Lawmaker Who Disclosed Corruption Case Is 'Silenced' At Parliament
An Iranian lawmaker who has disclosed a major case of financial corruption at the parliament says he has been barred from speaking during legislative sessions.
An Iranian lawmaker who has disclosed a major case of financial corruption at the parliament says he has been barred from speaking during legislative sessions.
Ahmad Alirezabeigi, the member of parliament from Tabriz says he has not even been allowed to make brief comments on the proceedings at the Iranian Parliament (Majles). He added that the authorities have muted his desk microphone.
"I have asked twice to make brief comments on the legislations being discussed at the Majles but I have been denied the permission to speak," Alirezabeigi told Etemad Online. He added: "I expect the Majles presidium to intervene in the matter and defend my rights as a member of parliament."
His comment sounded odd as it is the presidium that allows MPs to speak or mutes their microphone to bar them from commenting. Alirezabeigi said that presidium members should resign if they cannot restore lawmakers' rights.
He reiterated that no one may prevent a member of the parliament from expressing his views during sessions. "Article 75 of the Majles internal regulations in particular says that lawmakers should be given a chance to respond to accusations made against them at the parliament," he said.
Following the disclosure involving nearly 140 SUVs given to lawmakers at extremely discounted prices to bribe them to stop an impeachment motion against a former industry minister, Alirezabeigi has been questioned by a prosecutor and an investigation committee at the parliament.
The lawmaker told Etemad Online that he thinks "a secret power is trying to prevent me from fulfilling my responsibility as a member of the parliament," however, he did not name anyone.
Alirezabeigi said elsewhere that even the ethics committee, which questioned him following the disclosure about the bribes is not legally authorized to bar him from speaking at the Majles.
Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC general, has been often criticized by some lawmakers and other politicians for running the parliament like a military garrison. Khabar Online Website has quoted lawmakers as having said that "by running the parliament like a military center, Ghalibaf has made the legislature useless."
According to Khabar Online, criticism of Ghalibaf's leadership at the Majles surfaced when he stopped impeachment motions for ministers in a bid allegedly to support President Ebrahim Raisi.
A video posted on Fararu website on Saturday showed Ghalibaf threatening lawmakers to name those who do not work hard enough or refuse to take part in voting.
At another level, politicians in Iran have often criticized Ghalibaf and other lawmakers for making the parliament so weak that key decisions on issues such as raising fuel prices or the final decisions on the annual budget are made at a meeting between the heads of the three government branches rather than by lawmakers.
Other key issues such as the decision to accept the terms of the international financial watchdog, the FATF have been referred by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to the Expediency Council, apparently as he has deemed the Majles not knowledgeable enough about the matter.
The Council is a collection of aging clerics and demoted politicians susceptible to pressures by Khamenei’s henchmen.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader makes many decisions such as sending troops to Syria or giving weapons to Russia to help Putin in the war against Ukraine without consulting the parliament.
The latest report in reformist daily Shargh on the issue, which has also been carried by other media outlets such as Iran Diplomacy and Rouydad24, says some officials have been considering alternative solutions.
Shargh relying on recent statements by several Iranian politicians and pundits said that perhaps the best route to resolve the nuclear dispute is direct talks between Iran and the United States, something that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has forbidden.
While several Iranian and international observers are still considering Khamenei's latest reference to "heroic flexibility"as an allusion to the feasibility of an agreement with the West, his reference to the Shiite principle of Taqiyyah based on which Shiites can prudently hide their real beliefs and goals, and his explanation that heroic flexibility is "a way of circumventing a rock on the way of your progress" put an end to all hopes about a possible softening of Iran's stances.
In other words, for Khamenei nuclear talks are a means to neutralize foreign opposition while following his real objectives.
As a result, some observers characterized Khamenei's rhetoric as a double-edged guidance to Iranian diplomats. It is characteristic of Khamenei to make statements in order to evade responsibility if his suggestions lead to a failure and to claim victory if they happen to gain something for the Islamic Republic.
In the meantime, Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolahian make occasional statements about secret talks with the United States. The latter has repeatedly refuted such statements and labelled them as lies.
In one of the latest developments, five years since the collapse of the JCPOA nuclear talks, dozens of ex-US diplomats have called to end diplomatic overtures to Tehran.
The report in Shargh said that boosting of Iran's nuclear activities since 2021 is one of the reasons why observers believe that the JCPOA can no longer be revived. Another obstacle is Iran's insistence on its financial demands before returning to the negotiations. However, a key problem is that the deadlines to lift the embargo on Iran's missile development and nuclear activities respectively in October 2023 and 2025 are getting closer quickly.
