Part 2:
Islamic
Taqieh (Taqia), the act of dissimulation at work and the act of dissimulation
economic application and execution on a grand scale.
The Iranian economy
is a military-mafia run economy, where all the import and exports٬ construction projects, scientific research and development,
building ports. Real estates, Roads, freeways, cell phone projects and
operation, airports construction and administration, irrigation projects, radio
and television operation,
Even Tehrans stock exchange and market is run by top tier government and
office of supreme leader with no regulations enacted by Iranian parliament at
all, the revolutions guards top and middle ranking generals, office of
Ayatollah Khaminaey (office of supreme leader), other Ayatollahs, supreme
leaders office representatives in major cities are the regulators and CEOs of
Iranian economy at will.
Its surprising that the foreign investors even take a chance to invest in
However most of the Iran foreign investors are not western investors except
some Turkish enterprises but are Malaysian and Malaysian royals, Korean, UAE
investors with Iranian roots, some high ranking Pakistani religious leaders,
high ranking Muslim royals who can deal directly with revolution guards corps
and office of Ayatollah Khaminaey (the supreme leader) with financial tit for
tat and spread the risk of doing business among themselves and the office of
supreme leader.
Iranian parliament has the authority to approve the elected government budget,
yet it has to set aside extra money for Revolution guards corps, Quds force,
paramilitary Basij militia, office of supreme leader, the guardian council, the
assembly of experts, radio and television, print and electronic press, at the
same time the revolution guards corps, Quds force and Basij militia get their allocated budget
through the elected government budget, it means the revolution guards corps,
Quds force and paramilitary Basij militia force get double their required
budget.
The estimated
revolution guards, Quds force and the office of supreme leader foreign aids to
Hezb-allah, Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Sudanese government, Sudanese Janjavid Arab militia, Somalis Islamic militia, Egyptian
Muslim brotherhood, Philippines Muslim rebels and Abusyaaf,
southern Thailands Muslim rebels, Al-Qaeda, Afghan Taliban, north east of
Pakistani Shiites, Indonesian radical Muslim rebels is $15 billion (USA 15
billion dollar). A year.
In addition to this, the supreme leaders office and top tier government owns
all charitable and non profit organizations called Bonyads (charitable
foundations) such as account 100 (created by Ayatollah Khomeini), the martyrs
foundation (Iran-Iraq war martyrs), the Hosainieh (place for enacting the
martyrdom of Ali, Hosain and Hasan), all the Boniads (charitable foundations)
and numerous other non-profit organizations.
The Revolution Guards corps alone owns one thousand seven hundred (1700)
companies and organizations.
Article 147 was added to Iranian constitution to allow Revolution guards corps
to take part in economic activities, through the article 147 of constitution,
the revolution guards corps owns a huge industrial complex called ѐ ϐ
( Khatamol-anbia
development headquarter), where they bid on every projects that Iranian government
announces such as development of oil fields, dam constructions, Port
constructions, shipping lines, irrigation canals construction, airports
construction, airports operations, mining operations, tunnels constructions,
river beds dredging, low cost airlines (Iran Aseman
airlines owned by a foundation called Iranian Civil Pension Fund Investment
Company owned and managed by supreme leader office), bus
terminals, metropolitan public transportation management, trucking companies, missile and weapons manufacturing,
airplane manufacturing, freeways constructions and with no exceptions, the bids
are awarded to revolution guards.
The Iranian 20 years privatization plan calls for privatizing all government
owned institutions, enterprises and corporations and selling them to
private sector.
This plan was created to transfer the great government institutions,
enterprises, corporations wealth to top tier government owned charitable
organizations such as Bonyads, thus creating a legitimate avenue for transfer of
wealth and ownership to supreme leader and revolution guards.
By some estimates, the revolution guards, Basij militia
and other wings of revolution guards employs about 2 million people and through
the meager wages that it pays to the employees, controls the whole nation. The
employees of Basij militia and Sar-allah have a
regular job and conduct spying activities on people where they do their regular
day jobs.
