The Economic Victimization of the IRGC

In its Sunday issue, the newspaper Shargh published a report on the "controversy over the economic activities of the IRGC" and assessed the statements of Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, and several senior officials of this force as a reaction to the remarks of Hassan Rouhani. At the same time, the newspaper Javan, close to the IRGC, defended this force in a note titled "The Economic Victimization of the IRGC in the Economic Activity Front." The Javan newspaper described the criticism of the economic and media activities of this military force as "injustice" to the IRGC, stating that "the IRGC's entry into the economic and media arena is not for the purpose of gaining power but out of necessity and urgency." It added that if necessary, "its Abu Zar and Salman are ready to serve the Supreme Leader." Workers' protests against the "bill to remove production barriers and exit from recession" were reflected in the Sunday issues of the newspapers "Kasb o Kar" and "Kar o Kargar." The Iran newspaper denied reports from media close to conservatives regarding the appointment of relatives of the Islamic Republic's president to senior government positions, describing it as part of a "scenario to undermine Rouhani" by "an economic and rent-seeking network" and also as a result of Rouhani's insistence on revealing the dimensions of a 12 trillion tomans financial corruption case. The eleventh government will soon reveal "the alliance of some political groups with economic gangs." The Etemad newspaper published an interview with Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, regarding "nuclear inspections," quoting him as saying: "16 out of 18 questions posed by the International Atomic Energy Agency have been answered, and from Iran's perspective, the remaining two issues can be resolved in a day, but the political biases of the agency prevent this from happening." The Shargh newspaper reported on the reactions of three senior IRGC officials to Rouhani's remarks about the economic activities of military personnel. It stated that reactions to the points raised by Rouhani in his recent speech continue implicitly and without directly mentioning his name, while simultaneously, reactions to a note published by Khabar Online are also being reported by various IRGC figures. The newspaper noted that Mohammad Ali Jafari, in a speech at Imam Sadiq Mosque in Tehran, indirectly referred to the recent remarks of the Islamic Republic's president, stating: "Our dignity in economic matters or other issues is not what we should focus on, but rather the revolutionary spirit and struggle that we should seek to deepen." Jafari also mentioned that "the major operations during the war were successfully completed while we were under complete economic and military sanctions," and now "some politicians may hesitate to speak the truth and may want to say things that please the people, but the martyrs were not like that. You saw during the 2009 unrest that some wanted to question everything over a few votes and called it justice." The newspaper also reported that other senior IRGC members criticized a note published by Khabar Online a few days ago, which was later removed from the news agency, a note whose main focus was a statement from Rouhani that he has repeated in his recent speeches: "If we gather information, guns, money, capital, sites, newspapers, and news agencies all together, even Abu Zar and Salman will become corrupt." Shargh highlighted the reaction of Abdollah Haj-Sadeqi, the deputy representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, who stated: "The noise managed by the front of arrogance will never take the IRGC and Basij out of the trenches of the revolution. The truth is that the IRGC's entry into economic activities has never been for profit-seeking or merchant-like purposes that would lead to economic corruption." The deputy representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC also stated: "It is not the case that Salman and Abu Zar were devoid of worldly materialism and were able to reach the degree of divine piety. Our dedicated IRGC and Basij members, who learned the Ashura culture from Imam Hussein, will never be sullied by the world and its treasures because their hearts are devoted to God, the pure and immaculate household, the revolution, and the leadership." The Shargh newspaper also reported that Yadollah Javani, the former political deputy of the IRGC and current advisor to the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, also criticized the note published in Khabar Online, stating that a project has been pursued in recent years by the West and then some domestic media that "aims to instill fear and hostility towards the IRGC." Javani emphasized that "some inside" are also pursuing the fear of the IRGC and stated: "These domestic media have consciously or unconsciously stepped into the Western project, and a suspicious current is forming." He noted that "some media affiliated with the reformist movement, which also have a certain proximity to the government, are pursuing a kind of synergy with external enemies, and this current should be taken into account by officials." The newspaper reported that Javani described the fear and hostility towards the IRGC as stemming from the "successes of this revolutionary institution" and stated: "Some inside are dependent on this Western project, and it is better for the government to examine these currents because these individuals want the government not to utilize the capacities and capabilities of the IRGC." The Shargh newspaper noted that after a few days following the president's recent speech, which was welcomed regarding the issues of ideals and centrifuges and, of course, the suggestion to refer to the direct votes of the people for important matters, the sentences related to specific economic enterprises have become less visible. Now, the note published in Khabar Online has created a new space for criticism of Rouhani's remarks, providing an opportunity for the government's critics to hold him accountable. The Javan newspaper, close to the IRGC, described the publication of a note on Khabar Online regarding the analysis of Rouhani's remarks as "injustice" to the IRGC, stating that this "revolutionary institution" is now "at the forefront of the fight against the West's economic war." Mohammad Eskandari, in a note for the Javan newspaper, referred to parts of the Khabar Online article titled "Decoding the Corruption of Abu Zar and Salman in the Words of the President," which was later removed from the site, stating that Khabar Online emphasizes that "the concentration of military, economic, and other activities has created a powerful and uncontrollable force within the IRGC, and it is not unlikely that the corruption of Abu Zars and Salmans will soon become apparent." The writer of the Javan newspaper described the language of the Khabar Online article as "offensive" and characterized the purpose of its publication as "venting frustration," stating: "Even if this note is considered a harsh criticism out of concern, it