Israel Matzav: In Iran, follow the money; Obama continues to try to 'engage'

Sunday, May 01, 2011

In Iran, follow the money; Obama continues to try to 'engage'

In an earlier post, I reported on an open rift between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and 'spiritual leader' Ayatollah Ali Khameni. The rift was caused by Ahmadinejad's attempt to fire his 'intelligence minister,' Heydar Moslehi (pictured). 'Reza Khalili,' a pseudonym for a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who defected to the United States, discloses why Ahmadinejad wanted to fire Moslehi.

The Ministry of Industries delivered a classified report to the Iranian parliament and an official memo to the Ministry of Intelligence, both of which stated their inability to explain or justify oil contracts with China and Malaysia. They admitted they had no information on any of the details of the contracts, and declared they had no involvement with these deals.

Then, during the last week of February, a classified report from the Ministry of Petroleum tipped off the Energy Commission within the Iranian parliament: a substantial amount of fuel had been exported by the Revolutionary Guards to the Chinese via underwater pipelines in the Persian Gulf (Kish Island). The Ministry of Petroleum acknowledged a $3 billion oil sale discrepancy, which could not be accounted for.

This meant that the oil contracts with China — a portion of which (approximately $58 billion) were without legal license and lacking details — were not reported to the Iranian parliament. The recipient of the proceeds is unknown, and at least $14.2 billion of the income from the contracts has not been paid to the country.

Also, in recent months, more than 17 construction contracts worth more than $14 billion have been secretly subcontracted to the Chinese by the Revolutionary Guards’ Khatamol Anbia base.

Additionally in the report by the Ministry of Intelligence: in recent months, 42 members of the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia have been transferred to “the special offices of the president” where they are each paid between five to eleven million tomans (approximately $5000 to $11,000) per month, while still holding onto their official jobs and benefits.

And you thought Ahmadinejad was Mr. Clean and wasn't motivated by money, didn't you?

Barack Obama apparently still thinks Ahmadinejad is worth a conversation. He hasn't given up yet on 'engaging' the Iranians.

Other reports from inside Iran point to the Obama administration’s continuation of privately approaching the Iranian officials, hoping to get them to return to negotiations on the nuclear issues. Clearly, sanctions have not achieved the goal of stopping Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. This may explain why President Obama kept silent when Green leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi were arrested in February, leading to mass protests across Iran on February 14, February 20, and March 1. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Barack Obama, Heydar Moslehi, Iranian engagement, Iranian nuclear program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Reza Khalili