With the victory of the Iranian people’s revolution in February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini promised the people prosperity, comfort, and human dignity. In order to achieve this goal, from the very beginning of the establishment of the Islamic system, he ordered the establishment of dozens of foundations such as the “Foundation of the Oppressed”, “Martyr Foundation”, “Construction Jihad”, “Relief Committee”, “Revolutionary Committees”, “Revolutionary Courts” and others without any study or investigation. As a result, dozens of new revolutionary foundations and institutions were established to fulfill these decisions. The revolutionary people of Iran did not forget Khomeini’s promises and threats.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for these revolutionary and newly established charitable foundations and institutions to not only fail to become benefactors, but also to not bring prosperity, well-being, and security to the people. Instead, each of them, in their own position, turned into foundations of evil and, like a bad omen, brought destruction upon the lives and wealth of the nation.

Over the years, these revolutionary charitable foundations and institutions have blocked the path of goodness, health, comfort, peace, growth, and prosperity for the society and the country in all fields. Today, each of them has become a powerful and influential mafia that has taken control of the country’s wealth and resources, leading the people and the affairs of the country towards destruction and ruin. They are the creators of poverty, misery, injustice, and backwardness in all aspects of society, to the point where the country has reached a breaking point.

Here we take a brief look at one of these foundations, namely the “Foundation for the Oppressed and Veterans”.

During the chaos and turmoil of the days of revolution and the downfall of the Shah’s regime, and at the same time as the victory of the revolution and the excitement it brought to the entire Iranian society, Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and decision-maker in all matters, issued orders to establish charitable and revolutionary foundations. These decisions were not made based on calculations or research, but were solely based on his personal religious beliefs and traditional mindset. These decisions led to the establishment of dozens of so-called revolutionary and charitable institutions, which over the years have become major problems for the economy, morality, growth, and prosperity of the country, and have turned into dangerous mafias, causing chaos and disorder in all aspects of society. The people, due to the performance of these foundations and institutions, have become poorer and poorer each day, and have fallen into misery.

Although the purpose of establishing all these revolutionary foundations and institutions seemed to be benevolence and assistance to the welfare of the people, especially the underprivileged and oppressed, and the slogan of creating equality and equity, security, progress in all matters, preserving human dignity, etc., but all of these revolutionary institutions and foundations have revealed a nature contrary to what was said, and have turned into destructive and anti-people institutions and foundations. With the passage of time, especially at the end of the eight-year war with Iraq, most of these foundations, by changing their names and their hidden goals, have created bigger and more destructive problems for the management of the country and society.

Only a few years had passed since the revolution when these foundations, either as parallel organizations with government offices and organizations in ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, were merged and caused disruption in the order and functioning of these ministries, inflicting heavy damages on them, or turned into economic and commercial giants and became a threat to the security and a source of problems for the government and the nation, revealing their mafia-like nature and their opposition to national and public interests.

Most of these foundations, such as the Foundation for the Oppressed, have played a role in power and money mafias and by seizing people’s property and engaging in unconventional and arbitrary behaviors, they have dragged people into poverty and misery and brought the country to the brink of collapse. They operate with impunity and in the shadow of private trusts and cartels, with huge profits and capital, without being accountable to anyone or paying taxes. They rush forward recklessly, causing economic chaos, moral decay, and social crises, and have thrown society into disarray through embezzlement, gangsterism, infiltration, and interference in all affairs, leading the country into unprecedented lawlessness.

The “Foundation of the Oppressed” which later changed its name to “Foundation of the Oppressed and Veterans” and during the leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei to “Martyrs and Martyrs’ Affairs Foundation”, has become an economic giant with mythical wealth throughout these years. It has caused suffering, deprivation, and torment to the families of veterans, martyrs, and self-sacrificers, and by giving privileges from the national treasury and people’s rights to a number of them, such as university quotas, it has caused both universities to face scientific quality issues and people to become pessimistic and dissatisfied with them. Its actions have led the general public to consider the families of martyrs, veterans, and self-sacrificers as robbers of their own rights and to speak ill of them.

