Efforts to Prevent Investigation into Financial Corruption Case of the Martyrs Foundation

The newspaper Hamdeli reported in its Tuesday front page about the efforts of "influential figures" to prevent the investigation into the financial corruption case of the Martyrs Foundation, stating: "Three years after the initiation of this inquiry and research work on the Martyrs Foundation, the results of 110,000 hours of work on this case and 30,000 pages of documents collected from this work have still not been presented to the public. This has repeatedly led to protests from Amir Khejasteh, the head of the inquiry into the Martyrs Foundation, who has stated in various interviews that 'hidden hands are preventing the conclusion of this report.' Amir Khejasteh, a representative from Hamadan in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who was the head of the inquiry committee into the financial corruption in the previous government’s Martyrs Foundation, told the newspaper: 'Those whose interests are at stake have threatened or attempted to bribe the investigating representatives multiple times.' The newspaper Hamdeli noted that 'the lack of financial transparency, various suspicions in the economic sectors of the Foundation, the discovery of embezzlement of 15 billion tomans, and the misappropriation of over 170 billion tomans of assets from Bank Day in currency exchanges were among the reasons for pursuing this plan by the representatives of the ninth parliament.' According to Amir Khejasteh, during the investigation, it became clear that in part of the financial corruption occurring in the Martyrs Foundation, individuals 'had purchased each kilogram of iron for 325 tomans and sold it to Bank Day (affiliated with the Martyrs Foundation) for 850 tomans per kilogram; in addition, they had plundered 280 billion tomans of public funds through a fake and sham contract, which has been addressed.' Furthermore, 'Bank Day has lent 8 trillion tomans without guarantees and collusion.' The Hamadan representative stated that in this case, which 'involves collusion in the buying and selling of scrap and obsolete metals by officials related to private companies in the economic sectors of the Martyrs Foundation, the CEO of Bank Day was arrested, and a warrant for his arrest and imprisonment was issued,' but 'one of the influential figures intervened for his release.' The newspaper Hamdeli also quoted Amir Khejasteh describing the activities of Bank Day and the Kowsar Institute as part of the financial corruption of the Martyrs Foundation, stating: 'The Martyrs Foundation is in a difficult situation. The veterans have been in very tough economic conditions for the past 36-37 years, but unfortunately, the officials in the Martyrs Foundation and the veterans' affairs do not pay attention to this issue and say that we have no financial resources, while on the other hand, some are plundering their assets in the name of this Foundation.' This is while 'we have reported all these issues to the relevant authorities, including the judiciary, the leadership office, and the government, to reform the system and management.' This parliament representative also stated that 'a significant portion of the funds that were misused has been returned. In the ninth parliament, political pressures from inside and outside the parliament prevented the inquiry from reaching a conclusion; however, based on the efforts made, 500 billion tomans that had gone from the currency exchange of Bank Day to Dubai were also returned. Additionally, some assets and a hotel were also returned, and in the future, I will talk about other items that have been returned.' The newspaper Arman reported with the headline 'Special Transfer of 3000 Billion Toman Lands,' stating: 'In days when Ahmadinejad's associates are thinking about gaining power and reaching positions such as the parliament or even the presidency, the financial corruption cases related to the previous government are still on the table,' and in the latest case, 'it has been announced that towards the end of Ahmadinejad's term, lands worth 30 trillion tomans were allocated to specific individuals and organizations.' Hamidreza Momeni, the CEO of the Qeshm Free Zone Organization, announced that there are 41 cases from the previous government with 'an amount equivalent to 3000 billion tomans' in this region, stating: 'So far, we have managed to recover 1350 billion tomans of this 3000 billion tomans, and this success is due to the help of friends in the judiciary in returning public assets. Additionally, the remaining cases are under review, and so far, 1350 billion tomans of the 3000 billion tomans in question have been returned, and we hope that by the end of next year, the status of all cases will be clarified.' According to the Arman newspaper, the CEO of the Qeshm Free Zone regarding whether these lands were allocated to specific organizations and individuals stated: 'We cannot explicitly say that the allocated lands were given to specific individuals or organizations, but there were various suspicions regarding the contracts that ultimately turned into disputes that the judiciary should have ruled on, and part of these cases has been reviewed, while the other cases are still under review.' The newspaper Sazandegi reported on its front page with the title 'Flying Only with Permission from the Tharallah Headquarters,' stating that the flight of personal and private quadcopters and helicopters in Tehran has been banned. From now on, the flight of these unmanned aerial vehicles over Tehran's sky must be done with permission from the Tharallah Headquarters. This newspaper emphasized that 'this new directive comes after the increased use of devices such as quadcopters and helicopters in Tehran's sky; especially after an object was sighted in the sky of Tehran that recently caused hours of commotion and was ultimately met with anti-aircraft fire.' On Tuesday, February 21, Alireza Rabiei, the deputy of operations at the Tharallah Headquarters in Tehran, announced regarding the organization of the use of quadcopters and private drones that 'since the security of Tehran is the responsibility of the Tharallah Headquarters, the security environment of Tehran has also been entrusted to the Tharallah Headquarters; therefore, the issuance of any permits for the flight of such aircraft is the responsibility of this headquarters.' The newspaper Kayhan described the statements of Ali Khamenei on Tuesday as 'a reprimand from the Leader of the Revolution to the officials for addressing the problems of floods and dust storms,' while the newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in its front page quoted the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic as saying: 'Solving the difficult issues of Khuzestan is the definite and urgent duty of the government.' The newspaper Etemad dedicated its front page photo to air pollution and environmental issues in Khuzestan, quoting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic as saying: 'The situation in Khuzestan breaks the heart of a human.' The newspaper Siyasat Rooz, however, in its main headline reported on the possibility of questioning Hassan Rouhani