{"id":327604,"date":"2025-01-12T12:19:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-12T11:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=327604"},"modified":"2025-01-12T12:19:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T11:19:25","slug":"irans-missing-billions-fuel-medicine-scandals-reveal-depths-of-regimes-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/irans-missing-billions-fuel-medicine-scandals-reveal-depths-of-regimes-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Missing Billions: Fuel, Medicine Scandals Reveal Depths of Regime\u2019s Corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE PHOTO: A meeting at the so-called “Resistance Economy Headquarters” in the Hamedan Governor’s Office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the latest chapter of Iran\u2019s ongoing corruption saga, revelations of billions of dollars in missing medicine subsidies have intensified public outrage, underscoring the systemic fraud that permeates the clerical regime. On January 11, 2025, the Iranian regime\u2019s president Masoud Pezeshkian admitted<\/a>, \u201cA portion of the allocated currency for medicine subsidies simply vanishes,\u201d in remarks that seemed to deflect responsibility while exposing the government\u2019s inability\u2014or unwillingness\u2014to tackle the crisis. His admission comes amid a 200\u2013400% spike in drug prices, with essential medications either scarce or sold at exorbitant rates, forcing millions of Iranians into desperation.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Pezeshkian has acknowledged such glaring governance failures. Just weeks earlier, on December 18, 2024, he addressed another<\/a> alarming issue: the disappearance of 20 million liters of fuel every day. \u201cHow do 20 million liters of fuel vanish daily?\u201d he asked rhetorically during an unscheduled visit to the Budget and Planning Organization. \u201cI must be utterly incompetent if I can\u2019t oversee this.\u201d While his remarks carried a tone of sarcasm, they highlighted the staggering scope of corruption and the regime\u2019s systemic inability to maintain oversight.<\/p>\n

The fuel theft scandal sheds light on the vast criminal networks operating under the regime\u2019s watch. In Hormozgan Province, authorities uncovered a clandestine two-kilometer pipeline<\/a> siphoning 70,000 liters of aviation fuel daily for years. \u201cThe value of the illegal pipeline alone is approximately four billion tomans,\u201d a local judiciary official admitted, though no explanation was offered for how such large-scale theft escaped detection for so long. Meanwhile, reports of oil thefts from pipelines near Tehran and other regions continue to surface, painting a grim picture of widespread resource plundering.<\/p>\n

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Delving into #Iran<\/a>\u2019s Corruption Chronicles \u2013 Part 1https:\/\/t.co\/3uRDWFAqxD<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n