Ali Younessi

Ali Younessi served as Iran's Minister of Intelligence for most of Mohammad Khatami's presidency (1999–2005), replacing Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi who resigned over the 1998 chain murders of dissidents. A cleric and jurist, Younessi was seen as a reformist appointment and took steps to investigate intelligence operations that had targeted journalists and intellectuals. He was later appointed as Hassan Rouhani's special assistant for ethnic minorities and religious affairs (2014–2021). In 2020 he was arrested on charges of espionage but released.