Minister of Culture Enters the Battle of Two Powers: Larijani's Language Was Unworthy of Great Figures

In the ongoing conflict between the executive and judicial branches in Iran, the Minister of Culture has described the head of the judiciary's response to the President's remarks as inappropriate and emphasized that the 'language' of Sadeq Larijani's statements 'was unworthy of great figures.' Meanwhile, the Central Bank reacted to the judiciary's comments by announcing that it had sent several expert delegations to countries including Tajikistan, Russia, Malaysia, and Turkey to investigate Babak Zanjani's assets, but Zanjani's claims 'turned out to be false.' Reza Salehi Amiri, the Minister of Culture, wrote in the editorial of the Iran newspaper on Saturday, January 8, that the President's remarks about handing over the Babak Zanjani case to the Ministry of Intelligence were aimed at assisting the judiciary 'in uncovering the truth and deciphering the hidden aspects of this embezzlement of public funds and enhancing the credibility of the justice system in the eyes of the public.' According to Salehi Amiri, the President's statements on this matter were 'very clear and straightforward, and it was expected that a proportional response would be formulated within this framework,' but the response given 'unfortunately had less proportionality with this expectation, and the prevailing language was unworthy of great figures.' He added: 'Comments that reduce this national concern to factional disputes and electoral rivalries are a great injustice to a suffering nation that sees a significant part of its wealth lost due to the mismanagement of the authorities at the time.' The verbal conflict between the judiciary and government officials, which initially began with allegations regarding the Babak Zanjani case, has intensified in recent days, with both sides implicitly accusing each other of financial corruption. Sadeq Larijani, the head of the judiciary, on Tuesday, January 3, accused Babak Zanjani of assisting Hassan Rouhani's campaign in the 2013 elections, and accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, and the Ministry of Oil of failing to take necessary actions to recover Zanjani's assets abroad. These remarks were a reaction to President Rouhani's statements made on January 8, in which he said he had requested the judiciary to hand over the Babak Zanjani case to the Ministry of Intelligence, but this request had not been executed. He also noted that the public's questions regarding this case remain unanswered. Following Sadeq Larijani's remarks, Hassan Rouhani's Twitter account called for transparency regarding the judiciary's accounts, while in response, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson and first deputy of the judiciary, called for the announcement of the expenses of Rouhani's campaign in 2013. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oil also issued statements denying the allegations made by the head of the judiciary and stated that no direct mission had been assigned to them regarding this case. Meanwhile, the Central Bank announced that it had sent expert delegations to countries including Tajikistan, Russia, Malaysia, and Turkey to investigate Babak Zanjani's claims about bank accounts and the amounts in them or the possibility of collecting guarantees from foreign banks, but Zanjani's claims 'turned out to be false.' The Central Bank also stated that the head of the Monetary and Banking Prosecutor's Office had thanked and appreciated the bank's actions in the Babak Zanjani case. According to this announcement, the investigation of the SWIFT system established in Babak Zanjani's companies and banks, the examination of hundreds of 'fake and real' SWIFT messages, the verification and proof of the 'unreal' nature of the 8 billion euro loan obtained from Eurosef, and the proof of the 'fake' nature of some of the documents provided by Babak Zanjani were the actions taken by the Central Bank in this case. The Minister of Culture on Saturday, in another part of his editorial in the Iran newspaper, called for the contentious issues between the Islamic Republic's branches to be discussed in private meetings. Mr. Salehi Amiri emphasized that 'neglecting the main issue, which is the fight against corruption, and preoccupying the government with fruitless disputes can harm the social trust gained from the emergence of the eleventh government.' On January 7, several Friday prayer leaders in Iran urged the President and the head of the judiciary not to air their differences in the media while supporting the judiciary and labeling criticism of it as a 'new sedition' and its destruction as an 'enemy's plan.' Prior to them, 46 conservative members of parliament on January 5 accused Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother, of 'economic corruption' and demanded that the President introduce his brother to the judiciary. Hossein Fereydoun had previously announced that he had filed complaints against several representatives who had raised allegations of 'financial corruption' against him. In recent years, allegations of economic corruption against Fazel Larijani, supported by his brother Sadeq Larijani, have also been raised, but the head of the judiciary has denied claims of supporting his brother. Some conservative figures, including Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri and Ahmad Tavakoli, have also criticized the judiciary's performance in dealing with economic corruption. Additionally, many political and civil activists and human rights organizations have criticized the judiciary's performance in political cases, repeatedly emphasizing that even the laws of the Islamic Republic are not respected in the case of prisoners, especially political prisoners, and they are deprived of fair trial rights. In this context, the Iranian Human Rights Defenders Association on Wednesday called for the dismissal of the head of the Iranian judiciary due to his 'direct responsibility for all injustices, corruptions, and insecurities in the judiciary and society' and urged parliament members to demand the 'prosecution' of Sadeq Larijani.