Conflicting Reports on 'Smuggled Containers' in the Dispute Between Parliamentary Faction and Minister of Economy

In the ongoing dispute over the existence of smuggled containers entering the country through customs, Iran's Minister of Economy defended the performance of customs on Tuesday night, December 5, reiterating that the issue of over a thousand smuggled containers is not true. Previously, the Secretariat of the Economic and Administrative Corruption Combat Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly had referred to the case of 1128 'smuggled containers' in a response to the managers of Iran's customs, stating that these were 'discovered and seized by the Ministry of Intelligence.' The Secretariat further accused senior customs officials of being 'largely unaware of this widespread smuggling and its consequences for the country.' According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, Masoud Karbasian, the Minister of Economy in Hassan Rouhani's government, responded to these accusations by defending customs and stating that 'there is no factual basis for the 1128 containers, and the authority that announced this has officially written a letter stating that it was a mistake.' The dispute began when Amir Khajesteh, a member of parliament and head of the Economic Corruption Combat Faction, reacted to the Minister of Economy's statement that 'no smuggled goods' enter the country through official channels, asserting that 'Mr. Karbasian's statements indicate that he has no knowledge of the existing realities.' Iran's customs published a response to this parliament member in the media, denying the statistics mentioned by Amir Khajesteh, stating that 'this parliament member has ignored the realities and has the least information about the country's foreign trade.' Mr. Khajesteh had previously stated that '3300 containers of smuggled goods enter the country daily.' He also referred to the arrest of members of a gang by the Ministry of Intelligence, which had 'smuggled 1124 containers through customs in two years.' Iran's customs rejected all these statistics, describing them as incorrect and stated: 'The presentation of general claims without evidence and solid documents will result in nothing but public confusion, reduced public trust in government and ruling institutions, and creating a safe haven for real economic corruptors.' In September 2016, the public prosecutor and revolutionary prosecutor of Bandar Abbas announced that following the discovery of smuggled containers in this city, 22 employees of companies 'contracted with ports and customs' were summoned and charged, six of whom were arrested and the rest released on bail. This news was published just five days after the Attorney General of the country reported that 3850 trucks entered Iran daily through Bandar Abbas 'without inspection and oversight.' He stated based on his information that 'four thousand trucks and containers enter the country from Bandar Abbas daily, of which only 150 are controlled and inspected.' However, at the same time, the director general of ports and maritime affairs of Hormozgan called the arrest of several personnel of this organization in the smuggling case 'purely false' and stated that none of the personnel of this organization 'have been arrested or even summoned as witnesses to judicial authorities.' Smuggling in Iran has become one of the most significant economic problems and a symbol of 'corruption' in the country, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has called for the 'burning' of smuggled goods in response to the continuation of this situation.