Claim: Ruhollah Hosseinian stated that Saeed Emami was innocent of the Chain Murders in 1998, claiming that they were the work of President Sayyid Mohammad Khafami's reformists.
Evidence: On January 4, 1999, the Intelligence Ministry issued a statement admitting that its own agents had committed the murders and stating that they were led by a rogue officer, Saeed Emami. In 1998 a series of murders of dissident Iranian intellectuals came to light, called "the Chain Murders", widely thought to be an attempt to intimidate Iranian reformists. Shortly after the ministry admission he claimed that Emami was innocent of the crimes which were actually the work of President Khatami's reformists.