Shargh noted that the current 5+1 has no similarity to the P5+1 in 2015. There is a vast divide between Russia and the four Western partners of the JCPOA and the relations between China and the United States are no longer friendly. Changes have even occurred between the four Western partners. Last March the three European partners demanded an IAEA resolution against Iran, but the United States disagreed with them, which was a reversal of roles compared to the past. In the meantime, Iran's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine has also changed many things. No one in the West supports the lifting of sanction on Iran, and doing so will be costly for Western governments.
In this situation, the Biden Administration has said that "The JCPOA is no longer on the agenda, however, the problem with Iran can be solved only through diplomatic ways." The policy of "neither JCPOA, nor crisis" just gives Biden one less subject to worry about. At the same time, some Western officials have been talking about an interim agreement or "less for less," Iran has not yet agreed with that.
Meanwhile, Israel's insistence on posing a "valid military threat" against Iran's nuclear program and two joint military exercises with the United States in November 2022 and January 2023 have made the matter even more complicated.
Under the circumstances, according to experts quoted by Shargh, Iran's constant rhetoric about its readiness to return to the JCPOA and its continued efforts to boost its nuclear capabilities exert pressure on the West. At the same time, unwanted consequences are also probable in the absence of a dialogue.
Clashes at the border on Saturday over water rights claimed the lives of at least two Iranians and one Taliban soldier. According to a report by Iranian reformist daily newspaper Ham-Mihan, about 50 Iranians have been killed in border regions since 2020.
While Taliban forces gave thanks to God after allegedly seizing a guard post inside Iranian territory on Saturday, two senior Iranian military officials have been visiting the region.
Despite Iran saying the clashes are over and the situation is in control, Taliban sources have released videos of capturing an outpost inside Iran.
Qasem Rezaei, deputy commander of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and Kiumars Heydari, the Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces, travelled to Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Afghanistan to probe the situation. Both officers are sanctioned by the United States.
Sistan-Baluchistan, with a hot and arid climate, is populated by less than 3 million people, most of whom are ethnic Baluch who are Sunni Muslims, in contrast with the Shiite majority in Iran. Poverty and under-development plague the region.
Heydari said, “The common borders with Afghanistan are fully under the control of the army's ground forces... and security is fully established,” adding that “it has been pointed out many times that our presence at the border does not mean that there is any danger threatening us, but … security is maintained at the borders.”
“There may sometimes be a difference between the two border guards, which is not an important issue, and the situation is completely under control,” he added.
“Our comrades in border guards and ground forces are completely dominant in the region, and as long as Afghanistan’s forces respect international regulations, we will show mutual respect and maintain the policy of good neighborliness,” but if the other side does not want to comply with the regulations, Iranian forces will encounter them, he said.
Mohammad Baset Dorrazehi, the former parliament member representing the province, said, “I said many times that local soldiers should be used for this region. Non-natives are not familiar with the environment and even in terms of climate, they cannot tolerate these conditions."
At least three sources from the Taliban confirmed to Afghanistan International that during the conflict, the fighters of this group had entered the territory of Iran. However, the Taliban did not confirm or deny the report of the capture of the Iranian outpost.
In response to Afghanistan International's question about reports on the clashes, a Taliban source said: "The Taliban do not joke in war."
The Taliban's Interior Ministry spokesman says the group does not seek to engage in a war with Afghanistan's neighbors.
Amid escalating tensions, Iran’s Border Guard and the Taliban exchanged heavy gunfire on Saturday on the Islamic Republic's border with Afghanistan. Iran says its forces inflicted “heavy casualties and serious damage”.
Disputes between Tehran and Kabul have risen over the Taliban’s obstruction of Iran's access to Helmand River water in violation of a 1973 treaty.
Iran has accused Afghanistan's Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's parched eastern regions, an accusation denied by the Taliban.
"Today, in Nimroz province, Iranian border forces fired toward Afghanistan, which was met with a counter-reaction," spokesman for the Taliban-run interior ministry, Abdul Nafi Takor, said in a statement.
"The situation is under control now. The Islamic Emirate does not want to fight with its neighbors," the spokesman said, without identifying the victims.
A Taliban defense ministry spokesman said the Taliban "considers dialogue and negotiation to be a reasonable way for any problem. Making excuses for war and negative actions is not in the interest of any of the parties.”
Earlier in May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the Taliban over disregarding Iran's water rights under the 1973 treaty. The Taliban rejected Raisi's perceived threat, with a former Taliban official mocking Raisi in a video that went viral.
Last week, Iranian media reported that five Iranian border guards were killed following a "terrorist" attack by several people who were trying to enter Iran from the Pakistan border.