A reflection on the performance of each of these revolutionary institutions and charities after the revolution tells a sad and tragic story of the problems and calamities of the oppressed and oppressed people of Iran, especially the victims of the revolution and the eight-year war; stories that each in turn reveal a corner of the pain, suffering, poverty, misery, and humiliation of the Iranian people.

A brief look at the Foundation for the Oppressed from the beginning until now.

The Foundation of the Oppressed, which later changed its name to the Foundation of the Oppressed and Veterans, was formed during the tumultuous days of the revolution, on the 9th of Esfand in 1357 (February 28, 1979), just a few weeks after the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and the victory of the revolution, by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini. In a part of Ayatollah Khomeini’s letter regarding the goals of forming this foundation, it is stated:

The assets of the Pahlavi family and the branches of their workers should be confiscated for the benefit of the oppressed, weak workers and employees, in order to create housing, jobs, and other necessities. All of their bank accounts should be transferred to an account in my name (Ruhollah Khomeini).

He states in this order that these items do not belong to the government. By issuing this order from Ayatollah Khomeini and forming a committee consisting of clergy close to the leader, such as Hojjat al-Islam Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hojjat al-Islam Beheshti, Hojjat al-Islam Khamenei, and others, this committee became responsible and busy with handling the affairs of this foundation.

The aforementioned organization, through the efforts of the newly established committees of the Islamic Revolution and the Revolutionary Guards throughout the country, confiscated thousands of properties, lands, and estates, as well as billions of tomans of money from the assets of the Pahlavi dynasty and its affiliates, the Shah’s regime, large and small factory owners, and wealthy individuals who were mostly arrested, imprisoned, or had fled the country, and also from military personnel, SAVAK agents, and others who had been executed. This confiscation process continued in the name of this foundation throughout the country in the following years and is still ongoing.

The Foundation for the Oppressed, which has now turned into an economic giant and a powerful mafia of money and influence in the country, was renamed to the “Foundation for the Oppressed and Veterans” in December 1988 at the end of the eight-year war with Iraq, by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini.

This non-profit organization, under the supervision of the leadership, did not fulfill the objectives that were mentioned at the time of its establishment, whether under the name of “Bonyad-e Mostazafan” or “Bonyad-e Mostazafan va Janbazan”. No oppressed or worker benefited from it, except for some of the regime’s affiliates and guards who became residents of some confiscated palaces, and some became owners of large confiscated factories, and they all acquired wealth and assets unjustly.

“The Foundation of the Disabled and Veterans”, which was renamed to “Martyrs and Veterans Foundation” in 2009 by the order of Ayatollah Khamenei, was a large cartel owned by billionaires and involved in numerous commercial activities. This foundation has transformed into a powerful mafia of wealth and money in the country, using its influence and operating in the shadows with a corrupt and non-transparent performance. While exempt from taxes, it has seized the country’s resources and facilities alongside other newly established and mafia-like foundations such as “15 Khordad Foundation”, “Hajj and Endowments”, “Imam’s 8th Command Foundation”, “Astan Quds”, “Relief Committee”, etc., resulting in a terrifying economic disaster for Iran. These foundations not only destroy the country’s economy, but also hinder its growth and prosperity. Unfortunately, the “Martyrs and Veterans Foundation” has turned a blind eye to the problems of the families of martyrs, veterans

Let’s not forget that “Foundation of the Oppressed and Veterans” was considered the second largest economic institution after the National Iranian Oil Company before its merger with the “Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Foundation” and was one of the largest holding companies in the Middle East, and its wealth and annual profits were unimaginable.

The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, only in 1397, became the owner of 188 companies and large commercial institutions such as “Bonyad-e Bozorg-e Alavi”, “Sina Bank”, “Sina Insurance”, and others. It is generally active in various economic and commercial fields, as well as providing cultural and educational services, printing and publishing, electricity production and distribution, tourism services, transportation and shipping, insurance and banking services, investment, public contracting, and commerce.

This foundation made over 28 trillion tomans profit in 1395 (2016-2017). “Martyrs Foundation and Veterans Affairs” which has influence in the highest positions in the country, has close ties with the Revolutionary Guards and its main and central members are formed by the Guards. This foundation was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in November 2020.

The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs received a government budget of 15,797 billion tomans in 1399, which increased to 72,000 billion tomans in 1400 despite the dire budget situation in the country.