Introduction of 'Owners of 100 Top Companies in Iran's Economy'

The newspaper Shargh, in the headline of its Tuesday issue, examines and introduces 'the owners of 100 top companies in Iran's economy,' stating that the top companies in Iran are monopolized by the 'quasi-public empire,' noting that 'only 13 of the top companies in Iran are private.' According to this newspaper, 'the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Order, the Foundation of the Oppressed, the Armed Forces Pension Fund, and government-affiliated holdings are the largest owners of major companies in Iran's economy.' Although the general policies of Article 44 of the Constitution spoke of expanding ownership among the general public to ensure social justice, 'a look at the ownership status of the top 100 companies in Iran in the latest ranking by the Industrial Management Organization shows that now, after several years of struggle to reduce the government's hand in the economy, not only do the people not own the large economic companies of the country, but their management has also slipped out of the government's hands.' Shargh writes that 'among the actual owners of these hundred companies, there are several recurring names that searching for the major shareholders of most of these companies will lead us to them. The Justice Shares companies, holdings affiliated with the Ministry of Labor and Industry, the Armed Forces Pension Funds, the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Order, the Foundation of the Oppressed, the Basij Cooperative Foundation, national companies affiliated with the Ministry of Oil, and state banks are the main players in Iran's economy, which either fall into the category of state-owned or quasi-public.' The newspaper Shargh points out that 'finding the actual owners and major shareholders of large companies in the country is not an easy task,' stating that 'most of these companies are merely the executive arms of other large institutions that have spread their investments across various companies. Sometimes searching for the major shareholders of a company leads to another company that is itself managed by a combination of other major shareholders. Companies are so intertwined that not losing track of their management requires taking notes and searching through a list of parallel and related companies and organizations, and sometimes finding a clue about the actual owners of the companies becomes so difficult that only by searching through archives of various publications can one find a trace of the original owners through an auction or tender advertisement.' This newspaper cites 'Razavi Distribution Company' as one of the large and profitable companies in Iran, stating that on the surface, 'its major shareholders are Jabir Ibn Hayyan Pharmaceutical Company, Kimidarou Industrial Company, and Osveh Pharmaceutical Company,' but 'Shafadarou Investment Company owns 60% of Jabir Ibn Hayyan's shares, 54% of Kimidarou's shares, and 65% of Osveh's shares, and as a result, the management of all three companies is with Shafadarou Investment Company; but who owns Shafadarou? Further searching for the owners of Shafadarou reveals that 81% of this company's shares belong to the Future Development Management Company; but who owns the Future Development Management Company? Here, only by searching through the archives of publications can we find advertisements that introduce the Future Development Management Company as 'affiliated with the National Bank of Iran.' The newspaper Etemad has dedicated a photo to the Supreme Leader's visit to the earthquake-affected areas of Kermanshah province, quoting Ali Khamenei as saying: 'Officials, especially in some sectors, shone brightly in this incident and worked hard, and in the first hours of the incident, the army in the cities and the IRGC in the villages effectively rushed to help those trapped under the rubble, but I am not satisfied with this level of effort, so officials in various sectors must double their efforts and endeavors.' The newspaper Javan, close to the IRGC, also featured a photo of Ali Khamenei in Qasr-e Shirin, describing the photo with the caption: 'The Leader of the Revolution embraced the people of Kermanshah, addressing those around him: Step aside so I can see the people.' This newspaper wrote in a special tone that 'the Leader of the Revolution arrived in Kermanshah in the early hours of Tuesday and embraced the people, urging all officials to double their efforts in helping the earthquake-affected people.' The newspaper Shahrvand, in one of its front-page headlines titled 'Health Aftershocks,' reported on 'the health situation of the people of Sarpol-e Zahab, waste collection, and providing showers and sanitary facilities for the earthquake-affected people,' stating: 'From various corners, there are rumors about the possibility of cholera outbreak, but the Ministry of Health strongly denies this.' According to this newspaper, Iraj Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health, completely rejected the possibility of cholera outbreak, stating: 'In the earthquake-affected areas, we do not have major diseases such as infectious and respiratory problems.' Simultaneously, the Deputy of Health at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences told the Shahrvand newspaper: 'The water problem in the villages has not yet been resolved; the water in the villages is not drinkable and can cause various microbial, intestinal, diarrhea, hepatitis, and typhoid infections, as the water infrastructure in most of the earthquake-affected villages has been damaged.' The Shahrvand newspaper also reported, based on observations from its dispatched journalist regarding health facilities after the earthquake in Qasr-e Shirin, that 'the establishment of mobile showers began last Sunday. Additionally, water has been connected to homes, and in this situation, some people, ignoring the cracks in their ceilings and walls, are going back to their homes to take showers. Meanwhile, in the villages, anyone with a corner of their yard—if it has remained intact—is bathing with water heated on the stove. In Sarpol-e Zahab, where destruction is significant, everyone was waiting for action to meet this need, and now the establishment of showers and sanitary facilities is underway, especially since homes have been destroyed and most people are in the streets, and until an aftershock occurs, they flee screaming.' Siamak Zandrazavi, a sociologist, in a note in the Etemad newspaper emphasized that 'the structure of the Red Crescent must be popular, not political,' writing: 'Regarding the public's distrust during