For instance, a clerk in an office is a Basij member and while doing clerical
works in an office draws salary from the office at the same time draws salary
from Basij militia and the revolution guards.
The revolution guards and Basij militia have their own,
unregistered ports and Jetties to off load their purchases from abroad without
paying due tariffs and taxes to the elected government. Then the off loaded
products are tucked to desired destinations inside
The import of house hold goods and products are done by revolution guards
non-profit organizations as well as Basij militia owned non-profit
organizations.
the Iranian government used to have and still may have two currency exchange
policies, which one is called government official exchange rate that is used by
Revolution guards, Basij militia and their associates and the exchange rate is
one USA dollar for 1700 Iranian Rial,
with this exchange rate,
revolution guards and Basij militia can buy products, cheap overseas and
sell at the market price after import in Iran.
One example is car or agribusiness machinery, where Basij and revolution guards
owned companies buy a Toyota land cruiser from Japan for $28,000.00 at whole
sale price and with cheap exchange rate and after import to Iran, sells it for
$60,000.00, because the revolution guard and Basij, exchanged 47,600,000.00
Rial (47 million, six hundred thousands Rial) for $28,000.00, bought and sold
the car in Iran for $60,000.00 an made a handsome $32,000.00 profit.
The second exchange rate is for commoners and business man outside the supreme
leaders apparatus, where the exchange rate is, one USA dollar for 9800.00
Rial, and
if the business man was to buy the same car in Japan with same price of
$28,000.00 would cost him 274,400,000.00 Rial (two hundred seventy four million
four hundred forty thousand Rial) while it cost the revolution guards
47,600,000.00 (47 million, six hundred thousands Rial. The cost difference
between the ordinary business man and the revolution guard is 226,800,000.00
Rial (two hundred twenty six million eight hundred thousands Rial) that
ordinary business man pays more then the revolution guards.
Since revolution guards and Basij militia and their leaders own the shipping
lines and tucking companies, they smuggle narcotic drugs such as opium, heroin,
morphine from Afghanistan war lords, Taliban and Pakistani smugglers through
Iranian south eastern boarders, the province of Sistan and Balochistan with
Pakistan and Afghanistan and truck the narcotics to Armenian and Azerbaijan
boarder with Iran, to port city of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr,
Abadan, Chabahar for smuggling to Persian gulf
countries, Africa, Europe, Latin Americas, United states and Canada. They also
trade weapons for drugs with Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The narcotic drug smuggling is a major source of income for revolution guards corps and its chiefs. Their major drug destination is
The oil and gas exploration in Persian Golf and other
part of
the revolution guards corps and Basij front companies will force the elected
government which holds the contract, to find fault with western companies, pass
a bill to cancel the contract or to penalize them for violating the contract,
and transfer the contract and the whole project operation, equipment and tools
to revolution guards corps companies.
What happened here, the revolution guard corps acquired equipments,
machineries, and a halfway done project without investing their on resources;
they will complete the project and own it. Such was the case with Imam Khomeini
airport when it was ready for operation.
The Imam Khomeini airport contract was awarded to French company ADP, after two
years of operation the contract was cancelled and awarded to Bonyads
(foundation) of Mostazafan and Janbazan which a charitable foundation and a
public cartel wholly owned by office of supreme leader (supreme leader office
owns foundations, revolution guards corps, Basij militia).
After the first terminal was completed by Bonyad Mostazafan and Janbazan, the
Iranian civil aviation authority was not satisfied with the work progress and
the quality therefore it was decided to give the construction and operation
management to a Turk-Austrian company TAV (Tepe-Akfen-Vie)
consortium of two Turkish (Tepe and Akfen) and an Austrian (Vie) companies to complete the
project.
When the construction and operation readiness was completed, the
They had stressed that
the airport would remain closed as long as 'security provisions' were not met.
