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Iranwire – Two Iranian institutions overseen by influential politician Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel receive more funding than most universities and research institutes, according to a new report by data analysis group Iran Open Data.
The Academy of Persian Language and Literature and the Saadi Foundation, both governed by Haddad Adel, receive around $8 million from Iran’s national budget each year.
Haddad Adel is one of the most influential politicians in the Islamic Republic. He is also a relative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose son is married to Haddad Adel’s daughter.
He has served as Speaker of Parliament and held membership in the Expediency Discernment Council and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
In recent years, he has played a significant role in organizing electoral lists of conservative groups close to the Supreme Leader.
Iran Open Data’s report highlights a lack of transparency, noting incomplete information on the Saadi Foundation’s budget in the public version of the 2022 national budget.
The Foundation’s allocation was estimated based on previous years.
While the Academy’s mandate is to preserve the Persian language and literature, Haddad Adel’s background is in Physics and Philosophy.
The Saadi Foundation, overseen by the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, promotes Persian language learning abroad.
The report emphasizes a lack of publicly available financial or administrative documents for these institutions.
It further reveals that their combined budget surpasses that of many universities and research institutes, as shown in comparison with three specialized research institutions.
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Click here to read Iran Open Data’s article in Persian.
Founded in 2016, Iran Open Data (IOD) strives to make Iran’s official data accessible, available and re-usable. Not only does IOD collect and process raw datasets for researchers and experts, it also publishes exclusive data-driven articles and digital stories for the general public. Additionally, IOD conducts public data calls and surveys on often neglected or taboo issues that are rarely addressed by the government. Follow IOD for all the data-stories concerning Iran.