the Kermanshah earthquake towards the responsible relief organizations in the earthquake-affected areas, the first point is that we have a non-governmental organization called the Red Crescent, which is supported by the government but has not reformed its structure, and its board of directors is not elected transparently and publicly, and they are not stable, and with each change of government, we see changes in the managers of this organization as well.' This sociologist stated that 'the individuals elected as the board of directors of the Red Crescent organization generally lack the necessary social capital to manage an organization with these specifications,' writing: 'Of course, some of the management within the Red Crescent is often specialized and requires specialized managers. However, overall, the leadership structure of this organization should be external and have the necessary stability in the eyes of citizens,' adding that 'the first principle for gaining public trust is that they must provide transparent reports step by step immediately after receiving cash and non-cash aid, but today we see that the main responsible entity for relief efforts is unable to attract citizens' assistance in a crisis.' The note writer of Etemad described 'the cash and non-cash assistance of citizens' to non-governmental organizations during disasters such as earthquakes as 'a very large intergenerational social capital,' stating that 'this social solidarity actually forms for shared destiny,' but that 'the reason why the official entity (Red Crescent) responsible for this work in our country becomes a part dependent on the government is a significant damage, and there is a simple solution to it. That is to separate the leadership of this organization from political processes and turn it into a citizen's capital and entrust its management to those who have passed social tests at various times, those whom the people and citizens give a passing grade.' The newspaper Jam-e-Farda reported on 'the third negotiation with Europeans' regarding 'the JCPOA, progress, and prospects,' stating that these negotiations are taking place while 'in Iran, diplomats say that the JCPOA issue should not be linked to the ballistic missile issue, and Iran will not accept any negotiations that tie the JCPOA to missiles.' This newspaper noted that 'Iran's reasonable demand is the first layer of the legal dimensions of the JCPOA,' stating: 'On the other side, the Americans say that Iran's missiles constitute a violation of the Security Council resolution in the nuclear agreement, but in this context, the Europeans have tried to take a more moderate position. Macron, the President of France, tells Iran to set aside its missiles, but on the other hand, he reminds the U.S. that if it exits the JCPOA, a new North Korea will emerge.' Ali Bigdeli, a professor at Beheshti University, in a note titled 'We Do Not Know the Rules of the Game' in the Jam-e-Farda newspaper wrote: 'Since the beginning of Trump's presidency, Europe has tried to preserve the JCPOA; as U.S. pressure increased, Europe's resistance to saving the JCPOA increased. Macron was the first person to warn Trump against preserving the JCPOA, telling him that leaving this agreement is madness, but in Tehran, senior diplomatic officials are upset and worried about Macron's latest remarks.' However, 'these friends should be told that it is better to learn the rules of diplomatic games; politics is neither a one-man game nor a place for rallies where we expect everyone to act according to our wishes; politics is a multilateral relationship, and Europe has given Iran the necessary concessions in the JCPOA and is trying to give concessions to Saudi Arabia in the missile issue as well to balance both sides of the equation.' The note writer emphasized that 'France and the Europeans are helping Iran to maintain its economic markets, while on the other hand, they assure Riyadh that no missile will hit the glass towers from any point.' He wrote: 'Iran wants Europe to put all its eggs in Iran's basket; this will be nothing more than a dream for Iran because Europe has more markets in Arab and American countries than in Iran, and it is Iran that must try not to lose the European Union; if we do not have them by our side, there is nothing left to lose.' Ali Bigdeli emphasized that 'if Tehran can adopt a smart approach in diplomacy and foreign policy with the European Union in the absence of declining relations between Washington and this Union, it can significantly elevate Tehran's position in the international arena and also boost the internal economic prosperity of the country.' The newspaper Arman highlighted the warning from Masoud Rezai, the Deputy Chairman of the Social Commission of the Tenth Parliament, regarding 'the spread of container living in the capital,' stating: 'Container living is a new threat that is facing Tehran. While investigations show that marginal living in Tehran has increased significantly in recent decades and the wounds of marginalization have opened and exacerbated various social harms, reports from the capital of Iran indicate that a new type of residence is spreading, which is nothing but container living.' The Deputy Chairman of the Social Commission emphasized that 'marginalized people have been sidelined from the country's programs and forgotten,' stating that 'the actions taken to manage marginalization and support marginalized people have remained at the level of slogans and are more about appearances and advertisements, and the delay in addressing this issue and solving economic problems has led to the phenomenon of container living also increasing.' Masoud Rezai, however, stated that 'container living is not a new abnormal phenomenon and similar phenomena like living in shanties and huts are seen around all major cities in the country, especially Tehran,' and 'these areas are deprived of basic health facilities, and deprivation in these areas is more evident than in other areas.' The Arman newspaper wrote that 'the high price of housing in Tehran has made buying an apartment an unattainable dream for some citizens, and a percentage of the population cannot even afford to rent, and in this context, some individuals have considered containers for homeless citizens, and despite being illegal, some reports indicate the buying and selling of these containers. Although some officials claim that such a type of residence is not widespread in Tehran, the warning from the Deputy Chairman of the Social Commission of Parliament regarding the danger of container living in the capital indicates that this issue must be taken seriously.'