TEHRAN - Today, the fight against corruption is one of the most important issues in the world; therefore, numerous conventions and documents have been designed and implemented to combat corruption.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on its revolutionary-civilizational traditions of promoting justice and national independence, has also passed numerous laws since the beginning of the glorious revolution of 1979, such as the implementation of Article 49 of the Constitution (approved in 1984). 

In addition, in recent years, it has taken important legal measures to combat corruption at an increasing pace, including the ratification of the Merida Convention (approved by Parliament in 2003) and the review of existing structures. 

Despite these forward-looking and positive measures, it seems that Iran's situation in combating corruption is still facing serious challenges, according to numerous national and international indicators. 

The most important of these challenges, root causes, and areas for reform and combating it are:

A) Challenges 
1. The challenge of sanctions

One of the major challenges facing the Iranian economy is the U.S. government’s unilateral and unjust sanctions, which have not only increased the cost of public goods and services but have also created many complications and difficulties in providing public goods and services to the people. 

Unfortunately, some individuals and institutions have exploited this situation and have used foreign exchange resources allocated to basic goods for the people, which are cheaper than the rial-dollar exchange rate, for manipulation, smuggling, embezzlement, changing the place of consumption, etc. 

This is despite the fact that the Anti-Money Laundering Law was passed in 2007 and revised a decade later in 2018. In addition, the Anti-Smuggling of Goods and Currency Law was passed in 2013 and amended in 2019, and proposals are currently being made to amend those laws and formulate more effective regulations.

It should be noted that due to the imposition of the aforementioned illegal sanctions, cooperation with international organizations has faced serious problems. 

Although Iran has made significant efforts in recent years to promote regional cooperation and participate in the design and implementation of regional mechanisms and in the fight against corruption, it uses comparative experiences in accordance with the political will of the government.

2. The challenge of administrative structure and procedures

The administrative system in Iran is plagued by the diversity of the nature of institutions, parallel work, and the diversity of governing laws and numerous exceptions, which have both increased costs versus efficiency and caused unjustified discrimination among employees and, of course, confusion among the people due to the complexity of laws and regulations and possibly abuse and lack of transparency. 

Several laws have attempted to reform the structure in recent years and promote and establish a transparent governance system. The Law on the Publication and Free Access to Information (approved in 2008), the Law on the Compilation and Revision of the Laws and Regulations of the Country (approved in 2010), the Law on Promoting the Health of the Administrative System and Combating Corruption (approved in 2011), and the Law on the Transparency of the Three Powers, Executive Agencies, and Other Institutions (approved in 2014) are among these efforts.

B) Capacities 
3. Professional ethics: Respect for people's rights and the law

Agents should know that their duty in the public sector is to prioritize public interests and provide quality public services to the people based on professional ethics guidelines. 

In this context, although Chapter 3 of the Civil Service Management Law (approved in 2007) governing people's rights in several articles, including Article 25, mandates serving the people and, very generally and briefly, in Article 90, mandates good administration, it was necessary to elaborate on these norms and continuously implement, evaluate, and train on the implementation of those rules. 

Accordingly, through the tripartite cooperation of the Presidential Legal Office, the Ministry of Justice (Secretariat of the National Authority for the Convention against Corruption), and the Administrative and Employment Organization, the Regulations for Promoting Professional Ethics in the Administrative System were approved in late 2024. 

In order to achieve these goals, a working group was established in Article 14 to evaluate, train, and guide government institutions every month.

4. Popular culture of fighting corruption and participating in anti-corruption

Corruption in Iran is an ugly and disturbing thing, and thoughtful solutions have been proposed in the literature to combat it. Saadi Shirazi, a very famous Iranian poet, known as the Sultan of Speech in the 13th century, states:

If a government employee neglects his fiduciary duties, 
He should be supervised.
If the supervisor also neglects his fiduciary duties,
Both the employee and the supervisor should be fired.

Therefore, there are glimmers in Iranian culture for fighting corruption that should be used in the fight against corruption that leads to the efficiency and effectiveness of this fight. This experience also increases public trust. 

Such an attitude, although late, has led to the approval of the Law on Protection of Corruption Reporters in late 2023. Subsequently, in 2024, the reporting infrastructure and its registration and handling were approved in the form of the executive regulations of the second chapter of the Law on Protection of Corruption Reporters. 

In this direction, people, civil institutions, and the media should be educated and strengthened.