Wealthy and powerful land grabbers have targeted Iranian soil.

Soheila.Kh. FCNN News Agency: History testifies that an Iranian will die to protect a single inch of his land and will not hesitate to sacrifice his wealth in this way, but today this Iranian is witnessing the plundering of his homeland to satisfy businessmen across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the profiteering and pleasure-seeking of those who have taken the helm of the country. It can be said with confidence that this time, powerful land grabbers and those who have little power have targeted the homeland and are dreaming of the destruction of Iran.

According to ISNA, the "Islamic Republic" newspaper published a short news report announcing the export of soil from some counties in Fars province for a negligible price.

After leaving the country, this soil is used to build beautiful orchards and gardens and to obtain raw materials for cement production to adorn the homes of businessmen in the Persian Gulf countries.

While replacing this national capital will take centuries, and its plundering will intensify the destruction of the environment in the vast province of Fars, a province located in southern Iran that houses the bulk of Iran's 2,500-year-old civilization and culture.

But we see that the authorities of this province and our country have not reacted to this news. This is where the rumor of the resurgence of the land grabbing mafia in the land of Persia gains strength.

The presence of officials in the land grabbing mafia

Meanwhile, a group of environmentalists and cultural heritage lovers from Fars revealed their predictions and concerns in this regard in a conversation with FCNN.

Mahbouba, an environmentalist, recalls the revelation of a similar incident a decade ago and believes that the continued land grabbing in Fars stems from the indifference of the Islamic Republic's authorities and even the people.

The memories of this thirty-year-old young man go back to the years before 2011, when Mohi al-Din Haeri, the Friday prayer imam of Shiraz and the representative of the Supreme Leader in Fars Province, seized the natural terrain of the south of the country and amassed wealth by dividing up the land and natural resources.

In an interview with FCNN, Mahboobeh said: "All patriots remember how members of the land-grabbing mafia in the south of the country sold natural resources under the pretext of developing the land and in the name of the "Prosperity in Leisure" plan, and by dividing pastures into gardens, they fueled the drought in Fars. Because the uncontrolled and even unauthorized extraction of groundwater to irrigate gardens began. In addition, natural pastures and pastures were also destroyed. Only the pockets of the gentlemen were filled.

Meanwhile, no media outlet in the country, not even Fars, exposed the matter. However, word of mouth spread among the people about the growing strength of the land grabbing mafia. In several cases, residents of villages and cities who had lost agricultural water and livestock pastures due to these measures showed reactions that were met with repression. In the end, things got to the point where the authorities of the Islamic Republic suddenly and overnight dismissed the Friday prayer imam of the time in order to prevent the mafia members from being exposed. Meanwhile, figures such as Mehrzad Kherad, the director general of natural resources and agricultural jihad, also stayed home.

"But Fars environmentalists knew very well that this was not the end of the story."

A religious authority supports the land-grabbing Friday imam

This environmentalist also mentioned another association with this mafia team and said: “At the same time, Nasser Makarem Shirazi, one of the Iranian religious authorities, announced in support of Mohiuddin Haeri: I have known him for many years. During this time, I have not seen anything in him that is against Islamic standards, and I can attest to this about him. His sincerity is unparalleled and he has a distinguished academic position. He is also an expert in economic issues and can provide good guidance to the country’s officials, and I know of a special piety from him.”

According to Ebrahim, Haeri was engaged in implementing programs that led to the destruction of natural resource areas in Fars for 27 years from 1987 to 2011, as the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz and a member of the Supreme Leader's Assembly of Experts.

Covering up the violation

Despite the popular protests mentioned by Mahboobeh, Mehrzad Kherad, the Director General of Natural Resources, was tried on only one charge of financial embezzlement. That was the payment of a 12 million Tomans mission fee to a subordinate employee who had not gone on a mission for even a minute. Of course, Mehrzad Kherad acted as a powerful sponsor of conservative forces in the country for about a decade when he was in charge of natural resources and the agricultural jihad in Fars province.

Ignoring the sale of natural resources to foreigners

Furthermore, according to Ibrahim, another environmentalist in Fars, a reporter in a local Shiraz newspaper in those same years uncovered a secret that revealed another violation by the land-grabbing mafia. This secret concerned the sale of thousands of hectares of natural resource lands in Fars to businessmen across the waters of the Persian Gulf.

House arrest of whistleblower journalist

Ibrahim added in an interview with FCNN: "According to the revelations of the journalist who was later arrested, the real buyers of the lands were not known, but young Iranians appeared as buyers in the transactions and bought the lands for a negligible price. Interestingly, a document had also been issued for the natural resources areas. For this reason, it was written in the newspaper that these illegal and predatory transactions could be easily pursued through the Department of Registration of Documents. Even some members of parliament confirmed this violation in a conversation with the aforementioned journalist, but no legal follow-up was carried out in this regard. Only the journalist was punished. The then Friday imam and the director general of natural resources and agricultural jihad were also dismissed, of course, after handing over their positions to people they approved."

Threat to historian protesting land grabbing

He recalled: "In the continuation of such protests, things went to the point that in one case, which was only a letter, the Iranian writer and historian Abdollah Shahbazi was summoned to court. In this open letter, which was published in 2007, a group of Fars residents protested against the destruction of more than one thousand hectares of natural resource and endowment lands in the Sayakh region. The main factor in this encroachment on natural resources was, of course, the team of the Friday prayer leader at the time."

Now, another curtain has been lifted and a small corner of the widespread violations of the land grabbing mafia in the south of the country has been revealed. No common sense would accept that such atrocities would be inflicted on the homeland by the nation. In other words, it is impossible for ordinary people to commit a violation such as the removal of land from the country without the support of those in power.

The history of land grabbing and encroachment on natural resources also reinforces this fact and gives the seal of approval to the activities of profit-seeking mafia gangs in this violation. In the meantime, the country's media is expected not to go beyond legal restrictions and to avoid self-censorship and expose violations. Perhaps public awareness and public opinion pressure can stem the flood of destruction and destruction in this area.