Nehavandian: Dark Corners of the Economy are Breeding Grounds for Monopoly and Corruption

The Iran newspaper in its Sunday headline published a warning from Akbar Turkan regarding the entry of "dirty money" into the elections, quoting the advisor to Hassan Rouhani as saying: "We will not remain silent in the face of dirty money" and "We will not allow a few individuals to win in 94 with dirty money, and wherever disclosure is needed, we will do it." The Etelaat newspaper dedicated its Sunday front page and photo to an interview with Mohammad Nehavandian, emphasizing that "dark corners of the economy are breeding grounds for monopoly and corruption." The Etemaad newspaper, while publishing a report on the "latest status of the contaminated ampoule case," reported that so far "15 patients under treatment" at the Razi Eye Clinic have lost their sight due to the injection of the invalid "vision" drug. The Kayhan newspaper, coinciding with International Women's Day, attacked the trip of several Iranian women to New York to participate in the "Beijing +20" conference, stating that "the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs is delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Commission on the Status of Women, while the main subject of this conference under the title 'gender equality' is not approved by the Islamic Republic." The Shahrevand newspaper emphasized what it described as "the lowering threshold of people's tolerance in Tehran," quoting the director of forensic medicine in Tehran province, stating that in 93, "street brawls in Tehran left 91,000 injured." Turkan's warning: We will not remain silent in the face of dirty money. The Iran newspaper reported Turkan's warning about the entry of "dirty money" into the elections, stating that he emphasized that "94 will be the year of exposing those who want to enter the political game with windfall and dirty money." Turkan stated that "Ahmadinejad was not an individual or a government, but rather had a planned movement with him. However, this movement now claims not to know Ahmadinejad, which is not true. This political, intellectual, and economic movement has its interests in using the windfall opportunities of the previous government. Even if they wash themselves ten times and rinse, they cannot deny their violations and their complicity with violations." Akbar Turkan emphasized that "no matter what name they give themselves and whatever coalition they form for the elections, they cannot absolve themselves from the dirty money they have acquired," stating: "They want to participate in the political arenas of 94 with this dirty money, and it is not right for us to remain silent and not expose anyone in 94." According to the Iran newspaper, Akbar Turkan stated that those who until yesterday had their hands in the government's pocket and today have had their hands cut off are hindering our movement. Whenever we reach the focal point of their corruption, noise rises. Whenever we discuss them, threats against the government begin. Those who were complicit in the Ahmadinejad government's disaster now consider themselves innocent of any wrongdoing, those who received economic rents and bribes to be complicit and silent now consider themselves against the peace. They do not know that all their names are available, and if the government wants, it can disclose their names. Mohammad Nehavandian: Dark corners of the economy are breeding grounds for monopoly and corruption. The Etelaat newspaper dedicated its Sunday front page and photo to an interview with Mohammad Nehavandian, quoting the President's Chief of Staff emphasizing that "dark corners of the economy are breeding grounds for monopoly and corruption." Nehavandian stated that "we must identify and eradicate the economic roots of corruption," saying: "We must identify the unfavorable legal environment that creates and facilitates corruption and seek to reform it. Unfortunately, in some parts of the past years, apart from the economic roots and rent-seeking economy, we have witnessed a kind of lawlessness in the legal aspect. We must not forget that the regulations of a country prevent corruption and abuse of national resources." According to the newspaper, Nehavandian stated that "wherever there is a dual or multiple pricing system, we will witness small or large rents." The Etelaat newspaper quoted the President's Chief of Staff stating that if the sanctity of the law is broken and if within the institutions that should support and enforce the law, violations of regulations are considered bravery or a value of management, this perception of bravery will not stop at those managers who may be honest and will give others permission and audacity to violate the law. It is very important that the prevailing culture in the economic system and governing bodies is a culture of respect for the law or a culture of lawlessness and law evasion." Nehavandian, recalling the sale of oil to individuals and some institutions during the previous government, emphasized that "it was unprecedented after the nationalization of oil to give oil to a person without obtaining the necessary guarantees, and that person sells the oil and keeps the revenue, and when they go after him, their hands are empty and even face denial, and on the other hand, this entire process is supported by some individuals and some institutions within the government." Nehavandian stated in an interview with the Etelaat newspaper: "After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the people expected government officials to be trustees, not predators. The damage and harm of corruption is not just the money that is wasted; it also creates a negative and destructive effect on the governing mentality. In fact, the path of economic reform, which should have moved towards competitiveness and greater trust, is being provoked in the opposite direction and causes extensive damage to social capital, which of course, if this corruption occurs alongside the government, will cause even greater damage." The President's Chief of Staff stated that "transparency and competition are two remedies for the pain of corruption," telling the Etelaat newspaper: "With competition, we can make the competitor responsible for monitoring the enterprise, and in a sense, a model of self-regulation is applied. Also, the government and the law must seek transparency more and more. The more there is in the dark corners of the economy, the more corruption will emerge from those centers. The institutions that operate in the economic field must have the highest degree of transparency, as transparency and reporting are essential for economic work. If an institution operates transparently, the likelihood of corruption will be minimized, although it can never be reduced to zero, and decisive action against