Iran: Systematic Corruption Admitted by Former Regime Official

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), reported that a member of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami’s Advisory Board admitted that there is systematic corruption within the Iranian regime.

Systematic corruption within the Iranian regime

Azar Mansouri was quoted by the state-run ILNA news agency saying that it has been happening for years and that it continues to this day.

Mansouri said, “Giving names to years and disregarding the true requirements has only given these nomenclatures publicity purposes and sometimes yielded reverse results. And the year 1400 is no exception to this rule.”

The former official also said that Iran is unable to look towards a prosperous economy while the sanctions are in place. Mansouri advised that a “sanction relief project” should be “a national goal”.

Widespread corruption within the leadership

However, it must be noted that Iran’s economic problems have all been caused by systematic and widespread corruption within the leadership. Regime officials like to say that sanctions are at the root of the country’s economic issues but this is simply not the case at all. And some officials are not ashamed to admit it.

Mansouri did point to the role that privatization has played in the disruption of the economy, stating that it is “the biggest obstacle to net production and gross national product” in Iran. Mansouri said that the regime must end its “monopoly”.

This is how the regime profits off the back of the people of Iran – government officials, their family members, and affiliates are able to buy government businesses at a bargain rate. This then allows them to make massive profits, of course to the detriment of the public.

The national currency to devalue greatly

The head of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaii said earlier this month that since Rouhani took office in 2013 the people’s purchasing power has declined substantially and that this is not because of sanctions but rather because of “economic mismanagement” and “management issues”. He also said that the regime’s negligence has caused the national currency to devalue greatly.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been trying to put measures in place to control economic issues, but the regime officials have been delaying the proposed bills. Not only has this created obstacles when it comes to financial transactions, but it has also resulted in Iran losing markets in other countries. It is clear that the regime does not want to meet FATF standards because it would impede some of the activities that the regime relies upon such as its funding of terrorist proxies.

The people are determined to see the regime collapse

The people of Iran are more than aware that the regime’s claims of sanctions and foreign enemies being the cause of the economic problems are just excuses. The people can see that the regime’s mismanagement and corruption have caused so many hardships for the people. More and more people are falling into absolute poverty and a huge portion of the population is struggling to make ends meet.

The regime’s role in this and its unwillingness to improve the situation is just one of the reasons why the people are determined to see the regime collapse. They are fed up with being the ones that pay the price for the regime’s negligence.