We have to look for the countless traces of Aida Qajar in various media outlets, from Jaras to Kayhan Novin, and most recently, Iranwire. One day she interviews Musa Sadr's daughter, and another day she interviews Mohammad Ali Mohtadi. One day she is an activist for women's rights, and another day she is an activist for the rights of asylum seekers. Her duplicitous ways are on full display.
Aida Qajar lived in Lebanon before emigrating to France. No reliable information is available on how long she has lived there. She was in charge of the Jaras Media Women's Working Group while taking up residence there. Jaras, the official organ of the Green Movement, was established after the protests related to the 2009 elections in Iran. At the same time, her husband, Ali Mohtadi, was a Press TV correspondent; the official English-language media network in the Islamic Republic.
Her father-in-law, Mohammad Ali Mohtadi, was also considered an influential figure in Lebanon by the Islamic Republic. His position was such that, according to him, he often appeared in political circles there stead of the ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon. He is an observer in the political section of the Institute for Strategic Studies in the Middle East and, of course, is anti-Semitic and loyal to the leader of the Islamic Republic, and terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Axis of Resistance.
In an interview with Tabnak, referring to Hassan Nasrallah's remarks, he said: "This great Sayyid emphasized the need for a decisive response to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani and he made it clear that a tough transition and a decisive response was not the sole responsibility of the Islamic Republic, and that this mission should be carried out by all resistance groups."
Aida Qajar’s Asylum Process
Qajar prepared a birthday party for Mir Hossein Mousavi, but was called to the embassy of the Islamic Republic, which coincided with the beginning of her asylum process. She went to France and applied for asylum. Last year, Aida Qajar accused Iranian refugees of forgery in a tweet, while her asylum process was in a state of ambiguity. Aida Qajar's relationship with the Mohtadi family is also questionable.
Aida Qajar's relationship with Mohtadi family
While she never commented on her ex-husband's family, and even tweeted that she had no relationship with Ali Mohtadi, there are undeniable photos and documents linking the two in cyberspace.
Until recently, Aida Qajar interviewed her ex-husband's father as a Middle East affairs expert in Iranwire. In fact, it can be said that to a large extent, Qajar is still attached to a common ideology with people affiliated with the system, such as Mohtadi.
In a blog called Zangar, she described the mourning of Ashura and described the practice in Lebanon as an interesting and different version of Islam. By reading her short article,
the audience will be exposed to the religious and reformist aspects of Qajar. It is very clear that the version of Islam favored by Qajar is the Islam of reform.
Full-fledged defense of Mehdi Mahmoudian, a reformist and member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front party
After the execution of Navid Afkari, the protesting Olympic wrestler, a very important question was asked on Persian Twitter regarding the invitation to silence of the Afkari family by Mehdi Mahmoudian. The reformist activist and member of the information committee of the Participation Front was asked: Why did Mehdi Mahmoudian, a reformist political activist, invite Afkari's family to remain silent, despite knowing about the case of the Afkari brothers.
Maryam Karim Beigi, Mustafa Karim Beigi's sister, one of the victims of the 2009 protests, asked this question, but Mehdi Mahmoudian replied instead that he knew the story was coming from somewhere else.
But the interesting point for us is the stance of Aida Qajar, after this answer of Mahmoudian. In a note, Aida Qajar defended Mahmoudian fully and stated that according to the information available to Iranwire, these attacks were planned and carried out against Mahmoudian by IRGC intelligence. On the other hand, instead of answering a question of a heartbroken person, connecting her to the security establishment, comes only from a reformist of the regime.
Aida Qajar's enduring love for the "reformists" of the Islamic Republic
Despite the blatant crimes committed by the reformists against Iranian citizens in recent decades, especially in the past two years, their propaganda arms are still active in the Western media. Through creating new faces and fabricated news stories, they try to hijack Iranian people’s liberation movement and civil resistance.
Aida Qajar’s recent interview with Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the former Mayor of Tehran and the General Secretary of Executives of Construction Party, who was convicted and imprisoned on corruption charges, signifies emotional attachment to the Iranian reformists. Apart from the content of this interview, which is a clear reflection of views of one of the Islamic regime’s officials, the reform-loving journalist has introduced Karbaschi as an opposition figure in the English version of the interview.
The story of the statement in support of the affiliates of the Quds Force
In 2012, a number of members of the Quds Force in Syria were abducted by the Free Syrian Army. After this incident, the media of the Islamic Republic called them pilgrims who had only gone to visit ُshia holy places. However, BBC Farsi - with all its biased views on the Islamic Republic - published a report entitled "Pilgrim or Army?" He investigated the identities of the hostages and their connection to the Quds Force, but Aida Qajar, along with a number of reformists, issued a statement seeking parallel support for the Islamic Republic's report and calling for the release of the prisoners. These individuals were swapped in an exchange with more than 2,000 Syrian prisoners and returned to Iran after 158 days. The Islamic Republic has always hidden the main motive for the presence of its forces in Syria by creating a current, and of course, this time it succeeded!
Aida Qajar's interest in Montazeri
In an article published on her blog, Aida Qajar wrote about Ayatollah Montazeri's death:
"Ayatollah Montazeri, Shia Marja, and the sign of God filled in complete peace; oh, the flight was a blessing , and by flying, he helped the Greens (the reformists of the regime), whose bruise will remain on the government for the rest of its life. The burial ceremony has not started yet and its seventh ceremony is Ashura; Ashura is worthy for him, Ashura of Hosseini"
The above obituary clearly shows Aida Qajar's devotion and interest in the reformists of the Islamic Republic regime (Greens).
Aida Qajar is a full-fledged reformist. She never gave up on this practice.
Collaborating with Iranwire's well-known media outlet as a reporter has provided a valuable opportunity for her custom and crafted notes, specifically tailored to support the regime’s ideology.
Dancing on the blood of November 2019
Extremely contradictory and, of course, many Qajar's contradictions during these years, have made her a not-so-popular figure and have caused a wave of attacks by Persian-speaking users of social networks to her in recent years. One recent example was her dancing as the Iranian people mourned the victims of the November 1998 massacre and the IRGC's downing of a Ukrainian plane. Dancing in a custom virtual project and being next to people like Shaparak Shajarizadeh and Faranak Amidi aroused the anger of Persian Twitter users and drew a lot of criticism from her. However, she was careless to all of these reactions.
Aida Qajar's selective and dual reactions to the victims of social problems
Aida Qajar's selective behavior in the areas of defending the rights of victims of abuse is noteworthy. Aida, who launched a public campaign with the help of her supportive media about Amir Tataloo's misbehavior towards a young girl and reacted sharply to it, remained silent about the more or less similar behavior of her colleague Mohammad Tangestani in Iranwire. Mohammad Tangestani was another reporter in Iranwire who was accused by several female users of sexually abusing female journalists and asylum-seeking women.
Last word
As mentioned, Aida Qajar has been present in various media outlets for many years and has always tried, with the help of the media in which she works to cover up opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policies, especially agendas in the reformist faction of the system - at the very top. Aida Qajar can be boldly considered as only a small example of the project of normalization of the crimes of the Islamic Republic in the West; a project that can only be exposed and thwarted by independent research and the disclosure of real information by independent Iranain journalists and media that are not under the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran or its allies and apologists.
Read Persian version of Aida Qajar's article