Member of Parliament: Some Iranian Parties in the Total Contract Have Corruption Cases

One day after the Iranian Oil Minister defended the gas contract signed with the French company Total, a member of parliament verbally attacked Total, stating: "Individuals representing Iran in the contract negotiations have sometimes been convicted in courts due to corruption and the signing of the Karsent contract." According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, a representative from Shahin Shahr, said in a parliamentary speech on Sunday, July 18: "I ask the Oil Minister to provide transparent information regarding this ministry's contracts with Total." He added: "What has raised many ambiguities regarding these contracts is that both the foreign party to the contract is an unreliable, bribing, and treacherous company concerning the interests of the Iranian nation, and individuals representing Iran in the contract negotiations have sometimes been convicted in courts due to corruption and the signing of the Karsent contract." He stated: "Oil experts and specialists equate the recent contract of the Oil Ministry with Total to a return to the time before the nationalization of the oil industry. It is appropriate for the government to clarify this matter." Haji Deligani did not provide further details regarding his accusations against Total and the details of the "judicial convictions" of the Iranian parties involved in this contract. Iran and the French company Total signed a 20-year contract on July 12 for the development of Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, which is the first contract with a foreign company based on the new oil contract model of the Oil Ministry of Hassan Rouhani's government known as "IPC." The new oil contract model, in its initial form, was defined for 25 years, unlike previous contracts of the Oil Ministry that were of the buy-back type, where foreign companies would leave the project after the production phase. Iran had even introduced the outlines of new oil contracts for the development of 49 oil and gas fields based on the new oil contract model to foreign companies during a conference in Tehran before the lifting of nuclear sanctions in January 2016. However, due to internal opposition, especially from conservatives, this new type of oil contract was revised again. The new contract with Total was signed while Alireza Zakani, a conservative representative of the ninth parliament, recently stated that the Supreme Leader's objections to the new oil contract model have not yet been resolved; in recent days, two representatives of Ayatollah Khamenei also described this contract as "an exploitative and colonial move by the West" and "damaging." Nevertheless, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's Oil Minister, defended the Total contract vigorously on Saturday, July 17, even stating that "the best contract in the world" is to grant ownership of the oil or gas field "for 40 or 50 years" to a foreign company. He mentioned that granting 40 or 50-year ownership of oil and gas fields to foreign companies is currently "not feasible in Iran for political, historical, social, and cultural reasons," emphasizing: "We have made many changes to the new oil contract model, and by doing so, we have shown that we are not backward people but are reformists and willing to interact. In principle, it is not correct to stick to something for 40 or 50 years; if something is wrong, it should be corrected." According to ISNA, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Deputy Oil Minister, also stated on Saturday that "it is natural that after the JCPOA and the lifting of sanctions, Iran can sign and implement such contracts," adding: "Iran must compete with other countries to attract investment in these conditions; foreign investment is limited, and Iran has the advantage of being the largest holder of oil and gas reserves in the world." Despite these emphases, one day after the statements of the Oil Minister and his deputy, coinciding with Haji Deligani's criticisms, Fars and Tasnim news agencies, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also published news with titles such as "Total Came to Iran with American Permission," "Details of Total's Evil Plan to Betray Iran," and "Do Not Take Us Back Any Further." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, who, according to Alireza Zakani, has raised objections to the new oil contract model, has not recently expressed any opinion or directive regarding the Total contract.