A member of the Planning and Budget Committee of the Iranian Parliament, Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh Emenabadi, called for fighting corruption in the office of Iran’s spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, expressing his pessimism over the existing Iranian Constitution’s ability to counter corruption, which he said was nestled in the state.
“If the revolution faces problems, we should know that this is caused by widespread corruption,” Emenabadi was quoted by local media as saying.
The Iranian parliamentarian suggested starting the “productive” fight against corruption from the highest levels of the Iranian regime, including the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
He expressed skepticism about the ability of existing laws to deal with corruption, which he said “has made its way through Iranian institutions.”
“It is advisable to start fighting corruption in the office of the spiritual leader, and I think if this happens then we will fight corruption in the Judiciary, and then the executive power (the government) will begin to cleanse itself of corruption,” the deputy said, pointing out that the fight against corruption would pave the way for building confidence in the Iranian society.
The fight against corruption should not only be at the economic level; but it should also include combating moral corruption that is no less than financial corruption, according to Emenabadi.
On February 21, the website of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad published an open letter addressed to Khamenei demanding that his office authorities be reviewed and that serious reforms be undertaken.
Two weeks ago, reformist political activist and former security assistant in the Ministry of the Interior, Mostafa Tajzadeh, said that the Iranian leader was fighting corruption by words and not by action, pointing to the involvement of the institutions and officials appointed by Khamenei in corruption.
