Hassan Rouhani: Clarifying Corruption and Upcoming Dangers

There has been much discussion about widespread corruption in the Islamic Republic, and no matter how much is said, it will still be insufficient. Just a few days ago, Transparency International, in its latest report, examined the corruption index for 175 countries worldwide. In this ranking, Iran scored 27, placing it at 136th. According to the same organization's report, in 2013, Iran scored 25 and ranked 144, indicating that Iran's position in corruption improved by 7 ranks in 2014, but this index still shows that the level of corruption in Iran remains very high. All analyses and explanations regarding corruption are important in their own right. However, the statements of Hassan Rouhani - due to his responsibility as president and the second person in the political system - are of great significance. He stated that the stigma of corruption has been broken and that under-the-table dealings have become above-the-table: "In the past, it was said to be under the table, now it has come above the table. The meaning of under-the-table was that it had a stigma, meaning it was done secretly. If it has moved from under the table to above the table, then what should be done?" Some important cases of corruption are indicated by this frank expression. He referred to various types of corruption, some of which are as follows: 1) Judicial corruption: Everyone is well aware that without bribery, it is impossible to resolve legal cases. Javad Larijani - brother of Sadegh Larijani and head of the human rights section of the judiciary - is one of the economic corrupts. The tape of another brother was also displayed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in parliament. Rouhani said: "God forbid, God forbid, God forbid, if corruption reaches the judiciary, that is the salt. Woe to the time when the salt becomes rotten. Our honorable judges, our judiciary, our supervisory bodies must all come to the scene. This is not a matter of flattery or slogans." 2) Corruption of natural resources: Many reports have been published regarding the plundering of natural resources over the past years. Rouhani said: "Is it possible for there to be corruption in a society, for administrative work to be resolved with bribery, for building floors to be elevated with bribery, for forests and pastures to be encroached upon as national resources, and for what is presented as bidding and tendering to have a screen and behind-the-scenes dealings, and then people are satisfied with this government and state?" 3) Charity corruption: One of the ways to legitimize corruption in Iran is to open charities and operate under them. This is the peak of economic exploitation and moral vice, where economic corruption is considered "charity" and helping the poor. Rouhani said: "Why do some people open charities and engage in corruption under that banner, why is there no action against them?" 4) Corruption of the IRGC and Basij: In this regard, opponents of the Islamic Republic have spoken extensively. Rouhani's government policy has been not to assign projects to the IRGC and Basij. Akbar Turkan - senior advisor to Hassan Rouhani - in the margins of the government's visit to Golestan province, when faced with the question of what his opinion is regarding the Basij's readiness to help the government in the issue of resistance economy, said: "The resistance economy is not specific to the Basij; it is for the entire country, and the management of ministries cannot be handed over to Mr. Naghdi. Mr. Naghdi is a capable person, and the Basij organization is also capable, but ministries have ministers, and their managers are responsible and must answer to parliament; therefore, they must go to their own organization." However, discussing the economic activities of the IRGC and Basij is one thing, and discussing their corruption is another. The expression of this important issue by the head of the government is significant. Rouhani explicitly stated: "We must eliminate the concentration of power; corruption arises from the concentration of power in one institution. Whatever you do, if you gather guns, money, newspapers, websites, and advertisements all in one place [the IRGC and Basij], it will definitely lead to corruption. The world has realized that these powers need to be separated. In the Islamic Consultative Assembly, we were perhaps caught up in this issue for a year and were pressured to hand over the country's intelligence apparatus to a military institution [the IRGC], and we did not yield. We asked the Imam. The Imam said no, I have no such opinion, and we established a ministry, even though it was very difficult. It had its specific meanings. We established the Ministry of Intelligence so that parliament could oversee it, and we stated that there should be no armed forces in the Ministry of Intelligence so that it could be controlled; otherwise, if you gather intelligence, guns, money, capital, websites, newspapers, and news agencies all in one institution [the IRGC and Basij], even if Abu Dharr and Salman are there, it will become corrupt. Our work has flaws; we must rectify the flaws. The concentration of power in one place leads to corruption." This may be Hassan Rouhani's strongest public confrontation with the corrupt and obstructive activities of "our smuggler brothers" - as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put it. They have infiltrated all areas and are advancing the project of monopolizing power. The goal of the revolution: eradicating corruption or a corrupt system Rouhani said that one of the goals of the 1979 revolution was to fight against corruption and eradicate it. Inability to combat corruption means "the weakness of the Islamic Revolution, the incapacity of the revolution, and failure to achieve one of the important goals of the Islamic Revolution." Rouhani's explanation was that corruption signifies the illegitimacy of the revolution and the Islamic Republic. Because people say: "Either the officials know and do not stand against corruption, then they are complicit, and thus the entire revolution and system are called into question. Or they do not know, or if they do know, they are incapable of fighting it, then an Islamic government is an ineffective government. Whether the system is corrupt or ineffective, one of these two judgments by the people means that we have not achieved one of the most important goals of the revolution." It is clear that all officials of the system are aware of the widespread corruption in the Islamic