Ahmad Jannati: Some at High Levels of the Country are Taking Large Wealth Abroad

Ahmad Jannati, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, states that "some at high levels of the country and some in the private sector are taking the country's vast wealth to Indonesia, the UAE, Turkey, and Europe." On April 27, Ayatollah Jannati said during the Friday prayer sermon in Tehran: "They should not be allowed to easily gather and spend these billions and billion-dollar sums, the origins of which are unknown." The Secretary of the Guardian Council and temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran did not specify any examples of his statements. Mr. Jannati has previously made similar accusations against his opponents. For instance, in August 2010, he claimed to have "documents" showing that "the leaders of the sedition received one billion dollars from the Saudis." He also stated that the Saudis were supposed to give "another 50 billion dollars on behalf of the U.S. in case of the regime's collapse" to the "leaders of the sedition." The term "leaders of the sedition" is used by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and officials close to him to refer to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two candidates who contested the results of the 2009 presidential election. In response to Mr. Jannati's statements, Mr. Mousavi and Karroubi wrote a letter to Shia religious authorities stating that Ahmad Jannati has "lost his cognitive abilities due to old age." The Fars News Agency reported that the Secretary of the Guardian Council, in another part of his remarks on Friday, referred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "thorn in the eyes of some" who "take jabs at it in their speeches." Ahmad Jannati said: "If the IRGC, Basij, and the Hezbollah youth, who show up in any case, are not there, then who will thwart conspiracies and protect the country?" The Secretary of the Guardian Council and temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran also criticized the economic and social conditions in Iran. Mr. Jannati stated, "We have so many students and graduates, why should we have low production? Why is smuggling not being stopped?" He also described unemployment as an "incurable pain" and added: "Why are divorce rates increasing every day, why is smuggling entering the country at this level?"