By: Daniel Mahdavi
Iranian Regime’s corruption runs deep and cannot be remedied under its rule
The people of Iran started to protest on Friday 15th November. It started off as a protest against the regime’s decision to sharply increase the price of petrol, but it very quickly turned into a major uprising.
People started to chant slogans about the regime’s corruption and its plundering of the nation’s wealth, and some torched the symbols of this economic mismanagement. Many financial and centres and banks – symbol of the regime’s wealth contrasting with the people’s poverty – went up in flames.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) controlls much of the country’s budget
Iranian Regime’s corruption has been going on for decades and is an integral part of the regime’s rule. The country’s military is at the centre of this, with the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) controlling much of the country’s budget.
There is a massive network of companies and front-companies in which the Iranian regime hides the illicit money flow. There have been many schemes over the years that claim to work to one aim, while at the same time working towards a corrupt end-point. One such example is the military departments that worked towards combatting sanctions but were actually taking public property through policies of privatisation.
NCRI has uncovered a great deal of information about Iranian Regime’s corruption
The main opposition to the Iranian regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has uncovered a great deal of information about the regime’s activities and Iranian Regime’s corruption. It has reported that the non-state public sector (foundations, armed forces, and so on) has the biggest share of the value of the private firms.
The Supreme Leader and his offices have so much power – absolute power – when it comes to decision-making and the legislative process, giving it control of large parts of the overall budget.
The IRGC, essentially the army, has set up a number of financial institutions over the past few years.
It is state-fuelled corruption and Iranian Regime’s corruption that has caused the Iranian economy to take a nose-dive in recent times. The regime then proceeds to spend billions of dollars per year on terrorist activities, the support of proxy groups across the Middle East and beyond and its meddling in the internal affairs of other nations.
All the while, the people of Iran are getting poorer and poorer. More people are falling into the absolute poverty category – unable to afford even the most basic of amenities. It goes without saying that regime officials are not experiencing such hardship.
During this current uprising, the people of Iran have legitimate demands. They want the regime to stop plundering the nation’s wealth. They want to be put before terrorist and extremist activities. They want human rights, freedom and democracy. They want equality. And they want peace.
The people have been left with no choice but to call for regime change
However, they know that the regime is founded on all of the above and that it depends on all of this to survive. Without this, it would quite simply collapse. Therefore, the people have been left with no choice but to call for regime change to end Iranian Regime’s corruption. And supporting the people of Iran is where the international community needs to take some responsibility.
