Conditional Readiness of Fazel Larijani for Investigation of His Assets

Following recent statements by the head of Iran's judiciary regarding the case of his brother, Fazel Larijani expressed his readiness in a letter for an investigation into his assets, but implicitly conditioned it on a simultaneous investigation into the assets of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's close associates and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri. The letter from Fazel Larijani was published by the Shargh newspaper in Tehran on Saturday, December 20, in which he announces his readiness for an investigation into his assets in light of financial allegations against him. Six days prior to this letter, Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary and Fazel Larijani's brother, announced that he would pursue Fazel's legal case, stating, "I do not approve of Fazel's actions and do not accept them; in my opinion, his actions are wrong." Fazel Larijani's name became prominent especially in late 2012 during the impeachment of the former Minister of Labor when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly aired a conversation between him and Saeed Mortazavi, the then-head of the Social Security Organization, in which Mr. Larijani suggested to Mr. Mortazavi to use the influence of his brothers in exchange for certain economic advantages. Following this action by Mr. Ahmadinejad, a meeting between Fazel Larijani and Saeed Mortazavi was also showcased in the parliament. However, in his new letter, Fazel Larijani emphasizes that Saeed Mortazavi selectively and distortedly aired this conversation and that the meeting was held at Mortazavi's insistence and "seduction," otherwise his goal was to assist the Social Security Organization and "help the system in times of sanctions." In part of this letter, he states: "I emphasize that the meeting with Saeed Mortazavi was held at his insistence and seduction by an intermediary from his side, and I had no suggestion or request to attend Mr. Mortazavi's office. In this regard, I emphasize that the filming of the meeting was executed with prior planning and based on a fabricated dictated scenario." At the end of the letter, Mr. Larijani, referring to the financial allegations against himself, writes: "Previously, in a letter to the esteemed prosecutor of Tehran, I suggested that to reveal the truth, all my assets from before the revolution until now should be examined. Now, I again request in front of the honorable people of Iran that simultaneously the assets of Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's close associates and the assets of Haj Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri and their associates, as well as other officials of the system who may have doubts regarding their assets, should be investigated, and if there are any extra rials, they should be confiscated in favor of public funds and reported to the public through the media." Mr. Larijani does not explain in his letter why he mentions Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri in this context and what the necessity is for investigating his assets simultaneously with theirs. Recently, the spokesperson for Iran's judiciary announced the head of this institution's order to address Fazel Larijani's case. In this context, Tajzadeh urged Larijani to hold a court session regarding the allegations against his brothers. The Basij news agency quoted Sadeq Larijani as saying: "I do not accept Fazel Larijani's actions."