The parliament also passed an urgent bill, giving itself the prerogatives to
scrap the two contracts if they are deemed a threat to national security.
The embattled President Mohammad Khatami had telephoned
President Khatamis action in line with the role of the second tier elected
government role to cover up for the top tiered government which consist of
Office of supreme leader, Revolution Guards Corps and Basij Militia, the
dissimulation (Taqieh) and the Expediency principle was used here again.
The Parliament Deputies gave themselves the power to veto
an airport operating contract signed with a Turkish-led consortium and a deal
signed with
The vote ultimately gave the Imam Khomeini airport operation to Bonyads and it
also warded the restaurants and Hotels operation in the airport and around it
to Bonyads.
The revolution Guards Corps took over the oriental oil
company (Iranian owned, registered in
In June of 2006, a Revolutionary Guard engineering group won a $2.3 billion
contract to develop part of a big gas field in
The Revolution Guards Corps, The secretive paramilitary group uses revenues
from business operations to fund, arms both violent Shiite militias in Iraq and
Hezbollah, the Lebanese group and Muslim militants around the word. It runs
feared prisons inside
Privatization:
After 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution, ten of thousands of
well managed and profitable private business were confiscated and their
ownership was transferred to the Islamic government.
The original owners were arbitrarily arrested and tried in Islamic court, tens
of thousands of them were given life time jail and thousands of them were
executed.
The Islamic government in its infancy changed the confiscated companys
management and brought in their own cronies to manage them and a lot of went
bankrupt but great many of them survived and after the constitution was
modified 6 years later, the owner ship was transferred to charitable
foundations known as Bonyads where the Bonyads belong to supreme leader office,
the Revolution Guards, Basij and the top tier government in general.
The 20 year plan was passed by parliament to privatize
One such organization is the welfare department that the management and fun
disbursement and clearance were transferred to Bonyads. The social security is
managed by the Bonyads, the oil companys subsidiaries and Oil ministrys owned
government corporations are transferred to Bonyads. Great many Hotel chains
were transferred to Bonyads including some of the hotel chains that were owned
and operated by Iran Air (Homa).
the products import and export are solely reserved for
Bonyads (charitable foundations), only some small retailers are left for public
ownership and operation.
The Bonyads have no competitions in their field of operation and therefore
dont see a need for improving their products or services and objections to
their services are met by harsh measures and imprisonments.
The great companies such Iran Khodro, Seipa, car manufacturing companies which are listed on
Tehran Stock exchange are jointly owned by government and Bonyads, where the
government own 40% and Bonyads own 60% .
There are more then 25 car makers in
Tehran Stock exchange is another major financial transaction center owned by
Bonyads with no clear governing rules and regulations. Insider trading is the
trade mark of Tehran Stock exchange, manipulation the stock to go up or down is
another financial criminal activity due to lack of market makers and investment
banking regulations.
Thousands of investors from other major Iranian cities have lost their life
savings in Tehran Stock Exchange.
Banking industry is another major playground for the top tier Iranian
government where
the central banks chairman is not independent and can not make decisions to
influence the capital flow in
The banking industry is tailored to benefit the supreme leader and his
apparatus such as Bonyads, Revolution Guards Corps Khatamol-anbia
development headquarter organizations. The Banks are obligated to provide
low interest loans to an arbitrary banking sector called leasing to provide
loans to Bonyads where Bonyads are supposedly use the money to lend it to
public to lease Cars, agribusiness machineries, big ticket item house hold
products. While Bonyads receive the money, they use it for other investment in
financial sector, funding their manufacturing activities, or trading in Tehran
Stock Exchange to influence their own stock that are traded in TSE, while some
use the money to make personal loans to their own friends and some times to
public.
The mortgage and real estate industries is completely in Bonyads and revolution
Guards control where they develop the confiscated properties (land) from
citizens.
