TEHRAN - In his weekly press conference on Tuesday, government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht stressed that President Rouhani’s administration has acted responsibly to the payroll scandals of some top managers. 

Following the unreasonably high salaries paid to some managers, 13 officials at state organizations either resigned or were sacked.
The head of the Central Insurance Company of Iran, Mohammad Ibrahim Amin, was among those who resigned after the payslip revelations. 
Such problems arise when there are “flaws” in the law, said Nobakht, a trained economist who is also the chief of the Management and Planning Organization.
For example, he said, some organizations have their own salary council deciding on payments with no supervision of government whatsoever.
“The government will seize this opportunity to monitor and control” the payment to employees from the public budget, he promised.
To prevent inflated salaries in the future, Nobakht said the government has taken a series of measures to deal with the issue at hand such as making some reforms in this year’s budget expending.
Also, all available documents related to salaries paid to top directors have been handed over to the ‘salary monitoring council’ for further assessment, he said.
“Through the council we close all the loopholes to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Nobakht promised that the government will eradicate astronomical pay stubs by resolving the imbalanced payments.

 JCPOA brought some success
On the benefits of the JCPOA, Nobakht said it has been “partially successful” due to obstructions created by hardliners in the U.S. and the Israeli lobby.
Through the deal with the six world powers sanctions imposed on the Iranian oil sector were lifted, he noted, allowing the country to increase its oil exports and part of the frozen assets were returned to the country.
Since Iran is no longer isolated in the world many investors are eyeing on Iran’s economy and market, he explained.
Iran-France relations remain intact
Nobakht also said although the French government provided a bastion for Mojaheedin-e-Khalq (MKO) for a rally in Paris, Iran took no formal stance on the issue, and the country’s relationship with France remains strong.
Calling the terrorist group a “corpse” which is receiving rescue breathing, Nobakht said, “The act is a vain attempt.” 
The members and supporters of the MKO rallied outside Paris on Saturday, opposing Iran’s support for the Syrian government.
Former Saudi spy chief Turki al-Faisal also addressed the MKO and expressed support for the group, a move which Nobakht said demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s “reactionary approach”.
Iran condemns any government that provides assistance to the terrorist group, he said, adding it makes Iranians’ blood “boil”.
The terrorist group has decades of violence in its record. For example, it sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s.
MG/PA