Khamenei: Judiciary Should Confront Economic Security Disruptors

On Wednesday, July 6, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in remarks that seem to respond to recent protests, called on the judiciary to confront "disruptors of economic security." According to his official website, during a meeting with judicial officials, Khamenei referred to Mohammad Thalath, a dervish who was executed last week, as "a ruthless killer." He stated that combating economic corruption and creating security in the economic space are among the judiciary's responsibilities, ordering that this branch must deal with "disruptors of economic security." In his remarks, Khamenei neither defined the term "economic security" nor named these "disruptors," yet his stance aligns with that of the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, who had taken a similar position a day earlier. On Tuesday, July 5, Larijani threatened that the judiciary would confront government officials or others who disrupt the economy of Iran. He added, "Listen carefully, take the cotton out of your ears and open your eyes; disrupting the economic system of the country carries very heavy penalties, and if it amounts to corruption on earth, it carries the death penalty." Larijani also referred to a specific case that can be considered the only definition provided by Islamic Republic officials regarding "disruption" in the economy. The head of the judiciary, speaking at a nationwide conference, described economic disruptors as those who "want to inflame the market by pouring their money into the market and hoarding dollars and coins." This reference may relate to comments made by Nasser Saraj, head of the Inspection Organization, indicating that out of 7.6 million registered purchases of coins, 50 individuals hold five percent of these coins. It appears that high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic see the root of recent protests in this type of "disruption." Currency fluctuations in Iran have intensified in recent weeks, leading to protests, including demonstrations that began on Sunday in several commercial complexes in Tehran and escalated to the closure of the Tehran market on Monday. These protests continued on Tuesday and, according to some reports, spread to markets in several other cities in Iran. In his remarks on Wednesday, Khamenei also indirectly referred to the case of Mohammad Thalath, describing him as "a ruthless killer who murdered several young security guards." Concurrently with a widespread security forces attack on a dervish gathering in Tehran, a bus collided with law enforcement officers, killing three of them. Judicial officials identified Mohammad Thalath as the bus driver and announced his execution on Tuesday, June 28. However, according to Thalath's children and lawyer, he was "arrested three hours before the incident and confessed to this under several hours of torture at the police station." Nevertheless, from Khamenei's perspective, Thalath is portrayed as a victim due to "media and propaganda pressures" from "foreign enemies and internal oblivious individuals..." Khamenei stated that the judiciary must conduct "effective propaganda work" to counter such "operations" and have a "strong media and artistic team." He further acknowledged that the judiciary in Iran has a "weakness" in gaining public trust, stating, "In front of the people, one must approach with humility, compassion, and kindness, and reach an understanding with them to gain public trust." The Supreme Leader emphasized that the extent of corruption, both in the judiciary and in other institutions in Iran, is not a reality. He said, "In some governing institutions... corruption exists, but public corruption is not a reality, and this false perception should not be created in public minds." The head of the judiciary reported on the progress of combating corruption in this branch, stating that in the past year, 167 judges were "suspended or disqualified, and there were also 465 cases of action taken."