in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating that after the warning from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, 'what has now been heard has led to the initiation of a plan to question the President in the open session of the parliament, a plan that has currently collected 377 signatures in silence and, according to representatives from Khuzestan, if made public, could receive the signatures of almost all representatives.' The newspaper Hamdeli, however, in a note by Mohsen Oraki wrote: 'The phenomenon of dust storms is the result of reckless and unnatural encroachments that have been inflicted on nature over time by various individuals and governments, and now something must be done. The primary priority for all of us should be the help and support to alleviate the concerns and worries of the people. The fact that auditing this government or governors at this time is more prominent and important than restoring calm to people's lives is a matter of ambiguity and questioning.' This newspaper emphasized that 'it would have been good and fair for all governments of the past decade to be subjected to scrutiny so that all blame would not fall solely on the current government, which incidentally has made the most efforts in terms of budgeting to combat dust storms, identifying domestic sources, releasing water in these sources, preparing tree planting plans in these sources, and conducting multilateral negotiations to combat foreign sources.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan, referring to the fact that 'simultaneously with the increase of dust storms and the worsening of living conditions in Khuzestan, people can no longer bear it and have been gathering in front of the governorate for several days, demanding more serious attention to the issue,' wrote: 'Although Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, in response to these gatherings stated that the people are always right and we respect them and bow our heads to their requests, in the meantime, the police force of Khuzestan issued a statement read among the protesters, announcing legal action against illegal gatherings.' This statement sparked reactions among the people and on social media. Ali Qasempoor, the social deputy of the Khuzestan police command, stated that the likelihood of this prohibition 'is to prevent traffic congestion and disruption of people's access to hospitals near the governorate and to avoid disrupting the movement of vehicles and people' and on the other hand 'to prevent political and even security abuses by some individuals from the recent gatherings of the people.' Saadollah Zarai in Kayhan's editorial titled 'Come, We Are Ready,' wrote: 'Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel have jointly and in a way that one follows the other in the Munich Security Conference, labeled Iran as a threat to the region, while all three have passed the threat to the region and are the leaders of war against the region.' The editorial writer posed the question, 'Why have these three, each of whom considers themselves a representative of a current in the region and the world, spoken out against Iran simultaneously?' and wrote: 'The simultaneous statements of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel against Iran at the Munich conference should never be considered coincidental. It may not be said that this is the stable policy of these three governments, but it can be said that they have currently agreed that a regional front should be formed against Iran.' This newspaper, critical of the JCPOA, then in an unprecedented move described 'the world after the JCPOA' as favorable for Iran's national security, writing: 'We know well that the world after the JCPOA is not a world under American control, not because the JCPOA has such a property, but because the United States is no longer able to maintain the so-called 1+5 countries or any other collection under its management,' and for this reason 'American officials are forced to relinquish their direct role,' and now 'more powerful regional governments that have animosity or rivalry with Iran have found the motivation to confront Iran.' The editorial writer of Kayhan also emphasized that 'regional action against Iran and, in other words, regional hostility against Iran is more effective than international hostility against Iran, and therefore, if a cohesive regional front against Iran is formed, the situation for the Islamic Republic will be more sensitive compared to the past, because international actions against Iran, when they reached the regional environment, were largely neutralized due to Iran's intra-regional relations, but when pressure is formed in the region, it will naturally be accompanied by Western powers such as the United States and Britain, and confronting it will be of greater importance and sensitivity for the Islamic Republic.' This newspaper, however, referring to 'the experience of Syria,' wrote that in response to this regional action, 'on this side of the story, there is an Iranian that has the power and successful experience of disrupting the complex plans of great powers. So come, we are ready.' Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist figure, stated in an interview with the newspaper Qanoon that 'Hassan Rouhani will register for the 2017 presidential elections,' but 'without responding to the demands of the people, he will not receive a high vote.' The political deputy of the Ministry of Interior during Mohammad Khatami's presidency assessed the likelihood of Hassan Rouhani's disqualification as low, noting that 'disqualifying the president may have costs, and the system's well-wishers are not willing to bear these costs,' adding that 'disqualifying Rouhani means that the senior officials of the system want to shoulder all the responsibility alone,' while now that 'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been prohibited from participating in the elections,' 'if Rouhani is also disqualified, the elections will lose their meaning.' Mostafa Tajzadeh discussed Hassan Rouhani's vote basket in the next elections, stating: 'Some of those who voted for Rouhani in 2013 and are now protesting are not in this vote basket,' but in the upcoming elections, alongside reformists, some factions of conservatives will also fit into Rouhani's vote basket.' The newspaper Qanoon also quoted Mostafa Tajzadeh as saying: 'The rise of Donald Trump could be a factor that positively affects Hassan Rouhani's vote basket as the only option to overcome the crisis,' because 'unlike the alarmists, many conservatives believe that in the face of a foreign radical, another radical should not be placed.' Mostafa Tajzadeh also stated: 'If Rouhani had a serious rival with outstanding economic performance, he would definitely face problems,' but currently 'the most serious rival of Rouhani these days is Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, whose vote, in my opinion, will not be in double digits.' The newspaper Javan in its Tuesday issue has a report about 'the sale of children's organs through legal loopholes' and has reported on 'the revival of child kidnapping gangs aimed at organ trafficking.'