On Sunday, May 22, the Iranian regime’s Majlis [Parliament] exempted the regime’s Atomic Energy Agency and the Military from transparency laws. In recent years, political rivalries have led to the uncovering of enormous corruption among high-ranking officials, pushing the mullahs to think about a “transparency plan” in a bid to quell objections by the regime’s loyalists.

The semi-official ISNA news agency reported that the Majlis was primarily voting for the exemption of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), the armed forces, and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) before MPs added the Intelligence Department to the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the exempted bodies.

The Majlis passed the “transparency plan” while the MPs were fully aware of these bodies’ involvement in repressive measures, terrorist plots, regional ambitions, hostage-taking plans, nuclear extortion, and atomic-bomb-making projects. This plan now gives these organizations free reins to covertly squander the Iranian people’s billions of dollars in assets on further oppressive programs.

MPs Insist on Exempting State-backed Mafia IRGC from Transparency

Salman Zaker, an MP from West Azerbaijan province, said, “Tasks of the MOIS and IRGC’s Intelligence Department are common in countering anti-revolutionary individuals and the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK)… In this respect, they should not be subjected to transparency laws if we want to gain information to preserve the ‘Islamic Revolution’s security.’ So, we should let them do their jobs easily.”

He added, “When we exempted the MOIS; well, we should also exempt the IRGC. The IRGC’s information should be placed alongside the MOIS’s information and immune from transparency… We should add the IRGC Intelligence Department to use this plan perfectly.”

Majlis Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the former IRGC Air Force chief, declared his support for adding the IRGC to the exempted bodies, and said, “We are precisely discussing the armed forces. Since the IRGC Intelligence Department is among the armed forces—contrary to the MOIS—the plan includes this department.”

MPs Emphasize Keeping Nuclear Activities Secret

Abbas Moqtadaei Khurasgani, an MP from Isfahan province, implicitly expressed his concerns over the revelation of the regime’s nuclear-bomb-making projects. The Iranian opposition coalition the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), had exposed the mullahs’ ominous goals to obtain nuclear weapons in 2002.

Moqtadaei said, “Regarding the AEOI, we primarily exempted classified issues. My brothers and sisters, our nuclear energy currently is under the foreigners’ focus; they would like to hit all sectors of this interconnected chain. Didn’t they sabotage Natanz?”

He also spoke of the government’s fragile situation, stating, “In such extraordinary circumstances, [foreigners’] spies are offering services… The AEOI deserves protection and security, especially at this particular time.”

Not only have the mullahs and their MPs failed to ease people’s grievances against the regime’s systematic corruption and mismanagement, but also, unwittingly exposed which bodies were squandering national resources.

Since 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has predicated Tehran’s banking transactions on halting the sponsorship of terrorist activities, particularly those related to the IRGC. Authorities rejected FATF bills and resolutions, cutting the country from the global banking system.

In other words, the mullahs’ persistence in continuing terrorist activities, fuelling ethnic and religious conflicts in the region, and making nuclear weapons has left the country’s economy isolated. It has also paved the way for mind-blowing corruption cases, and at the same time, has sparked numerous social protests in recent years, calling for fundamental socioeconomic and political changes.

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