Two official, First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi, is soon to stand trial on corruption charges, the prosecutor general announced Monday.
Rahimi is not a household name, but as first vice president he is the second-most important official in the administration. His chief task is the efficient management and administration of the government. He also succeeds to the presidency temporarily if the presidency should be vacated.
If Rahimi does end up in the dock, it will likely be a political blow for Ahmadi-nejad, who picked Rahimi for the post.
Rahimi was not, however, President Ahmadi-nejad’s first choice for the key post. Upon his re-election last year, Ahmadi-nejad initially named Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai, one of his closest friends and collaborators. But Mashai is very unpopular with the political class and the clergy and there was a loud outburst of opposition. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi told Ahmadi-nejad that Mashai would have to go. Rahimi was then chosen for the post.
In recent months, there have been numerous allegations, mainly from Majlis deputies, of corrupt practices by Rahimi. The allegations have suffered from a lack of any specifics. Deputy Elias Naderan, a prominent conservative, for example, tabbed Rahimi as “the leader of the corruption circle,” but he mentioned no contracts or monetary sums or any other specifics of corrupt acts.
On Monday, Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossain Mohseni-Ejai was asked about Rahimi at a news conference. To the surprise of everyone, Ejai said, “The first vice president is facing charges that need to be investigated. Then we should see whether it will lead to his conviction or acquittal.”
Ejai said some people arrested on corruption had implicated Rahimi in their acts. But he gave no specifics either.
Ejai did not say when Rahimi would go on trial, and many cynics doubted he would ever face a court.
But Ejai cited the Rahimi case as evidence that he is actively pursuing corruption allegations.
Deputy Ahmad Tavakkoli, a senior conservative in the Majlis, recently said that if the Judiciary is serious about tackling corruption, it must probe allegations involving wrongdoing in high places, such as Rahimi, and not just prosecute low-ranking officials.
Ejai said he was actively pursuing corruption cases and stated that so far this year 187 cases of corruption have gone to trial. No prominent officials are included in that number, however.
The Islamic Republic has 12 vice presidents, all appointed by the president and not requiring the approval of the Majlis. Most head state agencies, like the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.