Jafari: The President Says He Did Not Mean the IRGC

Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Tuesday, December 25, quoted Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stating that his remarks about the concentration of "manifestations of power" in one institution did not refer to this military body. On Monday, December 17, Mr. Rouhani described the monopoly and concentration of "manifestations of power" in one institution as a "factor" of corruption, stating that the accumulation of information, weapons, and media in the hands of one institution leads to corruption. Although Mr. Rouhani did not directly name any institution, following the publication of his remarks, some news websites referenced the economic activities of the IRGC, suggesting that Mr. Rouhani was referring to this military institution. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mohammad Ali Jafari stated, "We have also been aware of these speculations, but as has been asked of the respected President, he has said that I did not mean the IRGC, and the remarks made were a general recommendation and analysis." He added, "The President has complete trust in the IRGC, and the relationship between the IRGC and him is very good and based on mutual trust." Jafari emphasized, "The enemies of the system and the revolution, especially the anti-revolutionaries abroad, cannot undermine this relationship that has been established since the time of the imposed war." While IRGC commanders often describe the economic activities of this institution, including the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, as assistance to the government and the economy of the country, some political figures in Iran with various political orientations have previously opposed the economic activities of this institution. For instance, Ahmad Tavakoli, a conservative member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that "military personnel have entered the market with greetings and blessings, and they can no longer be removed." Ali Motahari, another member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also recently emphasized that the IRGC, by engaging in intelligence activities, has "exceeded its mandate." The IRGC commander also stressed in an interview with the Islamic Republic's central news unit that "the IRGC's presence in the country's construction arena is different from its presence in economic fields, as the IRGC does not engage in activities such as marketing, trade, and import-export." Abdollah Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, reported on Sunday, October 20, that 5,000 private contractor companies are collaborating with this headquarters and that it has 135,000 personnel, of which only 2,560 are official forces, while the rest are, according to him, "popular forces." Reports indicate that many infrastructure and construction projects in Iran across various sectors, including energy, telecommunications, transportation, and dam construction, have been awarded to the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters with government approval and without competitive bidding in recent years. The Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters was established in 1989 by the order of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and according to previous reports from the IRGC to the Budget Commission of the Parliament, it has 812 registered companies in Iran and abroad. In this context, Iran's military budget increased by "7 trillion tomans" in 2015.