A few days after the revelation of the multi-trillion-rial scandal involving Kazem Sedighi, the Friday Prayer of Tehran and the head of the Command Center for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the Iranian regime, Kazem Sedighi, Tasnim News Agency and the Khomeini Seminary, which owns the disputed estate, have intervened and addressed the embezzlement scandal. In the exposed scandal, Sedighi, with the assistance of his sons, has appropriated a 4,200 square meter estate worth approximately 10 trillion rials for himself.
On March 23, 2023, the IRGC Quds Force–affiliated Tasnim News Agency confirmed the case under the title ‘Commencement of the Process of Returning Ownership of Land from Sadeqi.’ However, it writes with a biased tone towards Sadeqi: “The Imam Khomeini Seminary in Tehran, by issuing a statement regarding the recent controversies related to the ownership of land in this seminary by individuals, has announced that the order to return the land to the seminary has been issued and the administrative procedures are underway.”
The mentioned report, stating that “Responses to dispel suspicion have been announced by the Imam Khomeini Seminary and Sedighi,” repeats the absurd and contradictory excuses of Sedighi as the focal point of the issue.
In summary, Sedighi claims that without his knowledge, someone he trusted registered 4,000 square meters of the Khomeini Seminary area in Ozgol, worth 10 trillion rials, in his and his sons’ names. He claims to have only become aware of this months later—after the documents of this major corruption were published.
The story of forging Sedighi’s signature and registering 4,200 square meters of land in Ozgol in his name is so ridiculous that one of the religious scholars has said, “Sedighi has left no honor for the clergy.”
On March 18, Rouydad 24 news website summarized some of the contradictions in Sedighi ‘s statements as follows:
- What benefit does the forger have in registering the land in your name?
- Why didn’t you involve the prosecutor before it became a media issue?
- Why don’t you file a complaint as a real person?
The statement by Tasnim clearly indicates that Sedighi has support from higher authorities who not only endorse him but also consider this matter a controversy. They explicitly state in the same statement that not only do they invite the media to observe piety and ethical principles, but they also “remind them of the complex and purposeful methods of the combined warfare of the sworn enemies of the system. They declare that the best way to counter these attacks is to refrain from hasty and speculative opinions.”
Indeed, the affair is so scandalous that it seems propaganda efforts and threats cannot cover it up. Just as regime-backed factions and regime-controlled media outlets often do, they selectively reveal certain aspects of it during their own conflicts.
The state-run Farhikhtegan newspaper wrote, “The important question and vital ambiguity these days is the manner in which the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran and his office are reacting; why have they remained silent so far, and what will be their response to these documents?”
Regime analyst Abbas Abdi claims that Sadeghi has stated that he had no knowledge of registering the 4200-square-meter land in his name and that his signature has been forged. Abdi writes, “If it is true, it is a complete disaster of ignorance; if it is a lie, it is a hundred times worse…”
The lies and astronomical thefts of this cleric are happening while he constantly urges people in Friday sermons to be patient in the face of high prices and poverty. Just recently, with audacity and malice, he insulted those who suffer from high prices and poverty by saying, “Those who haven’t died of hunger.”
Sedighi also said in a Friday sermon after his theft scandal was exposed, and while supporting the ruling government, he shed tears for the “barefooted and lower class of society,” claiming that these “comfortable individuals have distanced themselves from their own problems.”
This cunning thief and deceitful individual will once again ascend the pulpits of deceit and hypocrisy in the corrupt realm of the regime and speak lies. However, in the hearts and minds of the suppressed people of Iran, these cases only reinforce their desire to overthrow this corrupt regime and establish a democratic state that works for the people.