Corruption has been a persistent problem in the Middle East, but for countries like Iran, the longstanding practice has damaged the economy irreparably and plunged the country’s population into poverty. Indeed, embezzlement, money laundering, fraud, bribery, and nepotism are commonplace in the Persian nation. Despite clear evidence of such actions, the Iranian government, and the nation’s elites, who are affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have refused to take responsibility, and address these issues head-on. Instead, they blame Iran’s economic woes solely on the U.S.-led sanctions while disregarding their own mismanagement of the economy, all the while making decisions in line with their own interests. If Iran is ever to achieve prosperity and stability, leadership must change to one that invests in the country’s future.
In 2019, Transparency International ranked Iran 146th out of 180 countries in its corruption perceptions index, and the coronavirus pandemic has only highlighted this. In fact, the regime’s lack of transparency and incompetence lead to Iran being one of the hardest hit countries by the pandemic. While the ongoing sanctions have, indeed, contributed to the nation’s economic woes, its weak and corrupt leadership have caused far more damage. According to a poll conducted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs in December 2019, 56% of Iranians believed that domestic economic mismanagement and corruption were the leading causes of Iran’s economic worries, compared to 39% who thought foreign sanctions were to blame.
Over the past several years, the social and economic consequences of the corrupt regime and its self-interested practices have become more pronounced, sparking discontent among the populace. In November 2019, thousands of people took to the streets to protest a 50%-200% rise in fuel prices, calling for the government to step down and for an end to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule. The protests spread across the country, to more than 20 cities. Although they started peacefully, they ended in bloodshed, becoming the most violent anti-government protests since the rise of Iran’s Islamic Republic in 1979. Similar anti-government protests have continued across the country in 2020, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated anti-government sentiments and economic troubles.
Prominent Iranians have also joined these movements and voiced their dissatisfaction with the country’s state of affairs. For example, Mohsen Madhani, a former world champion wrestler, shared his concerns on social media when the government prohibited him from selling goods on the street even though he was struggling to make ends meet. Madhani’s story is emblematic of the struggles people outside of Iran’s elite circle and demonstrates the fundamental lack of support that the government provides its citizens, even its renowned athletes. His story also particularly resonated with his fellow citizens, as just two months before, the regime executed Navid Afkari, another former champion wrestler, for protesting the corrupt government in 2018. Just a couple of days ago, the regime arrested Afkari’s father and brother after they were spotted cleaning his grave, sentencing them to prison for numerous years and the brother received an additional 74 lashes. The IRGC also vandalized his place of rest.
While corruption has permeated every sector of Iran’s commercial, political, and social life, the consequences of these corrupt practices are becoming more disastrous by the day. In October, for example, the lives of five million people were jeopardized when the country underwent an insulin shortage. According to Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, the head of Iran’s Food and Drug Administration, the shortage was temporary and resulted from the ongoing U.S.-led sanctions. However, Iranians took to social media to dispel this notion, sharing their stories of contending with expensive insurance companies and navigating depleted stocks of insulin due to government hoarding and smuggling. Today, almost 11% of Iran’s population that is over the age of 25 suffers from diabetes and 18% is on the verge of developing the illness. As corruption continues to spread through critical healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, the consequences will only grow.
Indeed, the pandemic has exposed the fissures caused by corruption in the country. As the US and the UK begin rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Iran has struggled to obtain access to the immunization and the regime has promised that instead, it would produce its own. However, experts have warned that the opaque and corrupt nature of the healthcare and administrative sectors in Iran will hinder these efforts as it will be challenging to determine how many vaccine doses are needed, and at what price. In addition, experts expect vaccine distribution plans to reflect the existing societal inequities visible today.
For decades, Iranians have suffered at the hands of a corrupt regime and its small circle of elites that prioritize their interests over the needs of the people. The domestic mismanagement of the country has plunged the country into poverty and deprived Iranians of basic necessities such as quality healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these problems. For the country to rebuild its economy and promote equitable and valuable opportunities for all citizens, it must establish new leadership. Iranians need leaders who invest in the future of the country and all of its citizens, rather than in the profits of a select few.
