Iran: Exorbitant plundering of public wealth, outrages

TEHRAN - 15 June 2016 - Revelations of exorbitant salaries paid to senior officials have sparked widespread anger in Iran, threatening to create unrest and deeper rift in the society.

There has been an investigation launched into public pay following the reports of executives at the state insurance regulator earning more than 50 times the base government salary.

Rouhani’s opponents are demanding answers on behalf of struggling Iranians who have yet to see the promised economic benefits of the country's nuclear deal with world powers.
The revelations surfaced two months ago, when the salaries of several senior executives at the (CII), the state insurance regulator, were revealed on social media.
In some cases the salaries ranged between 700 million and 800 million rials ($20,000 to $23,000) per month, where more than half of the population are living under the poverty line.
With anger mounting over the revelations, Rouhani on Sunday was forced to order first vice president Eshaq Jahangiri to conduct an investigation into senior officials' income and bonuses.
The pay scandal comes at an especially delicate time for Rouhani, the driving force behind last year's historic deal that saw Iran limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of punishing international sanctions.
Iran's economy remains in the doldrums, with growth of less than one percent and an unemployment rate of 11 percent.
Addressing parliament last week, the ministers of industry and the interior painted a bleak picture of chronic under-investment, surging inflation and rising unemployment.

Extracted from a AFP report