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Iran Leader Denies Profiteering
Iranâs supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied rumours his office receives a percentage of profits from all cars sold in the country.Wha? No way, wasnât us... Nope. Nâuh uh. Ayatollah Khameneiâs decision to take the unusual step of denying he receives any illegitimate payments shows he is very sensitive about rumours of corruption. Recognition that the little people matter? There is a widespread belief among ordinary Iranians that 20% of profits from every car sold in the country goes to the ayatollah as a religious tax, or Khoms. They get a cut of everything else, so why should cars be any different? The story became headline news in Iranian opposition media last week after Iranâs ministry of industry announced that the countryâs state-owned car manufacturers will no longer pay any money to the supreme leaderâs office. "We will no longer extort money from the car industry..." Although the statement was later withdrawn, it strengthened rumours that Ayatollah Khamenei may indeed receive a hefty cut from the sale of new cars. Uh, we withdraw the previous statement. It shouldâve read, "We have never extorted His office says that it is rumour-mongering by the enemies of the country in order to discredit the Islamic leadership and has ordered the intelligence ministry to identify those behind the rumours so they can be prosecuted. Itâs all Lies! We are Holy Men! Do you not see our Black Hats? We must root out the infidels who speak these falsehoods! And weâll start with that dimwit But the ayatollahâs denials will do little to dispel the widely-held view in Iran that a new class of millionaire mullahs are plundering the riches of the country. The asshat Black Hats are as corrupt as $3 bills - and political whores of the first order. They will, one day very soon I hope, come to regret their suppression and violence... as it will come back to them 100-fold. Be gone you worms. Posted by: PD 2003-07-17 |
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