Iranian president’s brother released by court on bail
Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, has been released on bail after his arrest on charges of financial crime.
The court “accepted the bail” and Mr Fereydoun – who helped Mr Rouhani during nuclear talks that led to Iran’s 2015 agreement with world powers – was released on Monday.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejeie announced Mr Fereydoun’s arrest on Sunday, saying he was the subject of “multiple investigations”.
Mr Fereydoun appeared on Monday at the prosecutor’s office but left shortly after in an ambulance after feeling ill. The state-run Tasnim news agency reported that he had been freed with bail set at 500 billion rials (Dh56.35 million). It was reported that the court reduced the bail to 350 billion rials.
The brothers do not share the same name because Mr Rouhani changed his when he was younger to a word meaning “cleric”.
The arrest is seen in Iranian politics as part of a long-running feud between the presidency and the judiciary that has taken several turns in recent months, particularly before and after Mr Rouhani’s re-election in May.
The conservative-dominated judiciary has clashed with Mr Rouhani, who has sought to ease social restrictions and release political prisoners.
Some of Mr Rouhani’s political opponents condemned the 2015 nuclear deal, which traded sanctions relief for reductions in Iran’s nuclear programme.
They said the president and his team were too lenient and that the agreement had failed to reap the promised economic benefits. The judiciary, which operates independently from Mr Rouhani’s government, is run by more hardline politicians.
Mr Fereydoun, sometimes referred to in Iran as Mr Rouhani’s eyes and ears, had already been the target of attacks by conservatives.
They alleged he played a role in a scandal that emerged a year ago over high wages paid to a bank director whose appointment he had championed.
The head of the general inspection organisation, Naser Seraj, first accused Mr Fereydoun of financial offences, saying he had influenced the appointment of two bank directors – one of whom was accused by the Revolutionary Guard of involvement in a “large corruption scandal”. The other was fired as part of a scandal into exorbitant salaries at public institutions.
Conservatives have demanded that Mr Fereydoun be put on trial, accusing him of receiving zero-interest loans, among other offences.