Ministry of Oil Reports Conviction of Zakani in Criminal Court

The Iranian Ministry of Oil announced that the Tehran Criminal Court has sentenced Alireza Zakani, a member of the 9th Parliament, to one year of imprisonment for 'spreading false information.' The ministry stated on Sunday, May 14, that Branch 9 of the Tehran Criminal Court, after reviewing a complaint filed on April 21, condemned Alireza Zakani to one year in prison. If Mr. Zakani appeals, this ruling will be reviewed in the appellate court. On July 4, 2016, during a meeting of the Muslim Journalists Association, Zakani accused certain individuals and the Ministry of Oil of 'organized and continuous corruption, rent-seeking, commission-taking, and paying eight dollars in commission to specific individuals for the sale of each barrel of oil.' However, after the news of this ruling was published, Mr. Zakani reiterated his previous statements, asserting that his comments were based on 'accurate information.' He emphasized that the Ministry of Oil had 'secretly issued permits for oil sales with an eight-dollar discount per barrel by specific individuals among officials and government affiliates.' Mr. Zakani has previously accused officials of Hassan Rouhani's government of economic corruption. In 2015, along with Elyas Naderan, Hossein Najabat, and Ahmad Amirabadi, three members of the 9th Parliament, he accused Cyrus Naseri and Hossein Fereydoun in a letter to the President of being involved in 'brokerage, especially in the currency sector in previous years' and also 'brokerage' in foreign contracts after the nuclear agreement. Alireza Zakani had also run for the presidency in 2013 and 2017 but was disqualified.