Another Teen 'Basij Commander' in Hot Water Over Fraud Claims

The arrest of Iran’s infamous teenage hustler Mehrshad Soheili made waves in the country this week. Born in Ilam in 2004, Soheili had conned his way into meetings with top Ayatollahs at the age of just 13, registering a fake garrison and “cultural institute” in order to pose as the country’s youngest Basij commander. Then last summer, all the effusive articles about him were removed from Iranian state media. It emerged that Soheili’s achievements had been made up, and the legal entities under his control didn’t exist.

The game might be up for Soheili, but his exploits have inspired other young chancers in Iran. One of them is Milad Taherkhani, from Takestan in Qazvin province, who at the age of 16 claimed to have been “selected” as the commander of a local Basij base. His early exploits were duly immortalized in IRGC-affiliated media, just as Soheili’s had been. But IranWire understands multiple fraud complaints have now been lodged against him.

Who is Milad Taherkhani?

Milad Taherkhani, like Mehrshad Soheili before him, has appeared in photos with multiple top officials of the Islamic Republic. Now aged 21, he describes himself as an “advisor” to Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij, and has even been invited to speak at Friday prayers in several different cities.

IRGC-affiliated media outlets report that in 2015, when Taherkhani was just 16 years old, he “succeeded in attracting a record number of Basijis in Takestan and carrying out cultural programs within the Basij base, with the support of the mosque's board of trustees.”

That May, Fars News Agency went so far as to award him an official title. “The Revolutionary Guards and Basijis of the Imam Sajjad Corps in Qazvin met with the young commander of the Basij Resistance Base of Martyr Musa Taherkhani in Takestan, who was selected as the commander of the country's model base."

“Model base” is a term used by the Basij to denote exemplary institutions whose structure and methods should be followed by others, not dissimilar to the “model schools” of Iran and India. Naqdi himself cut the rubbon at an inauguration event for Taherkhani’s new “base”.

Later in 2015, the Dana Information Network and IRGC-aligned websites published an identical, glowing report stating that Milad Taherkhani, “commander of the country's model base”, had met with none other than the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Ali Khamenei’s purpose, it said, had been "to convey to him warm greetings to the people of Takestan".

Taherkhani has given strident speeches in his hometown on the efforts of the Basij to combat “high-risk entertainment, bad hijab and other social anomalies” (in no case did he explain how these efforts manifested). He has criticized the nuclear talks, telling the Iranian negotiating team from a platform in Rudsar, Gilan, that dealing with the US would go “nowhere”: “We did not allow the incompetent to seize power and the incompetent to dominate the revolution."

In 2017, the teenager addressed the faithful at Friday prayers in Paveh, introducing himself there as an “advisor” to Naqdi. He used this same address to helpfully tell worshippers in a Sunni-majority city that "Paveh is different from ISIS and ISIS-like mercenaries.”

An unverified Twitter account bearing Taherkhani’s name and image describes him as “a young adviser to the Commander and companion of the Commanders of Hearts, something of a politician, something of a writer”. Whether the account is the work of Taherkhani himself or a fan is unknown, but it does chime with the way he wants to be regarded in Iran.

Groomed by IRGC Media

The Soheili scandal shed light on a troubling propensity of IRGC-affiliated media outlets to thrust young people into the spotlight – no matter how undeserving – if they have publicly expressed adherence to the principles of the Islamic Revolution. The use of young men as poster boys for the revolution has a history dating back to Iran-Iraq war propaganda. It gives rise to ample opportunities for abuse, on the part of both promoter and promoted.

Soheili had gained notoriety by taking advantage of a basic lack of oversight on the part of the Basij. Any Iranian citizen can register their own voluntary “jihad organization” online with the Construction Basij of Prophet Mohammad Corps, under any name of their choosing. By calling his group “the Imam Mahdi Garrison” giving himself the title of “Commander”, and using both titles on specially printed, letterheaded paper, Soheili was able to pass himself off as a military commander for years. The IRGC and senior clerics did nothing to dispel the illusion, even though at the time the con began, Soheili had been a 13-year-old, if enterprising, child.

Basij bases around the country are volunteer-led, with the “model” or exemplary ones selected at festivals hosted by the Revolutionary Guards. Most of the time when these selections take place, little to no evidence of any real activities having taken place is provided. We have only Milad Taherkhani’s word for the fact that the “Martyr Musa Taherkhani Base” is engaged in “forming salehin [righteous] groups, promoting those Basijis who are most effective in attracting people, pursuing educational issues, holding recreational and scientific sports programs, and participating in jihadi camps.”

A Turning Tide?

An official in the Iranian government told IranWire there is a reason for the breathless coverage of Taherkhani’s exploits having recently stopped. This person, who was privy to the details of the case, asked not to be named for their own protection.

Taherkhani, they said, had “swindled people” over several years by falsely claiming to have connections to a number of officials, especiallyto  serving members of the military. Several cases are reportedly open against him in the Qazvin courts.

When each new case was registered, the official said, the judiciary sent letters out to all those who had appeared in photos with Taherkhani, warning them that he was claiming to be close to them.

Fraud Begets Fraud

The IRGC is not the only state entity to blame for thrusting too much publicity on some young Iranians, too soon. Several teenagers were also ushered into the political-ideological arena during the reformist era in Iran.

One of them was Ehsan Delaviz, a relative unknown who was brought from Gachsaran in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province to Tehran with the backing of President Mohammad Khatami. He was made an “advisor” to the National Youth Organization and became a regular fixture at Khatami’s office, even having input on economic matters.

Later as an adult, Delaviz moved into the petrochemical industry. The next time his name made national headlines was in 2019, when he was introduced as a defendant in the Sarmayeh Bank grand corruption case. The former prodigy was later sentenced to 10 years in prison. His also well-connected brothers, though, continued to thrive: Mohsen Delaviz became the CEO of Pasargad Oil, a subsidiary of the Social Security Organization, and Sasan Delaviz is a deputy at the National Post Company.

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