave it to the Verification Committee for the program and budget, and they also became silent. This means that the assembly does not have the right to ask what these institutions, and not even their own businesses and trades, are doing with the money they receive from the government, nor where they take it…

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us.