Continued Controversies of 'Awqaf Gate'; Heir of the Endowment: They Pressured Us Not to Speak Out

Following revelations about the large-scale corruption involving the family of Mehdi Khamooshi, directly appointed by Ali Khamenei to the Organization of Awqaf and Charitable Affairs, the heir of the endowment has confirmed the issue, stating: 'They pressured us not to speak out.' Abolfazl Aminiha, the heir of the historical Aminiha House/Hosseiniyeh, confirmed the leasing of several hundred hectares of endowments in Qazvin 'to [Mona Chaychian], the daughter-in-law of Hojjatoleslam Khamooshi,' and told ILNA news agency that the monthly rent for this vast and fertile land is 'approximately 900,000 tomans.' He further added: 'When I came to power, I saw that this lady [Mona Chaychian] is our tenant, but 'they pressured us not to speak out.' Vahid Ishtari, a media figure close to the Islamic Republic, tweeted on June 18 that a '150-hectare' endowment in Qazvin has been allocated to Mona Chaychian, the daughter-in-law of Mehdi Khamooshi, the head of the Organization of Awqaf and a direct appointee of Ali Khamenei. Previously, in April 2022, Ishtari had revealed 'Sismoni Gate' by publishing images of the wife, daughter, and son-in-law of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, at Tehran Airport with multiple suitcases. Meanwhile, the Organization of Awqaf and Charitable Affairs has confirmed the essence of the issue, issuing a statement claiming that Mehdi Khamooshi has been 'unjustly attacked' and that this contract was approved 'without his interference' by the 'endowment's management.' The public relations department of the Organization of Awqaf stated in another part of this statement that the contract published by the media activist was 'concluded before the current head of the Organization of Awqaf took office' and that 'the mentioned endowment has a specific management.' Mehdi Khamooshi, the current head of the Organization of Awqaf and Charitable Affairs, served as the head of the 'Islamic Propagation Organization,' another influential government institution, for 17 years from 2001 to 2018 by the decree of the Supreme Leader. On the other hand, this revelation has attracted the attention of social media users, who are discussing various aspects of it and the level of large-scale corruption, using terms or hashtags such as '#Awqaf_Gate' to refer to it. Hossein Yazdi, the editor-in-chief of the Mobin24 website, noted in this regard, referring to images of parts of this vast endowment, that 'it feels like we are living in Animal Farm!' Despite the severe pressure from the Islamic Republic's governmental and security institutions on the media and activists in this field, documents of widespread corruption among officials and governmental bodies continue to leak, which are justified by denial, refutation, or in cases like 'Sismoni Gate' and 'Awqaf Gate' by claiming 'ignorance' of senior government officials. Protesters and Iranian users have consistently identified 'corruption,' especially 'systematic corruption,' also referred to as 'systemic corruption,' as one of the main characteristics of the current governance in Iran and one of the primary causes of the widespread disorder currently facing the country.