IranianGovernment’s Assault on Profitable Enterprises

Shervin Omidvar, Rooz Online:

Conservative pro-government media in Iran have launched their war on managers of business enterprises. Ultra-hardline Keyhan claims that about 50% of government and affiliated companies are run by individuals who are not fully committed to the values of the 1979 revolution thus holding them partly responsible for the political and cultural invasion of the Islamic Republic. The daily accuses profitable and successful companies to be involved with foreign elements, which is a crime in the current political atmosphere.

Keyhan is not alone in this mission. All media on the right act as partners in this. Conservative Mehr news agency reported a few days ago that an intelligence agency had warned about suspicious relations of some businessmen with foreign embassies in Iran. Another hardline daily called for serious action against so-called corrupt banking activities. READ MORE

During the confirmation hearings and vote for the new minister of oil in the Majlis (Iran’s parliament), hardline President Ahmadinejad personally promised to reveal the names of those who were involved in economic corruption, and the oil mafia. With the passage of time, the powerful and influential mafia forced the president to silently push his list under the rug. Ahmadinejad’s Oil Minister later denied any mention of the existence of an oil mafia.

With the goal of monopolizing political and economic power, the hardline establishment has focused on the economic sector now, starting with government business enterprises. Initially, this conduit was used to replace the non-hardline members of the bureaucracy. Then banks, which are considered government organizations, became the target and many of its senior executives were forced to resign.

Initially Dawood Danesh Jaafari, the minister of economy firmly denied the news about the replacement of bank executives. A week later, Aftab news website reported that the minister had sacked the managing directors of all principal government banks: Sepah, Mellat, Tejarat, Melli, and Saderat. This decision created uproar in the Majlis and Keyhan accused the banks of lobbying to influence the minds of Majlis deputies to force the government to change its decision. It even quoted one bank official in these terms: “We favourably approved all your requests to open foreign currency accounts for your relatives and friends and never thought that you would abandon us today.”

The bank executives were changed and replaced with former Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders.

But while the changes were legitimized and justified by promises of better management and services, just two days ago Iran newspaper reported that despite the leadership changes in the six banks, thee has been no visible change in their performance. The strangest point was that the source of this news was the very same intelligence agency that had advocated the changes in the bank executives in the past on grounds of disrupting the stock market, which at the time was rapidly falling due to stock owner lack of confidence.

The stock market was another economic forum attacked by the government of Ahmadinejad when he cam to power. When the market took a steep dive because of the disrupting policies of the government and the president, the president of Tehran’s Stock Exchange was singularly blamed for the slide. And when the president’s directive did not stop the falling stock prices, the Basij militias were asked to buy shares on the market. Finally, the leadership and management of the stock market were put in the hands of a young friend of the president who had earlier been a broker himself.

So now is the time to deal with the big government trading and economic enterprises. The pattern of attack is the same that was used in the other sectors. It began when a newspaper quoted “some” sources in an intelligence agency questioning the relationship of some of the CEOs with foreign embassies. Soon, other pro-government press went further and accused the executives of being foreign agents. Then Keyhan took the leadership again charging that 50% of government and semi-government enterprises were run by individuals will little dedication (to the revolution). It even accused them of not being bound by the constitution and “being the principal providers of financial resources to infidel groups and opposition groups inside and outside the country.” These charges as everyone knows, are very heavy and are good grounds for quick removal and even punishment. The ministry of oil and the social services organization were singled out by Keyhan, which was quoting a “supervisory body”, without naming it. Same old pattern of attack and discreditation.

So following the president’s initial claim that a mafia was running Iran’s oil and industry sectors, today every minister has “found” the mafia in his agency and with each passing day, somebody is removed from some office on charges on similar charges.

Each “revelation” kills an economic leader and replaces him with one of Ahmadinejad’s friends or allies, with the claim that the mafia will soon disappear.

So with the movement of the battle into the new battleground, one asks will the mafia of government of “kindness”, as the president has called his administration, be ever revealed?