Sara Akrami & Saeed Ghasseminejad: The Ayatollah’s billions
HO/AFP/Getty ImagesIran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. BMW fleet not pictured.
Iran’s continuing progress toward a nuclear bomb should have made it clear to the West that the current sanctions regime simply isn’t going to cut it. When it comes to the nuclear program there are two important decision makers: the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. While there has been some progress in targeting the IRGC with sanctions, Khamenei himself has yet to received much attention from the international community.
He certainly warrants such attention. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls an substantial portion of the Iranian economy through his various holdings and foundations. The most notable foundations directly controlled by him are Imam Khomeini Foundation, Mostazafan Foundation, Abdolazim Shrine, and Astan Qods. The heads of these foundations are directly appointed by the Supreme Leader and therefore, they do not pay tax, and they cannot be audited by the parliament or by the judiciary system. They operate as personal properties of Khamenei, outside the normal structure of the Iranian state.
An examination of Imam Khomeini Foundation provides insight into the vast size and wealth of the Supreme Leader’s financial empire. Based on a statement by one of its officials, in September 2008, the Foundation owned about $45-billion in real estate assets. Imam Khomeini Foundation owns 36 firms in the Tehran stock exchange, through only one of its many holdings. It also owns the Iran Telecommunication Company, in partnership with the IRGC ,which is itself worth billions of dollars. This foundation is active in many profitable sectors of Iran’s economy, such as telecommunication, oil, gas, food and mining. It also does business outside the country. Last summer, for example, the Tadbir Development Company, which is owned by the Imam Khomeini Foundation, tried to buy French refinery La Petite Couronne.
The other foundations mentioned above are also wealthy, powerful, and influential and have vast economic interests both inside and outside Iran. Mostazafan Foundation was famous for its dominant role in Iran’s economy until a decade ago. While not quite as powerful today, it still has enormous wealth and plays an important role in Iran’s economy. Astan Qods owns almost the entire northeastern part of Iran. Abdolazim shrine, located near Tehran, is controlled by Iran’s former Minister of Intelligence, Mohammad ReyShahri. It has concentrated its economic activities in the Rey Group, which is run by a group of former high-rank intelligence officials and has interests in several industries, such as oil, gas, construction, food, and agriculture. As a matter of fact, the Rey Group is the official dealership of BMW in Iran, which makes Iran’s Supreme Leader, Iran’s supreme fine German automobile dealer, as well.
Targeting Khamenei’s financial empire will diminish his political power
It has taken Khamenei decades to accumulate this wealth and position himself and his holdings at the heart of Iran’s commercial life. Now that the fortune has been amassed, he uses the money to buy loyalty both inside and outside of Iran. Targeting his financial empire will diminish his political power. Therefore, including his companies and their managers on the sanction list will put a tremendous pressure on him.
Recently, Canada took a significant step by closing the Iranian Embassy and including the Qods Force, the external branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, to its terrorist list. Although economic sanctions have put pressure on Iran’s economy and therefore its political leaders, the international community, especially Western powers, should recognize that Iran’s Supreme Leader is the key decision maker in the country’s affairs and in its nuclear program. If the West truly wants to add some bite to its sanctions program before Iran builds its first nuclear bomb, directly targeting the Supreme Leader’s commercial holdings is a good next step.
National Post
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