must be firmly stated that the author of the note has fallen into a fallacy and an inappropriate comparison." The Javan newspaper simultaneously noted that "it is an undeniable fact that today the IRGC has entered the economic field in the form of the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters and has also entered the media field, supporting some media outlets." However, this newspaper close to the IRGC emphasized that "the philosophy of the IRGC's presence in the economic or media arena" is that "the state system and the rent-seeking nature of the economic system have led to a situation where a large part of the economic enterprises, which are mostly state-owned, are ineffective, and on the other hand, the private sector lacks the necessary experience and qualifications for managing the country's major economic sectors." The Javan newspaper, while defending the economic activities of the IRGC, wrote: "Given the heavy economic onslaught of the West against the country, what should the IRGC have done? Should it have waited like some for the situation in the country to become like the Sha'b Abi Talib and waited for the country's supplies to run out? Should it have sat back and watched the wealth of a generation being plundered because major oil companies have left South Pars, or should it have entered the arena with national determination and jihadist management, drawing on the experiences of eight years of war and defining Iranian progress? Why has the IRGC entered the construction arena? Was it not because some, under the guise of construction, imposed elitism and technocracy and opened the doors of the country to hypocrites in the name of civil society and bypassed the leadership in the name of justice?" This newspaper pointed out that "the Khabar Online site claims that today the IRGC is a political actor and engages in political actions for power by controlling sites and publications, while also emphasizing the guidance of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] that military personnel should not engage in politics and political games." It stated that in the note from Khabar Online, "a confusion has occurred, and that some have interpreted defending the integrity of the revolution as political maneuvering," but "if the IRGC were into perfumes and colognes, today its top commanders would not stand against the most brutal types of humanity in Iraq and Syria." The Javan newspaper, however, did not rule out the possibility of "errors" in the IRGC's economic activities, stating: "In any human organization, the possibility of error exists, and one cannot say that the IRGC is infallible, but experience has shown that this institution stands by the revolution and the people in critical moments and humbly pays the price for the ideals of the Imam and the leadership." The Javan newspaper also responded to Khabar Online's emphasis that the IRGC should be returned to barracks and headquarters so that it can defend the country in times of crisis, referring to the IRGC as a force that has entered economic activities due to "defending the integrity of the revolution" and "saving the country," stating: "Not only has the IRGC shown that it saves the country during hard and soft wars, but it is also currently entering the economic arena at the cost of its reputation to compensate for the shortcomings of some individuals and save the country. The IRGC has not entered the economic arena on its own; rather, some have forced this institution, which should now devote all its energy to military and security transformations in the region and the world, to step into the economic arena to defend the essence of the revolution." Mohammad Eskandari, in a note for the Javan newspaper, defended the media activities of the IRGC, stating: "If the IRGC's media activities, which focus on countering soft warfare, can be considered political, this does not mean that the IRGC is entering political disputes to gain power; rather, it is an effort to stabilize the foundations of the overall authority of the Islamic Republic, under which various political factions, groups, and parties operate." The Javan newspaper also described the IRGC's economic and media activities as stemming from "necessity," stating: "The IRGC's entry into the economic and media arena is not for the purpose of gaining power but out of necessity and urgency. On the other hand, this institution's experience has shown that its Abu Zar and Salman are ready to serve the Supreme Leader and do not sell their allegiance to the rejected guardianship for their own benefit." Workers protested against changes in the parliament regarding labor law; reducing job security for workers to one day. The newspaper Kasb o Kar reported that on Saturday, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly witnessed a gathering of workers protesting against the potential reduction of their job security in front of the parliament doors. The newspaper wrote: "Since the time when the parliamentarians added items to the bill to remove production barriers and exit from recession, representatives of labor organizations have voiced their objections to these changes in the media," as workers and labor activists believe that the added items, under the guise of supporting production, target the supportive aspects of labor law and severely reduce job security for workers. Salar Islami, a reporter for the Kasb o Kar newspaper, noted that "the fifth development plan stipulates that any changes to labor law must occur with the participation of social partners, including labor and employer groups and the government, but the parliament members are seeking to change labor law without the presence of these groups," and for this reason, on Saturday, workers' protests "took on a practical aspect, with about 300 representatives from workers in Tehran and surrounding cities gathering in front of the parliament." The newspaper reported that one of the most controversial added items by the parliament to the bill to exit from recession is a provision that stipulates that "contracts longer than 30 days must be registered in writing and in a specific form" provided by the Ministry of Labor to the parties involved. The newspaper wrote: "Labor representatives believe that if this provision is finalized, it will benefit employers not to contract with workers, as in this case, the duration of their cooperation will automatically be reduced to less than 30 days. Additionally, it will nullify current verbal contracts." The Kasb o Kar newspaper reminded that "currently, if a worker does not have a written contract but can prove that they have verbally agreed with the employer, their verbal contract is considered permanent, but the parliament's added provision removes this feature from verbal agreements between workers and employers." The newspaper Kar o Kargar also published three photos of the workers' gathering in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Saturday, quoting Alireza Mohajoub, a member of the ninth parliament, stating: "The job security of workers will be compromised with the approval of the bill to exit from recession.