Iran's Worst Clerics

AYATOLLAH QORBANALI DORRI-NAJAFABADI

AFP/Getty Images

Position: Iran’s prosecutor general

Worldview: Dorri-Najafabadi has earned some ridicule in the West last year for calling Barbie dolls and Harry Potter a “destructive culturally and a social danger," but his role in stifling dissent in Iran is deadly serious. In his former post as minister of intelligence, Dorri-Najafabadi was implicated in the murders of numerous reformist politicians and journalists.

He was forced to resign that post under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, but under Ahmadinejad he has reemerged as a major player in the Iranian state’s security apparatus. “He’s a very brutal guy,” says Nafisi. “He’s involved in nearly every atrocity.” Dorri-Najafabadi also spoke out shortly before the election to emphasize that whoever won, they should continue the struggle against Zionism.

Possible election role: Dorri-Najafabadi’s political influence is limited, but he can still make life miserable through his influence in Iran’s security and legal systems. He has described pro-Mousavi marchers as “opportunists” who are “engaged in criminal activities.”

But Dorri-Najafabadi has been sending mixed signals recently. He chastised election authorities for not allowing Ahmadinejad’s opponents equal time during televised debates and the Association of Combatant Clerics, a leading group of reformists, has asked that he be invited to participate in the Guardian Council’s deliberations on whether to hold an election recount. It would be the ultimate irony if this longtime scourge of Iran’s reformist movement emerged as a key ally.

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