Member of Parliament: Corruption Exists in Both Conservative and Reformist Factions

A member of the Stability Front in Parliament emphasized that since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in February 1979, the "main problem" in Iran has been "corruption." He stated, "When people took to the streets, it did not mean animosity or hostility towards the revolution and the government, but rather their capacity has been exhausted." According to ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Zolnoor, in a speech on Saturday, December 1, stressed that since the revolution, Iran has not faced a "shortage or absence" of resources, but rather the "main issue is corruption." The representative from Qom in Parliament emphasized that corruption exists in both the conservative and reformist political factions, and "neither corruption is exclusive nor is the fight against it." He added, "It is not the case that we think some groups are good and others are bad in the eyes of the people. The people say these are two sides of the same coin, and from top to bottom, there is no difference between this faction and that faction for them." The slogan of the protesters last December, "Reformist, Conservative / The story is over now," was one of the slogans that received widespread coverage in the media and social networks. Hussein Zolfaqari, Deputy Minister of Interior for Security, acknowledged that these protests "crossed all political factions in the country." Mr. Zolnoor also suggested creating a system to register the wealth of all officials, including the Supreme Leader, and all citizens. In the past, some officials and experts in the Islamic Republic have spoken about "systematic corruption" in Iran and the support of some officials in various institutions for these corrupt practices. Structural changes are the only remedy for the misery of the Islamic Republic and Iran. For instance, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, stated on August 18 that corruption has "grown and reached some high-ranking officials in the country." Gholamali Jafarzadeh Eymani Abadi, a representative from Rasht in Parliament, also mentioned in April that corruption has spread so much in the structure of Iran that it is unlikely that the law can combat it, and it would be good if the fight against corruption began from the "office" of the Supreme Leader. For years, there have been numerous reports in Iran about the corruption of official figures in the government, members of Parliament, and representatives of city and village councils, as well as municipal officials. While close associates of the Supreme Leader and some government officials only speak of economic corruption, some political activists believe that the root of economic corruption lies in the judiciary and the political structure of the government. In this context, Abolfazl Ghadiani, a senior member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, stated in a note: "Ayatollah Khamenei preaches justice but gives large rents to his close associates and dependents - to ensure their loyalty - and... the ineffective and corrupt judicial system arising from religious despotism legitimizes theft, embezzlement, and rent-seeking while neglecting productive economic work." After the protests last December, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, described limiting the demands of the protesters to economic issues as "an insult to the people" and stated that the demands of the people are economic, cultural, social, and security-related, and "all these demands must be addressed." Following U.S. sanctions, with the approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, a special court was established with three judges from the Revolutionary Court to handle the cases of "economic offenders." By the rulings of these courts, Vahid Malakoutian and Mohammad Esmail Qasemi, two coin sellers, were executed, and death sentences were issued for other individuals as well. Faezah Hashemi, a member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi Party, stated that the executions of these individuals were carried out "to suppress recent protests" and "to scare the people." She added, "The meaning of this punishment and this accusation is that the country's economy is so weak, baseless, and tense that two individuals can disrupt it to the extent that it leads to execution." Iranian judicial officials threatened protesters in occupational strikes, including truck drivers and merchants, with "the harshest punishment."