In May 2023, the Iranian regime’s media reported the confiscation of 18 million hectares of agricultural land. This sweeping move included small plots of land owned by the country’s deprived farmers. Anyone lacking ownership documents issued by the current regime had their land seized.
Even farmers who possessed old ownership documents supported by ample evidence faced discrimination and injustice. The regime’s true intentions behind this new act of corruption have now been revealed by their own media.
It has become evident that the regime confiscated agricultural land by force to construct new settlements on lands that have been used for the country’s agriculture for generations.
This incident transpired during a factional dispute when the state-run newspaper, Hamdeli, issued a warning regarding the confiscation of agricultural lands under the guise of the “housing leap law.” They emphasized that converting 330,000 hectares of agricultural land for housing would impose a financial burden of 3,400 trillion tomans on the economy and lead to the destruction of high-quality agricultural lands.
These actions come at the cost of the well-being of the country’s future generations. Hamdeli added, “It appears that, in changing the land’s use, hidden agendas are committed to the massacre of agricultural lands.”
Hamdeli continued, “The pursuit of the housing leap law coincides with a threat to many agricultural lands and their intended change of use.”
Hojjat Varmazyari, a university lecturer and researcher in the agricultural sector, shared his thoughts on this new law with Mehr news agency: “It is said that 20% will be added to the boundaries of villages and cities in the country, requiring 330,000 hectares of land. This land expansion comes with a financial burden of 3,400 trillion tomans.”
He added, “This plan places a significant economic burden, which contradicts Article 76 of the Constitution. The parliament should not pass a decree that places a national burden when the source of funding is not foreseen.”
Varmazyari continued, “Some land grabbers have already encroached on and constructed on agricultural lands and natural resources outside city and village boundaries for a long time. The consequence of this law is that these illegal constructions, previously subject to demolition, will now become legal.”
Addressing some speculative views, the agricultural researcher said, “Some argue that Iran has 18 million hectares of agricultural land, and 330,000 hectares may not seem significant. This perspective is dangerous. Iran only has 1.2 million hectares of prime agricultural land. The comparison should be made between these two figures to gauge the percentage of high-quality lands at risk of destruction.”
He continued, “There are approximately 478,000 vacant rural houses. Why is this capacity not used for housing people?”
When the regime, through Article 44 of its constitution, seized control of industries and all service sectors in the country, including land, sea, and air transportation, as well as oil, petrochemicals, gas, and other similarly ‘profitable’ industries for its own benefit, few anticipated that the complete confiscation of Iran’s national wealth would occur so rapidly.
The full-scale confiscation of Iran’s industries and service sector began in the early ’90s under the guise of privatization and is now reaching its final stages under the pretext of ‘production.’
Through a lawsuit against the ownership of farmers’ agricultural lands, the regime has claimed that these lands are ‘national’ lands, meaning they belong to the government. They assert that half of these lands face ownership disputes and that ownership issues should be resolved between the government and the farmers.
These are lands owned by the people, supported by numerous documents and evidence of their ownership. They are lands on which their fathers cultivated, and now the regime is attempting to confiscate them. The regime is currently embroiled in disputes with farmers over more than 60% of these 18 million hectares of prime agricultural fields.
