Khamenei: Fighting Oppression and Corruption is Very Difficult

A few weeks after protests erupted in over a hundred cities in Iran against the Islamic Republic, the Supreme Leader called for a "more severe and serious" approach to oppression and corruption among government officials but added that "fighting oppression and corruption is very difficult." According to the IRNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made this statement on Thursday, February 8, during a speech to a group of commanders and staff of the Air Force. The Supreme Leader stated: "Dealing with oppression and corruption among government officials must be more severe and serious than other matters, and all officials and managers in the country must pay attention to this issue." Khamenei added: "Fighting oppression and corruption is very difficult, and as I said a few years ago, corruption is like the seven-headed dragon of legends, which cannot be easily eliminated, but it must be done." Khamenei's renewed emphasis on addressing "oppression and corruption among government officials" comes in the wake of recent protests, during which he previously labeled the protests as a "counterattack by foreign enemies" and claimed that the funds for these gatherings were provided by a "regional puppet government," while avoiding addressing the internal roots of the recent protests. He also stated that "the enemy seeks to worsen the economic conditions of the Iranian people." The recent protests, which began in Mashhad against economic discrimination in Iran, quickly spread to over a hundred cities, and their suppression by the government followed the deaths of more than 20 people and the arrest of thousands of protesters. Khamenei's remarks on Thursday come amid previous statements from some members of parliament and political figures regarding the "systematic" nature of corruption in the Islamic Republic, which has drawn protests from Khamenei's close associates. Ahmad Tavakoli and Mahmoud Sadqi, representatives from conservative and reformist political factions, have stated that corruption in government institutions in Iran has reached a stage of "systematic corruption" and that "the institutions responsible for combating corruption have also become afflicted by varying degrees of corruption." However, Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament, have rejected these statements. In the latest report from Transparency International, Iran ranked 131st out of 178 countries surveyed in terms of corruption levels. Transparency International assessed the Islamic Republic as significantly more corrupt than some regional countries, with Iran being rated 113 places more corrupt than the UAE, 56 places more corrupt than Turkey, and 23 places more corrupt than Egypt. Meanwhile, previous reports have also surfaced regarding financial corruption among senior officials of the Islamic Republic, including Fazel Larijani, brother of the heads of the judiciary and parliament, Hossein Fereydoun, brother of the president, and several close associates of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A report from the seventh parliament's investigation into the judiciary also indicated widespread corruption in this institution. "The people's voice is a complaint about corruption and discrimination," Khamenei stated in another part of his speech, referring to the protests in December. He added: "People endure many problems, but they complain about corruption and discrimination and cannot tolerate it; therefore, officials from all three branches must seriously combat corruption." Results from a survey conducted in Iran in light of the nationwide protests in December show that "74.8%" of the population is dissatisfied with the country's conditions, and "31%" have lost faith in reforming the Islamic Republic, believing that reform is only possible through fundamental changes. This survey was conducted by the Student Opinion Research Center (ISPA), and its results were the subject of a meeting at the Strategic Studies Center of the presidency attended by the president's advisor and several economists and sociologists. In Iran, there are no independent polling centers, and the scientific validity of the survey results has not been confirmed by independent entities. Meanwhile, Hessameddin Ashna, head of the Strategic Studies Center of the presidency, stated at the meeting presenting the survey results based on field research that "people do not easily distinguish between the government and the system" and it cannot be said that "the government is ineffective but the system is legitimate." Previously, Khamenei's close associates have repeatedly emphasized that the roots of the December protests were primarily economic issues; a claim that Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly denied, emphasizing that the protesters also had political, social, and cultural demands. On Thursday, despite emphasizing the need for internal reforms, Khamenei continued by stating that "enemies" are using "pseudo-intellectuals, fake theorists, journalists, and paid writers, clowns, and all the resources of cyberspace to influence the people."