He was a "senior adviser" to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and deputy interior minister for political affairs.

Reportedly, Samareh's connections with the Basij enabled Ahmadinejad to establish relations with that group and with the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

[10] Prior to his role as adviser he was sponsored by Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi for, and quickly appointed to, a critical job, director of placements, at the Foreign Ministry of Iran, in the early 1990s.

Very shortly afterward, he was appointed deputy interior minister for political affairs, (though he continued his full-time duties as senior adviser).

Despite his close association with Mesbah-Yazdi, that cleric did not do well in the election and only came in sixth-place finish in the Tehran municipality, "barely squeezing into his seat in the Assembly".