Saeed Hajjarian

Saeed Hajjarian (, born 1954) is an Iranian reformist political strategist, journalist, pro-democracy activist and former intelligence officer.

He was a member of Tehran's city council, and advisor to the president Mohammad Khatami.

Hajjarian was born in Javadiyeh neighborhood of Tehran, Iran in 1954 to parents from Kashan.

He studied mechanical engineering at Tehran University.

In 1977 Hajjarian was enrolled for military service in Gendarmerie.

A young Iranian revolutionary during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, he entered the Islamic Revolution Committees before becoming an Intelligence officer in the Navy.

Hajjarian continued his education and obtained a Ph.D. in political science from Tehran University.

His thesis advisor was Hossein Bashiriyeh.

He was one of the students who took over the US embassy in Tehran in 1979.

After the revolution, Hajjarian was involved in the formation of the intelligence apparatus of the newly founded Islamic Republic.

Through the 1980s, he worked in the ministry of intelligence, where his positions included vice minister for political affairs.

In the late 1980s, he left the church and established Center for Strategic Research under the presidency.

That was where he played an essential role in creating a new discourse based on democracy and the rule of law for his generation of revolutionaries.

He joined the Ministry of Intelligence and national security (MINS) in 1984 and left in 1989.

He also worked at the Center of strategic studies.

Working in such a place, he invited some of the officials of MINS to join the reform movement.

All of them tried to develop the reform movement.

People like Akbar Ganji, Mohsen Armin, Abbas Abdi, Hamid Reza Jalaeipour, Muhammad Mousavi Khouiniha, Ebrahim Asghar Zadeh, and Mohsen Sazgaran are among those persons.

When Mohammad Khatami was elected president in 1997, he appointed Hajjarian his political advisor.

In 1999, he was elected to Tehran's city council in the first city elections after the 1979 revolution.

Hajjarian was also the editor of Sobh-e Emrooz newspaper, which strongly advocated Khatami's reforms.

He was believed to be the source of information for many articles written by investigative journalists, Akbar Ganji and Emadeddin Baghi.

These included stories about the "Chain murders" of dissident intellectuals by members of Iran's intelligence ministry.

Hajjarian was one of the vital personal factors of President Khatami.

He was a member of the reformist elite and had a leadership support role in the reform movement.

On 12 March 2000, he was shot in the face by an assailant and severely disabled, an act many Iranians believe was in retaliation for his help in uncovering the chain murders of Iran and his significant help to the Iranian reform movement in general, according to the BBC.

In March 2000, a gunman shot him in the face on the doorstep of Tehran's city council.

The would-be assassin fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice.

The bullet entered his left cheek, lodged in his neck, and put Hajjarian into a coma.

During this time, groups of young Iranians kept vigil outside Sina Hospital, where he was being treated.

Hajjarian was badly paralyzed for life.

His assailant, Saeed Asgar, a young man reportedly a member of the Basij militia, was later arrested and sentenced to spend 15 years in jail.

However, he was released after spending only a short term in prison.

Mohsen Morteza Majidi accompanied Asgar on a motorbike.

Others, who were involved, include Mohammad Ali Moghaddami, Mehdi Rowghani, Mousa Jan Nesari, Ali Pourchaluei (possibly the one who shot Hajjarian), Saeed Golounani, and Safar Maghsoudi.

His attempted assassination is thought to be associated with the exposure of the "Chain murders" in his Sobh Emrouz daily newspaper and the "key role" he is believed to have played "in bringing about ... damaging disclosures," both as the editor of the exposing newspaper and one of the few reformists likely to be a source of information about activity in the intelligence ministry.

Consequently, "some believe that remnants" of the chain murder "intelligence killer group may have been" behind his attempted assassination.

Hajjarian slowly recovered somewhat from the shooting.

By 2005, Hajjarian was still unable to speak with a clear voice and still using a wheelchair, although they could walk with help.

As of 2009 he still spoke with difficulty.