Iranian MP: The Fight Against Corruption Should Start from the Leader's Office

An Iranian MP has stated that corruption has become so widespread in Iran's structure that it is unlikely that laws can combat it, suggesting that the fight against corruption should begin at the "office" of the Supreme Leader. Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi, a representative from Rasht in the parliament, made these remarks in an interview with the website "Rooidad 24". He expressed that "corruption has become entrenched in the country's structure and I have no hope that this law can stop this level of corruption." He added that he is pessimistic about the legal capacity to combat this level of corruption in Iran because he is part of the "organization" and sees these unpleasant events "up close." Without providing further details, he warned that "if one day our revolution faces problems, know that it is because of this widespread corruption." Imanabadi also suggested that "the fight against corruption should start from the office of the Leader." According to him, "if this happens and then the judiciary fights against corruption, and afterward the executive branch cleanses itself of corruption, the minimum achievement will be building trust in society." In addition to financial corruption, this representative referred to the existence of "widespread moral corruption" in Iran, adding that "unfortunately today, individuals openly recommend each other to officials without any shame." He further called for the judiciary's "impartiality" in investigating corruption cases and for dealing with offenders without "leniency." This is not the first time a member of parliament has spoken about the extensive corruption within the Islamic Republic's structure. Ahmad Tavakoli, a former MP, was the first to mention the "systematic" nature of corruption in the Islamic Republic, adding that "the institutions responsible for fighting corruption are also afflicted by varying degrees of corruption." Tavakoli has explicitly warned that if corruption is not addressed, the Islamic Republic will be "overthrown." Imanabadi, who is a member of the Parliament's Planning, Budget, and Calculations Commission, had stated last year that some government agencies in Iran "evade" oversight and auditing from this court and that some institutions are accountable to no one. His statements come amid concerns over the lack or weakness of oversight on the activities of many governmental and state institutions in Iran, which is cited as one of the main factors contributing to the increase in corruption within the Islamic Republic. Mustafa Tajzadeh, a reformist political activist, recently wrote in an open letter to Ahmad Tavakoli, a principlist political activist, that the Supreme Leader is only a "champion of the fight against corruption" in words and speeches. According to Tajzadeh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his appointees are either "themselves involved in corruption like the judiciary" or "indirectly play a role in spreading corruption, like the IRGC with its extensive involvement in economic affairs." In his letter published on March 17, he also wrote: "The leadership and its appointees' factional approach to corruption, where one must be punished and another must be overlooked, has expanded the scope of corruption." Warnings about the spread of corruption and its institutionalization within the Islamic Republic's structure come as Transparency International reported that Iran ranked 131st among corrupt countries in 2016 with a score of 29. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the "record" of the Islamic Republic on the brink of entering the fifth decade of the revolution as "brilliant."