When Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Feb. 21 that “dirty money” had entered Iranian politics, he was criticized by conservative parliament members and media. His speech to drug enforcement officials that "dirty money from smuggling of illegal drugs enters the political field” prompted a letter from 30 members of parliament accusing him of “undermining the healthiest and most transparent electoral system of the world.” Many demanded that he testify before an open session of parliament to explain his accusations.

On March 2, after unrelenting criticism, Fazli backtracked, saying he had said “if” dirty money enters politics, it could cause harm to the political system. But he added that he was not going to allow “politeness” to get in the way of what needed to be said.

However, on April 26, before an open session of parliament, Fazli said, “If there was a misunderstanding in the media over a poor reflection of my comments, I apologize.” The change in tone and content seemed so sudden that some conservative media have been gloating over it and some Reformist media feel betrayed.

Reformist Shargh Daily wrote that Fazli “presented a new story” during his speech. The article stated that “instead of apologizing to the media, he apologized to members of parliament.”