Two Members of Rouhani's Government Reported the Disclosure of 'Completely Secret' Resolutions in Iran

The First Vice President and the spokesperson of the Iranian government strongly criticized the publication of what they described as 'completely secret' resolutions from the Economic Special Measures Headquarters, established to make decisions regarding Western sanctions against Iran, by members of parliament and officials from the previous government. Government officials previously deemed the allegations from the Parliament's Program and Budget Commission regarding an 'illegal withdrawal of $4.1 billion' from the National Development Fund as 'unrealistic' and stated that this amount was a debt from an Emirati oil company to Iran, which was deposited into the treasury after going through certain processes due to 'sanctions'. In recent days, Masoud MirKazemi, the oil minister from Ahmadinejad's government, and Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Parliament's Program and Budget Commission, revealed details about how this $4.1 billion was spent by the government in interviews with the Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, mentioning the oil company 'Nabuk' as the contracting party with Iran. According to IRNA, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, stated on Wednesday, December 26, that legal authorities should pursue the publication of the secret resolution from the Economic Special Measures Headquarters. He also emphasized that the government is prepared to defend itself in front of journalists against any supervisory body that claims this $4.1 billion, which was converted to rials, was withdrawn from the National Development Fund, citing documents that they possess, many of which are also classified. He added, 'Of course, there is no need for us to publish and inform about our mechanisms to prove this claim in conditions of sanctions that could be exploited by enemies.' Gholamreza Katib, the spokesperson for the Parliament's Program and Budget Commission, stated on December 18 that this commission, after receiving a report from the Court of Audit, deemed the 'withdrawal of $4.1 billion' from the National Development Fund as 'illegal' and recognized the government as 'violating the law.' The Iranian government spokesperson denied this accusation on December 19, but alongside Nobakht's statements, Masoud MirKazemi reiterated past accusations, claiming that the government had 'consumed' this amount as current budget. He also disclosed details of how this amount was spent. Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, also stated on Tuesday, December 25, that 'some friends interested in the previous government insist on saying that violations of the law are also occurring in this government and want to present unrealistic claims as real facts.' According to Jahangiri, the Economic Special Measures Headquarters was established with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council and the confirmation of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, to make 'special' decisions for the 'sanction period,' and all of its resolutions are 'completely secret.' The First Vice President of Iran questioned, 'How can classified documents of a country become a subject of interviews, and then they use this classified document in a misleading way?' He added, 'The country's oil money has been sold and remains somewhere, and they easily mention the name of a foreign company.' The National Development Fund began its activities in 2010, and according to the law, a portion of Iran's oil export revenues is transferred to this fund. According to the current year's budget law, the government is required to transfer 31% of Iran's oil revenue to the National Development Fund.