Mohsen Sazegara is an Iranian journalist and pro-democracy political activist. He was the founder of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He held several offices in the government of Mir Hossein Mousavi. He applied to become a candidate for President of Iran in the 2001 election but was declined. His reformist policies clashed with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, eventually resulting in Sazegara's arrest in early 2003. Following his release in August 2003, he moved to the United Kingdom for medical attention. He currently resides in the United States.