Rouhani’s bias to gov’t exposes ugly Mullahs’ face

Nora Bendary

In light of the recent protests against the Iranian regime, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani issued a warning to protesters this week, saying during a government meeting that Iran would not tolerate rioting, and has monitoring systems and cameras that enable it to identify cars used to block roads, as well as their drivers.

Since the government cannot raise taxes or export more oil, it had no choice but to cut subsidies, added Rouhani.

The US State Department posted on Twitter on November 18 that Rouhani embezzled an estimated $ 4.8 billion from the National Development Fund to pay to terrorists. Morever, the Central Bank of Iran funneled billions of dollars and euros in 2018 and 2019 to the IRGC’s Quds Force to carry out terrorist acts.

Moreover, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a fortune of $200 billion dollars and is overseeing a regime of corruption, the US embassy in Baghdad claimed on Thursday amid heightened tensions between the two arch-rivals.

“Corruption is rife in all parts of the Iranian regime, starting at the top,” a fiery post on the embassy’s official page claimed.

“The possessions of the current supreme leader Ali Khamenei alone are estimated at $200 billion, while many people languish in poverty because of the dire economic situation in Iran after 40 years of rule by the mullahs,” the embassy post added.

The US embassy Facebook account has in the past published similar attacks on Iran. In February, on the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, it wrote: “After 40 years of wrong choices, it is time for the regime in Iran to reconsider its failed policies”.

Despite the huge amount of money that the mullahs’ leaders have, the regime is imposing austerity options over Iranians, while holding US sanctions accountable. Officials secure themselves by collecting their own wealth and even channeling the rest of Iran’s wealth to terrorist organizations. This system is driven by the regime in order to implement its plan to extend its influence over many countries in the region.

Iranian affairs researcher Osama al-Hitaimi has told The Reference in an interview that the measures put forward by Rouhani to deal with his country’s crisis are forced options resulting from the United States tightening its economic sanctions on Iran.

The government of Rouhani does not have a solution to deal with the economic collapse other than to pursue austerity measures, even at the expense of citizens, he pointed out.

Hitiami also noted that the crisis facing Tehran is the result of Iranian arrogance in its decisions following the resumed sanctions, such as provoking chaos in the region by targeting oil tankers and then targeting Aramco.

With the Iranian violations, there would have to be a strong reaction from the United States and the international community, otherwise it would be a green light for Iran to do what it pleases without punishment or deterrence.