Campaign 'No to the Committee of Assistance'

Salman Khodadadi, a member of the Social Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, called for transparency regarding the spending of donations that citizens deposit into the 'Imam Khomeini Relief Committee' during Ramadan. In this latest reaction to the 'No to the Committee of Assistance' campaign, this parliament member told ILNA, the Iranian Labor News Agency, that people do not know exactly how the Committee spends this money. Meanwhile, on Friday, Parviz Fattah, the head of the Relief Committee, reiterated for the second time that 'domestic donations cannot be transferred.' Following the release of images showing the distribution of iftar meals in Gaza under the banner of the Iranian Relief Committee last week, the 'No to the Committee of Assistance' campaign began on social media, encouraging people not to donate to this organization. The head of the Relief Committee has denied that donations are spent outside of Iran and has accused the 'No to the Committee of Assistance' campaign of being linked to Israel. Radio Farda sought the opinion of Qasem Shole Saadi, a former member of the third and fourth terms of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (in Tehran), regarding the background and reasons for the mutual distrust between supporters of the 'No to the Committee of Assistance' campaign and the officials of this committee. According to this lawyer, the lack of an independent observer to inspect this institution, which is under the authority of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, combined with the worsening economic conditions of the people compared to the past, has led to increased sensitivity and distrust towards the 'Imam Khomeini Relief Committee.' Qasem Shole Saadi predicts that the lack of transparency regarding the income and expenses of this committee will lead to increased support for the civil 'No to the Committee of Assistance' campaign.