Iran specifying huge funds for its militias in new budget

Islam Mohamed

Iran’s budget for the new fiscal year, which started on March 21, divulges increasing financial support to the Islamic Republic’s militias in the region.

The new budget figures come at a time the Covid-19 virus keeps killing Iranians. Iran has become the world’s third highest country as far as virus infections and deaths are concerned. The Iranian government would rather have allocated the funds it gives the militias for the reform of the Iranian health system.

The government allocates $33 million only for the national response to Covid-19 within the new budget.

However, the government allocates $1.5 billion for the Revolutionary Guard Corpse in the same budget. This is two times higher than the budget the government specifies for the Iranian army.

The government also earmarks $920,000 for the Basij, a unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corpse, in the budget. It also allots tens of millions of dollars to Iranian agencies responsible for the export of the principles of Iran’s Islamic Revolution to other countries.

In January this year, Iran’s minister of health submitted his resignation in protest against the authorities’ decision to decrease the health budget, at the time they specified huge amounts of money to the Revolutionary Guard Corpse.

Spending in the new budget rose to $37 billion. The Iranian parliament had not been consulted about the budget. The government justified this by citing the parliamentary recess against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

A majority of the members of the parliament turned the budget down last month. The parliament even asked the government to introduce changes to the budget in the light of the actual needs of the Iranian people.

However, the government overlooked this demand and suspended the work of the parliament, even as all Iranian institutions keep working.