Republic. The inability to combat corruption is an undeniable reality. This inability is not due to a lack of power; it is a product of the corruption of the officials. The structure of the state economy breeds corruption. In such a system, high-ranking rulers become corrupt and turn a blind eye to the major corruptions of their own. How can one confront the corruption of repressive institutions? Rouhani warns the leaders of the system that failure to confront corruption means the end of the Islamic Republic, as people oppose a corrupt system and will eventually confront it. Rouhani, one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, the president of the system, and its guardian, does not intend to overthrow the system. Rouhani said: "Should we retreat in the face of corruption? Should we declare that we cannot confront corruption? This means losing the system and the revolution. You may think my expression is harsh, but know that the continuation of corruption, its expansion and deepening means jeopardizing the very essence of the revolution and the system. People are not servants of the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran; they are servants of Islam, the republic, and public opinion. People want both the republic to be implemented, meaning the will of the people, and Islam to be implemented, meaning the command of God." The termite of corruption has eaten away at all the foundations of the Islamic Republic, and without a fundamental struggle against corruption, there can be no hope for solving the problems and future of the Islamic Republic. Rouhani said: "So if we want to solve problems in this government, without fighting corruption, our problems will not be solved. In every area we enter, corruption is like that termite that destroys and corrupts the foundations and brings them down." Rouhani implicitly states that his hands are tied in dealing with corruption. Because fighting corruption means fighting against monopolies, freedom of the media in exposing corruption, transparency, and delegating matters to the real private sector, not military and law enforcement institutions. Will the leadership and other institutions accompany such a path, or will they only deal with the corruption of non-affiliates? Economic sanctions and the spread of corruption The corrupt state economy has created a dark chamber where gentlemen, the sons of influential families, and military personnel do whatever they want. The economic sanctions that were imposed have led to an increase in corruption. Previously, an advisor to Barack Obama and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury announced that the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a country had been imposed against Iran. On December 6, 2014, Joe Biden - the U.S. Vice President - spoke at the Saban Forum and said: "We have imposed the toughest sanctions in history on Iran through diplomacy. As a result of our negotiations, Iran has significantly limited its nuclear program and, in return, has received a suspension of minimal sanctions." According to a new report from the International Institute of Finance (IIF) regarding Iran, published on December 5, the volume of Iran's economy has shrunk by 8.6% since the onset of the new round of economic sanctions aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program. Garbis Iradian, deputy director of the International Institute of Finance - who participated in writing this report - stated that with the continuation of sanctions, "Iran's economy will be brought to its knees within the next two years... In some respects, financial sanctions against Iran have been worse than sanctions on its oil. Half of Iran's foreign exchange liquidity is blocked in foreign banks, and the P5+1 has only agreed to release a fraction of these resources after the Vienna talks." The heavy cost of these sanctions has been borne by the people through rising unemployment, inflation, poverty, and reduced economic growth, not the Islamic Republic. The toughest sanctions in history have naturally forced the Islamic Republic to circumvent the sanctions. Circumventing sanctions has significantly increased and will increase the level of corruption. To circumvent sanctions, one must turn to people like Babak Zanjani to transfer oil and money for them. Bijan Zanganeh - the Minister of Oil - said on December 8, 2014, "Zanjani embezzled 7 trillion tomans of the country's money." Zanjani is just one revealed example. Later, it will become clear how much of the country's vast revenues have been destroyed in the process of circumventing sanctions. As long as sanctions continue, corruption will also increase. However, the nuclear agreement and the lifting of sanctions will not, by themselves, lead to a significant reduction in corruption. The state economy, incompetent management, ineffective government, informational rent, etc., all contribute to creating corruption. Corruption has also engulfed the higher education sector of the country (refer to the article "The Dispute over the Ministry of Science, What is the War About?"). The relationship between the nuclear agreement and corruption The final nuclear agreement will undoubtedly be in favor of Iran's national interests. If a final nuclear agreement is reached and the toughest sanctions in history are gradually lifted, the pain and suffering of the Iranian people will naturally decrease significantly. The corruption stemming from the sanctions will also disappear, but not the structural corruption. The discussion is about one trillion dollars. If a final agreement is reached, the reconstruction of Iran's economy will require at least one trillion dollars in investment. In the oil and gas industry alone, approximately 400-500 billion dollars of investment is needed. Iran will need at least 300 new airplanes for transportation. The Iranian Air Force will also require hundreds of modern fighter jets. The Iranian automotive industry also needs massive investment. Road construction and building modern railways will also be impossible without foreign investment. Let's assume that the Obama and Rouhani administrations can overcome opponents such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, radical internal opponents, etc., and finalize a temporary agreement. In that case, the path for foreign investment will be paved. One trillion dollars is not a small amount. If the economic structure remains as it is, if the rent-seekers continue to be in power and feed off the oil and rentier economy, a larger corruption will sprout in the coming era.