Government's Response to Judiciary: Investigate Every Claim Made by Babak Zanjani

In response to the harsh criticisms from the head of the judiciary, the spokesperson for President Hassan Rouhani's government implicitly denied the allegation that Babak Zanjani transferred money to Rouhani's election campaign. Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, stated on Tuesday during a press conference that the Rouhani administration is ready to cooperate with the judiciary regarding Zanjani's case and urged the judiciary to "address every claim" made by Babak Zanjani and announce the results. Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, on Monday severely criticized Hassan Rouhani's statements and the government's actions in Zanjani's case, alleging that Zanjani had "financially supported Hassan Rouhani's campaign in the 2013 presidential election." He also threatened that individuals "related" to this issue would be summoned and, if necessary, arrested. Ayatollah Larijani emphasized that the first action of the judiciary in Zanjani's case was to prevent him from fleeing Iran and implicitly accused officials from the Ministry of Oil of not providing sufficient documentation to the judiciary at the beginning of the investigation. In response to these sharp attacks, the government spokesperson on Tuesday indirectly denied that the government received any money from Babak Zanjani during the election: "I have not heard such a statement." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht further emphasized that the government has been a "demanding party" in this case and is currently awaiting "investigation and resolution." Babak Zanjani, who during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and at the peak of sanctions related to the nuclear program was responsible for selling part of Iran's oil to "circumvent sanctions," is accused of failing to return approximately 2.5 billion euros from oil sales to the government. Zanjani was sentenced to death for "corruption on earth" in a case that led to his arrest in 2013, and this sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on December 4. However, Hassan Rouhani stated on December 29 that he had requested the judiciary to hand over Zanjani's case to the Ministry of Intelligence, but this request was not executed. He also mentioned that the public's questions regarding this case remain unanswered, a point that the government spokesperson reiterated on Tuesday, stating that "the dimensions of this large corruption must be clarified."