Iranian President Hassan Rohani has issued an order for the Task Force Against Smuggling Goods and Foreign Currency to start coordinated action to “shut down unauthorized ports and entry points” and stop the interference of “unauthorized bodies” in national imports.
ISNA reports that the order was issued by the president on Sunday March 8 at the 102nd session of the Coordination Office of the Resistance Economy. Iran’s Supreme Leader has called on the government to adopt an “Economy of Resistance” to overcome the effects of international sanctions on the country.
According to IRNA, reports from the session say “a discriminatory approach and the various exemptions and exceptions” in customs and commerce legislation have resulted in an increase of unofficial trade and smuggling in recent years.
Earlier criticism of “illegal docks” by the government drew comments from the head of Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, who said the IRGC as a military body has control of a number of docks but is not involved in any form of trade.
Rohani’s interior minister has also been expressing concern about “dirty money” entering politics in the form of campaign funding for parliamentary candidates.
