Iranians show their fury at ‘corruption’ of Revolutionary Guard

Protests and arrests follow deadly building collapse and the disappearance of investor with regime links

IRAN was rocked by a third night of protests on Friday amid claims that corruption close to the Revolutionary Guard was responsible for a deadly building collapse.

At least 28 people died when the unfinished 10-storey Metropol building in the oil city of Abadan crashed to the ground on Monday, with dozens more trapped under the rubble.

Locals said Hossein Abdulbaghi, the project’s main investor, was able to obtain a construction licence, despite not having met engineering regulations, through his links with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls Iran’s shadow economy.

Mr Abdulbaghi’s fate remains a mystery. Iranian authorities said he died in the collapse, but his body has not been recovered and locals believe he has fled to Turkey with the help of officials.

Iranian authorities described the collapse as a “crime” and said 13 people involved in issuing the licence for the construction of the building had been arrested.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Abadan and nearby Ahwaz shouting “death to incompetent officials” and hailing the “martyrs of Metropol”, Iran’s Fars news agency said.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, sent a personal message of condolence to the families of the victims and asked the country’s justice system to “punish those responsible for the tragedy, to teach others a lesson”.

However, according to documents obtained by London-based Iran International TV, the nephew of a close aide to Khameini helped Mr Abdulbaghi secure the licence.

Moud Shamkhani, whose uncle Ali Shamkhani is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guard and the secretary of Iran’s high council of national security, had recommended Mr Abdulbaghi to the local municipality and backed him to build the block. Mr Shamkhani has not responded to the claim.

Mohammad Reza Kouchi, an MP and the head of the Majles construction projects committee – which oversees and approves the construction of towers and shopping centres across the country – told the state broadcaster that his committee had banned the municipality from giving Mr Abdulbaghi the licence because he had not met all the required engineering regulations.

“There has certainly been an element of graft between the local municipality and the main investor to proceed with this project,” Mr Kouchi said.

The protests, which police attempted to disperse on Friday with teargas and warning shots, come on the back of widespread anti-government demonstrations in recent days after a sharp rise in the price of many everyday items.

Earlier this month, the government of President Ebrahim Raisi was forced to cut subsidies on imported wheat for millions of people as prices soar, leading to an overnight rise of more than 300 per cent in the cost of bread and other staples. The move led to clashes between protesters and security forces in dozens of Iranian cities.

‘There has certainly been an element of graft between the local municipality and the main investor to proceed with this project’