corruption will also impact the likelihood of its recurrence and re-emergence." The use of invalid drugs at Razi Eye Clinic has blinded 15 patients. The Etemaad newspaper, while publishing a report on the "latest status of the contaminated ampoule case," reported that so far "15 patients under treatment" at the Razi Eye Clinic have lost their sight due to the injection of the invalid "vision" drug. According to the newspaper, "Four days after the blindness of 15 corneal transplant patients who were treated at the Razi Eye Clinic using the invalid drug 'Ostine,' it has been reported that a similar complication occurred in one of the major eye hospitals in Tehran as well. Mohammad Mirdehghan, the director of treatment supervision at the Ministry of Health, announced this news on Saturday without naming the hospital, stating that "a committee has been formed in the Ministry of Health that, in addition to investigating the cause of the blindness of several patients at the private eye clinic, will conduct necessary cultures to investigate the contamination of the drug," the results of which will be announced soon. According to the Etemaad newspaper, "the negligence and shortcomings of the officials of this private eye clinic have caused the blindness of 15 patients," but Mahmoud Jabavand, the head of Farabi Hospital, regarding the possibility of restoring the sight of these individuals, stated: "It is possible that a percentage of the sight of these individuals will be lost, but it will certainly not lead to complete blindness." The newspaper reported: "The use of this treatment center, which is affiliated with the private sector, of invalid drugs comes at a time when the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drug Organization have always emphasized procuring hospital supplies from centers approved by the Ministry of Health and refraining from purchasing from brokers and intermediaries," and while "the problematic nature of these drugs has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Health has also warned of the possibility of profiteering in procuring these supplies. The newspaper also wrote: "There is no doubt that this center, which is affiliated with the private sector, has acted to procure these low-quality and invalid materials solely with the motivation of spending less in exchange for more profitability and without regard for the health of patients," and Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, also on Saturday ordered treatment centers to procure drugs from sources approved by the Ministry of Health, stating that "the affected patients will be supported by the Ministry of Health, and their treatment will be pursued in Labafi Nejad and Farabi hospitals." Etemaad quoted the Minister of Health as saying: "Supervisory bodies are investigating the activities of profiteers in supplying the Ostine drug for treatment centers, and those involved in this matter will be arrested, and we will announce the details." Kayhan's attack on women on International Women's Day. The Kayhan newspaper, in its Sunday issue coinciding with International Women's Day, attacked the trip of several Iranian women to New York to participate in the "Beijing +20" conference, stating: "The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs is delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Commission on the Status of Women, while the main subject of this conference under the title 'gender equality' is not approved by the Islamic Republic." This newspaper, published under the supervision of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, wrote in its Sunday issue: "The Commission on the Status of Women conference is held on the 20th anniversary of the Beijing conference, and its subject is to present a report on the actions taken in the member states of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women over the past 20 years; for this reason, it has been named Beijing +20, and the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs is delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Commission on the Status of Women, while the main subject of this conference under the title 'gender equality' is not approved by the Islamic Republic, and Iran has not joined it due to the contradiction of the subjects of the 'Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women' with Islamic law and the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran." This newspaper raised the question, "Who is responsible for the Iranian women's NGOs caravan in New York?" stating that despite the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs announcing that a 14-member delegation would participate in this conference, a group of more than a hundred members of women’s NGOs is also traveling to New York with this delegation. Individuals whose qualifications have not yet been approved by any of the country's intelligence and security agencies. Kayhan pointed out that "in the traveling government delegation to New York, the names of some unrelated individuals can also be seen, including Soheila Jaloodarzadeh, advisor to the Minister of Industry, Fatemeh Tondgouyan, advisor to the Minister of Oil, and Zeynab Karkeh Abadi, director of women’s affairs in Semnan province, and Rahmati, the wife of the Iranian ambassador to Switzerland," stating: "It is interesting that the members of the Iranian government delegation will participate in the panel 'National Women’s Gender Equality.'" This newspaper also listed accusations against women and members of NGOs who traveled from Iran to participate in the "Beijing +20" conference in New York, stating: "Some members of the NGOs receiving unlimited visas to travel to the US have backgrounds of anti-security activities such as involvement in the 88 unrest, cooperation with international organizations in blackening the situation of Iranian women and children on issues such as AIDS, homosexuality, and prostitution, and membership in feminist circles, which their negative record has raised significant concerns about the risks of their future reports at the international conference in New York." However, Kayhan wrote that Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Women, stated: "Concerns about potential blackening at the conference are surprising; it should be said that within the framework of constructive engagement with the world based on respect for equality and mutual rights, we seek to have an effective presence accompanied by realism, which despite some interpretations as blackening, we call it 'realism.'" The newspaper wrote: "Molaverdi's disregard for the consequences of the blackening by the aforementioned NGOs at the international conference in New York comes at a time when this issue could lead to the documentation of human rights claims against our country and result in sanctions.