Mohsen Rafighdoost
Mohsen Rafighdoust (also Rafiqdoust, ) is an Iranian Revolutionary Guards military officer and conservative politician. He is a member of the Islamic Coalition Party. Early life Rafighdoost was born around 1940 in south Tehran. His family background is that of a bazaari, the traditional class of people who work in the bazaar.<ref name="Kaplan, 1996 p.201">Kaplan, The Ends of the Earth, (1996), p.201</ref> His father was a fruit and vegetable merchant at the Tehran bazaar. His family was very religious and close to Ruhollah Khomeini. In 1953, Rafighdoost was expelled from secondary school due to his pro-Mossadegh activities. Military career Mohsen Rafighdoost was the chief of Ruhollah Khomeini's security detail in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution, and helped found the Revolutionary Guards who helped eliminate opposition to theocratic rule in the Islamic Republic. He is noted for having driven Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Revolution, from the Tehran international airport into Tehran, during Khomeini's triumphant return to Iran from France, while hundreds of Iranians crowded the road to welcome Khomeini back. He has told journalists this was the most important day of his life and "crowds were all over the car, touching and hanging on to it." He served from