Iranian press review: New IRGC underground drone base unveiled

New IRGC underground drone base

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has unveiled an underground base for its military drones, warning western powers that from it the IRGC can deploy 60 drones simultaneously to hit targets in the region.

On Saturday, the Fars news agency reported that IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami and the elite force's aerospace commander General Amir Ali Hajizadeh were present at the inauguration ceremony of the IRGC's first underground drone base.

“Our simultaneous shooting power has increased seven times, and the time needed to get ready for the shooting has dramatically decreased,” IRNA news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.

The IRGC-affiliated outlets did not publish any videos of the purported underground base. Iran's elite force has previously released videos of its underground missile bases, dubbing them "underground missile cities".

Meanwhile, the Iranian government's official daily hinted that the timing of the underground base inauguration - held while nuclear talks continued in Vienna - was a warning to western powers.

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According to the daily, the base indicated that Iran would not negotiate on its missile or drone programmes with world powers.

"This means that any agreement to remove the sanctions would not make Iran give up working on securing its needs for defending itself," the daily wrote.

On Friday, world powers seemed to be edging closer to a deal with Iran that would revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov created uncertainty on Saturday, saying Moscow wanted a written US guarantee that its trade, investment, and military-technical cooperation with Iran would not be hindered by western sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine.

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said on Monday that Tehran would not allow "any foreign elements to undermine its national interests", the Iranian semi-official news agency Tasnim reported, while the foreign ministry said it awaited an explanation from Russia.

In recent years, the IRGC has regularly revealed new drones. Nonetheless, its drone technology has been at the centre of lots of debate, as Iran has never directly used this technology in a military operation.

Tehran's regional allies have, though, used drone attacks in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

Medical serums destroyed at customs

Iran has sparked public outcry after destroying hundreds of tonnes of imported medical serums that have passed their expiration date as the country struggles with another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 260 tonnes of intravenous fluids were destroyed, having expired while being held in Iran’s customs administration’s storage awaiting clearance, Tasnim news agency reported.

The report identified the Organisation for Collection and Sale of State-owned Properties (OCSSPI) as the governmental body responsible for destroying the crucial IV fluids.

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The incident has drawn widespread criticism of the government’s poor management of crucial supplies and calls for an investigation.

"The coincidence of destroying 260 tonnes of medical serums and the rationing of this product in some provinces was one example of several cases of mismanagement and a lack of planning that could have grave impacts [on the country]," wrote the Khorasan daily.

Others appealed to Iran’s judicial system to bring those responsible for the customs delay to justice.

“The main reason for destroying these medical serums is still unclear,” Iran's SNN news agency said.

"Especially now, after destroying the serums, it is still not known which organisation was responsible for the prolongation of customs procedures.”

Iranian officials, on several occasions, have blamed international sanctions for medicine shortages in the country.

Fresh calls to tackle Iran's 'systemic corruption'

Iran is facing a new wave of calls - led by former high-ranking politicians - for swift action to combat widespread corruption in the country.

On 3 March, Hosamoddin Ashena, an adviser to former president Hassan Rouhani, posted a photo of the Indian anti-colonialism leader Mahatma Gandhi, with a quote from him saying: "Tackling corruption is like cleaning a staircase. Unless you start at the top, dirt will keep falling below.”

Iranian conservative politician Ahmad Tavakoli, who served in parliament for 20 years, has also warned that corruption in Iran has reached the highest level of policymakers.

'We have reached the level where [a corrupt network] can influence the circle of policymakers and write the law in a way that would benefit them'

- Ahmad Tavakoli

In an interview with the Aftab daily, Tavakoli said that "a network of systemic corruption" was active in the country, influencing how the budget law was planned.

"We have reached the level where [a corrupt network] can influence the circle of policymakers and write the law in a way that would benefit them," he told the daily.

In a separate report, Aftab wrote about a sharp increase of corruption cases among charities run by the political and economic elite. It did not name the organisations involved due to the high ranks of politicians who direct these charities.

Instead, Aftab made a list of the most famous political figures who have established or governed a humanitarian organisation.

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A former deputy spy chief, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, tops the daily's list. Since 1980, Pourmohammadi has served in high-ranking positions in Iran's intelligence ministry and judiciary system. He is a current adviser to Iran's chief justice.

Businessman Habibollah Bourbour, who is the primary sponsor for conservative politicians in the country's parliamentary elections, was the second name on Aftab’s list.

Hossein Mozaffar, a conservative former education minister; Abbas Sheibani, a veteran conservative politician; Masoumeh Ebtekar, a reformist former vice president; and Zahra Moshir, the parliament speaker's wife, were the other names on this list.

The newspaper asked: "If all these charities, run by the people with a position in the establishment, have adequately been functioning, then why do large parts of society still struggle with poverty?"

According to official data, over 70,000 charities are registered in the country. These charities are exempt from tax, and they receive government support and funds for construction projects.

* Iranian press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye

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Iranian press review: New IRGC underground drone base unveiled

New IRGC underground drone base

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