Reactions Continue to Oil Rig Theft; Oil Minister: It Does Not Belong to Babak Zanjani

The Oil Minister of the Islamic Republic denied yesterday's report by the Fars News Agency regarding the stolen oil rig belonging to Babak Zanjani. Javad Owji, speaking on the sidelines of a government meeting today, stated: "This rig belonged to a private company and has been abandoned for some time." Yesterday, Fars News Agency, affiliated with the security institutions of the Islamic Republic, confirmed reports of an oil rig theft in Khuzestan province, claiming that the stolen rig was one of those belonging to Babak Zanjani's private companies. According to citizen reports, this oil rig was "dismantled and looted" by unknown individuals over the course of a week, located seventy kilometers from the Ahvaz-Haftkel road. A video shared on the messaging platform "X" claimed that "this rig had advanced equipment and engines." Fars News Agency, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on Tuesday, October 3, citing "eyewitnesses," that the license plates of the trucks transporting the rig's parts were from Tehran. This government media also noted that "managers of oil-rich areas and national drilling have no desire to comment" on this news, stating that they have "unofficially denied the attribution of this rig to themselves." Meysam Sharafi, an oil and energy activist, reacted to this news by reposting the proverb "A bad root does not yield good fruit, as its foundation is bad," writing on the messaging platform "X": "After the oil rig theft during Ahmadinejad's government, we are now witnessing an oil rig theft during Raisi's administration." The report quoted "an informed source in the oil sector" stating: "This rig does not belong to the southern oil-rich areas or the National Drilling Company, but rather to one of Babak Zanjani's private companies." The Fars News Agency also claimed, citing an informed source, that "Babak Zanjani's private company has inactive rigs in various parts of the country." Babak Zanjani was a young billionaire who collaborated with Ahmadinejad's government to circumvent international sanctions against Iran's oil industry and banking network; however, in 2013, he was accused of forgery, money laundering, and fraud. According to a ruling issued by the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office, Babak Zanjani was sentenced to death for "corruption on earth through disruption of the country's economic system, defrauding the National Oil Company, Bank Maskan, and Social Security, money laundering, forging 24 bank documents and statements, forging currency transfer orders, and forging transfer orders between banks." Javad Owji, the Oil Minister of Ebrahim Raisi's government, today discussed the latest status of transferring Zanjani's assets to the Ministry of Oil on the sidelines of the government meeting, stating: "A working group consisting of the National Oil Company and supervisory bodies is working on this, and so far they have achieved good results." Ahmad Mortazavi Moghadam, the then-head of the Supreme Court, announced on July 16, 2021, that Babak Zanjani's death sentence is final, but he may cooperate and be eligible for "reduction". Bijan Zangeneh, the former Oil Minister of the Islamic Republic, stated in March 2019 that "some influential people still support him" and that "his money is outside prison and he directs things from within prison." In August 2022, Rasoul Kouhpayehzadeh, Babak Zanjani's defense attorney, announced that obstacles to the repatriation and transfer of his assets to Iran had been removed due to "cooperation between the thirteenth government and the IRGC Intelligence Organization," and that "these conditions were not available in the previous government." Previously, Jamshid Barzegar, a journalist and analyst of Iranian affairs, told the Persian section of Voice of America that the "incompetence and corruption" of Islamic Republic officials has led to "collapse in all areas in Iran."