The development includes office buildings, apartment buildings, Hotels,
ceremony Halls, Hoseinie (the enacting of Imam Hosain
and Hasan martyrdom place) and sells or leases them to citizens or businesses.
Manufacturing sector of Iranian economy is slowly going
under the top tier government control, started with transfer of Iran Khodro, Seipa (car manufacturers)
to the Bonyads where they (Bonyads = charitable foundations owned by
clergies) own 60% stake in of each Iran Khodro and Seipa.
By some accounts 43% of auto part manufacturing industry belongs to Bonyads.
The building material manufacturing, cement factories, bricks and concrete
block factories, to some degree, the metals are also owned by Bonyads. There
are plans to bring the metal and steel industry under Bonyads total ownership.
This instance prove the move to that direction: The Shahid Investment Company a
subsidiary of Bonyad-e Shahid, made a successful bid for Industrial development
and Renovation Organization, The irony is that the government allocated fund to
Bonyad-e Shahid for such purchase. The goal of the Top Tier government is to
recycle the capital from public (government) to private ownership of clergies.
The goal of privatization is not to make the Iranian Economy more efficient and
effective and free but to weaken the government divestment and transfer the
capital to clergys holding companies.
The Iranian stock market was created to serve as an instrument for transferring
the ownership of Iranian public owned capitals to clergy owning sector, where
the Bonyads and clergy owned foundations legally buy the stocks of the public
(government) holding companies stocks and eventually change the board of
directors and transfer the companies to Bonyads.
Although some argue that the synergy created by this transformation will help
the socio-economic development in
While this transformation is taking place, Bonyad-e Mostazafan (the poors
foundation) has increased its food import due to the impact of ownership change
from the government own companies to the clergies owned charitable foundations
to help mitigate the short fall of job loss and increase in poor families. The Bonyad-e
Mostazafan was created to give hand out to loyal clergies followers and to make
the poor dependant on the clergies, mosques and also to create the impression among the
poor that Islamic government helping its poor citizens.
Bonyade Astan Qods, one of the oldest foundations owns more then it can
handle, such as Petrochemical companies, petrochemical industry is also
dominated by Bonyads where the only chance to break away from oil dependence
economy is seen, the charitable foundations has put their plans in motion to
dominate the future
oil replacement commodities.
The only companies and business which are allowed to import cars, trucks, tractors,
combines and agribusiness equipments are charitable foundations that owned by
supreme leader and his office, revolution guards corps and Basij militia.
The mining exploration, consultations and extractions are also awarded to revolution
guards corps owned foundations.
All the revenues from the charitable foundations business activities are
distributed among the clerics who work for the office of supreme leader in
different part of Tehran and other cities, revolution Guards corps high ranking
staff such as majors, colonels, major generals and generals, the army generals,
the navy and Air force
generals and Basij militia high ranking staff, in the mean time, some of the
countrys budgets are also allocated to win votes among the citizens, and this
funds are distributed to the poor who attend clerics arranged and managed
religious activities.
The business monopoly is the real problem with this economic
arrangement, where the business man can not compete with charitable foundations
either by law or
by sheer size of the charitable foundations facilities. As a result the whole
economy is controlled by a class of military-mafia that no one will have a
chance to compete and do business in
business from
In the age of free market economy and free trade where the boundaries and tariffs
among the regional countries have been demolished Iranian government still
struggles with concept of fighting goods and services smuggling into Iran,
which in this day and age is a shameful practice but to protect the charitable
foundations interests and the interests of supreme leader, the revolution
guards corps, the Basij Militia and other religious owned business, Iranian
military and revolution guards corps are actively fighting the goods and
services smuggling into the country. We should take note that the fight against
the smuggling is not the fight against the drug
trafficking and drugs smuggling, the fight is against importing wheat, flour, sugar,
fruits, cooking oil, rice, candy bars, breads without government permission
and yet the government will not issue license for import of such products to
citizens unless the citizen is well connected to the office of supreme leader
and absolute guardianship of the clergy.
Payam Omid