Rohani: No One Dares to Supervise Semi-Private Companies

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, emphasized that "the worst economy is the semi-private economy" and stated that in Iran, "no one dares to supervise the semi-private companies." According to ILNA news agency, Hassan Rouhani spoke on Tuesday, March 6, in a meeting with managers of the Ministry of Labor, saying: "Semi-private means free. [However] neither the people nor the government have any information about them." Rouhani pointed out that the Supreme Leader had advised him to "let the government step back from the economy" when introducing ministers to him, stating: "Of course, we have more than just the government. We have private, cooperative, and state sectors, and aside from the government, there is the semi-private sector. On one hand, it is neither managed and supervised by the government nor is it a cooperative with partners, nor is it private." The term "semi-private," a combination of the words private and state, usually refers to enterprises in Iran that appear to have been privatized but either involved state interference during the transfer or remain dependent on state-affiliated economic entities, such as banks or social security organizations, after privatization. The method of transfer and the performance of so-called semi-private enterprises have drawn significant criticism, and in August of this year, 38 economists wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani calling for a change in this situation. These semi-private companies in Iran receive support from institutions such as the Astan Quds Razavi, the Foundation of the Oppressed, the Martyrs Foundation, and especially military forces, and according to economic observers, they compel the government to grant privileges without apparently having a share of the public budget. In his remarks on Tuesday, Rouhani also referred to military interference in economic affairs, stating that the Supreme Leader shares the same view regarding the armed forces and has said that the armed forces should step back from the economy. This comes as political activists and economic observers have repeatedly pointed out and criticized the military's dominance over Iran's economy during Ali Khamenei's leadership. For instance, in September of this year, Mehdi Karroubi, a critic of Khamenei who is under house arrest, asked members of the Assembly of Experts in a letter: "Why do you not question the leadership about the involvement of the IRGC, Basij, and police in banking, oil sales, etc.?" He also called for the Assembly to address the status of military and economic institutions under the leadership that "play a significant and main role in the dire situation of the people and the country today." Rouhani's recent statements come as he has previously criticized the role of military institutions in Iran's economy. In July of last year, he stated: "Part of the economy was in the hands of a government without guns, which we handed over to a government with guns; this is not economy or privatization." These statements provoked a strong reaction from the commanders of the IRGC, but after verbal attacks escalated, some IRGC commanders met with the President of Iran, and the verbal criticisms ceased.