University Professor: The Presence of Military and Security Forces is the Main Source of Corruption and Inequality in Iran

Hosseini Raghfar, a university professor and economist, stated on Wednesday, January 6, that the main source of "unjust inequality," which is chronic and destructive in society, is the political system. He added that the presence of military, security forces, and various institutions is a decisive factor in corruption and inequality in today's Iranian society. According to the Jamearan website, he described the existing inequality in Iranian society as "humiliating" and noted, "Since the entry of security and military institutions into the country's economy, we have witnessed the greatest capital outflow from the private sector of the economy." Raghfar further stated, "Since conditions must be created for the presence of the private sector, this is not possible with the presence of these power institutions that have access to banking resources and spend national resources on importing luxury goods into the country." He emphasized that "as long as these institutions are present in the country's economy, no reform in the economy is possible" and described their exit from the economy as a necessary condition for economic reform, while calling for "reforming the banking structure" which has become a "cancerous tumor of the economy." The presence of security and military institutions in Iran's economy, which began during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has always been a point of criticism, but IRGC officials have a different view on this matter. In this regard, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the deputy coordinator of the IRGC, responded to these criticisms by stating that "if the IRGC has entered the economy, it should be said that it has not done so for profit-seeking purposes, and the goal of this entry is solely to help the people." In this context, one must refer to the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, which is one of the economic arms of the IRGC and is currently considered the "largest contractor" of government projects in Iran. This headquarters was established after the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war by the order of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and by the decree of Mohsen Rezai, the then-commander of the IRGC, with the declared goal of "water supply, oil and gas export, dam construction projects, water transfer, energy, and road construction." The Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters has been under U.S. sanctions for years. Raghfar also referred to the Islamic Republic's "tax system" as another "cancerous tumor" of Iran's economy and noted, "In the whole world, based on the tax system, public resources are provided, but in our country, most people who should pay taxes do not pay taxes and are considered the winners of this economy." This economist also emphasized, "The ruling oligarchs and owners of windfall wealth must pay their share of taxes so that this humiliating inequality does not deprive all people, especially the youth, of growth opportunities." According to the budget for the year 1403, the government is expected to earn 50% more than this year through taxes. This is while this year's taxes had already increased by at least 61% compared to the year 1401.