Withdrawal from the National Development Fund and the Dispute Surrounding It

Ahmad Tavakoli, a representative from Tehran in the Parliament, who is nearing the end of his term, announced on April 22 that a withdrawal of $2.5 billion from the National Development Fund occurred in July 2013, which was one year prior to Hassan Rouhani's election as president. In response to Tavakoli's statements, Eshaq Jahangiri, head of the Management and Planning Organization and the First Vice President, called the accusations against the government a big lie and stated in response to an open letter from the Union of Independent Islamic Student Associations that the core issue is false, asserting that the government believes in the rule of law and fighting corruption, and is paying the cost for it. In reaction to the government's response, Tavakoli expressed surprise and stated that although he did not wish to respond to government officials to avoid political conflicts, he would present documents of violations by state companies for clarity and to pursue offenders. This topic, however, resurfaced in the media following a special news interview on Channel Two, where Tavakoli, facing Abdolmahdi Bakhsandeh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, responded to the host's question, who described the plan as damaging, by saying that his aim was not to accuse any government. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture mentioned that at the end of the previous government, according to a 2014 resolution, $2.5 billion was approved for the ministries of Industry, Mine and Trade, Agriculture, and Health and Medical Education so that these ministries could secure the country's strategic reserves. The Ministry of Agriculture used only $1.16 billion of that for importing essential goods such as wheat, rice, oil, sugar, and chemical fertilizers.