Conservative Iranian parliamentarian Ahmad Tavakoli talked about the problems of corruption in the country at a Dec. 9 speech at Yasuj University.

Tavakoli is skeptical about the optimistic comments made by the Hassan Rouhani administration regarding the state of the economy once international sanctions are removed. “Various factors shape the economy that result in the stagnation or the success of the economy,” he said, adding that corruption was “ruining the allocation of resources and distorting the direction of the economy.”

Tavakoli said one of the types of corruption in the country was the “commerce of influence.” While he did not explain the term “commerce of influence” during his speech, as an example he talked about how in some instances children of Iranian officials are informed in advance of neighborhoods that will be developed or privatized. These children of officials, who in Iran are called “agha-zadehs,” or princelings, would purchase the land early at a discount and later sell the land at a premium. Tavakoli added that these privatization efforts that happened in the past, presumably referring to the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration, “caused nothing but economic problems.”

Tavakoli said that cronyism, nepotism and the commerce of influence are like tolls on a healthy economy. He also said that corruption can be found in Iran’s judiciary, police force and parliament. “Corruption is systematic,” he said, adding, “It doesn’t mean that the entire system is corrupt.” He also said there are recent efforts by the judiciary to confront corruption.