Quick Facts
Biography
Mehdi Chamran (Persian: مهدی چمران) is an Iranian architect and conservative politician currently holding ofice as the chair of City Council of Tehran.
Early life and education
Chamran is the brother of Mostafa Chamran. They were both members of the "Red Shiism", a radical group that was founded by Mostafa in the US in 1965.
Career
Chamran served as the head of Iran's external intelligence. He was among those who contributed to the Iran's nuclear development program from the start. He was the chairman of the City Council of Tehran from 2003 to 2013. He received the most number of votes from the Tehrani electorate in three of the elections he was elected in, in 2003, 2006 and 2013.
A major supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his mayorship, Chamran turned towards Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and his supporters during the 2006 elections, which resulted in a three-way split of the third Tehran council between the two conservative factions and reformist candidates. Comparatively, the second council only consisted of conservative members and the first council mostly of reformist members.