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| Mohammad-Reza Bahonar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mohammad-Reza Bahonar |
| Birth date | 1952 |
| Birth place | Kerman, Iran |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Occupation | Politician, Clerical Politico |
| Party | Islamic Society of Engineers |
| Known for | Parliamentary leadership, conservative politics |
Mohammad-Reza Bahonar is an Iranian conservative politician and cleric known for his long tenure in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and leadership within Iran's principlist factions. He has served in senior parliamentary roles, been active in Iranian political organizations, and participated in national debates involving the Islamic Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War, and post-revolutionary governance. Bahonar's career intersects with many prominent Iranian figures and institutions, and he has been associated with controversies and legal disputes that reflect broader factional contests among Iranian conservatives, reformists, and clerical authorities.
Bahonar was born in Kerman and raised amid the social milieu of provincial Kerman Province, coming of age during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the turbulent years leading to the Iranian Revolution. He studied at religious seminaries linked to the clerical networks of Qom and pursued formal studies connected with institutions associated with University of Tehran alumni and affiliates. His early mentors and contemporaries included figures linked to the revolutionary generation such as Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei, and clerics who later occupied positions in the Assembly of Experts and the Guardian Council. During the 1970s he became active in circles that would coalesce into the post-1979 conservative camp alongside personalities like Mohammad-Javad Larijani, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, and members of the Islamic Coalition Party.
Bahonar entered national politics after the Iran–Iraq War era and was elected to the Islamic Consultative Assembly where he represented constituencies with strong ties to Kerman Province and the conservative base. He aligned with principlist groups including the Islamic Society of Engineers and worked in coordination with influential institutions such as the Expediency Discernment Council and the Ministry of Interior (Iran). Throughout the 1990s and 2000s Bahonar engaged with policy debates alongside political actors like Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, and later Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, often taking positions in opposition to members of the Reformists and advocating for positions resonant with the Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader. He has participated in electoral campaigns, factional negotiations, and legislative initiatives that interacted with bodies such as the Guardian Council and the Presidency of Iran.
Within the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Bahonar served multiple terms and held senior leadership posts including First Deputy Speaker and acting speaker roles, working alongside speakers like Mehdi Karroubi, Ali Larijani, and Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel. He chaired or contributed to parliamentary committees that interfaced with ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran), the Ministry of Intelligence (Iran), and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Bahonar's parliamentary activities connected him with legislative negotiations involving the Budget of Iran, oversight inquiries related to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and debates over treaties and agreements reviewed by the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts. His leadership roles often required coordination with the Supreme Leader of Iran's office and clerical councils in Qom.
Bahonar is identified with conservative or principlist ideology aligned with the post-revolutionary clerical establishment, advocating policies that emphasize the political tenets of the Islamic Revolution as articulated by figures like Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei. He has voiced positions on foreign policy that reflect skepticism toward United States–Iran relations and opposition to rapprochement with Western governments represented by leaders such as George W. Bush and Barack Obama, while engaging with regional considerations involving Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. On domestic affairs he has defended perspectives favored by conservative coalitions including the Islamic Coalition Party and the Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution, often clashing rhetorically with reformist politicians such as Mohammad-Reza Khatami and Mostafa Tajzadeh. His public statements have touched on legal and cultural measures overseen by institutions such as the Judiciary of Iran.
Bahonar's career has seen involvement in disputes and controversies typical of factional Iranian politics, including clashes with reformist lawmakers, disputes over election processes monitored by the Guardian Council, and public debates that drew attention from media outlets in Tehran. He has been linked in public discourse to contested parliamentary decisions and to confrontations with figures in the Ministry of Intelligence (Iran) and the Judiciary over accountability and oversight. At times his remarks provoked responses from reformist leaders, clerical rivals, and civil society activists, intersecting with cases and inquiries involving political figures such as Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Some controversies involved allegations reported in domestic press concerning electoral conduct and factional maneuvering during periods of heightened political tension, including the aftermath of presidential elections that involved Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and candidates vetted by the Guardian Council.
Bahonar belongs to a family connected to the clerical and political networks of post-revolutionary Iran, with relatives active in academic, religious, and political institutions in Tehran and Kerman. He has maintained relationships with prominent Iranian politicians and clerics including members of the Assembly of Experts and parliamentary figures such as Ali Motahari and Hassan Rouhani in varying contexts. Outside politics, his social engagements include participation in religious ceremonies in Qom and involvement with cultural associations tied to the conservative camp.
Category:Iranian politicians Category:1952 births Category:Living people