TEHRAN (Iran News) – Emphasizing that the 13th government will pursue the fight against corruption vigorously and seriously, President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi said, “People may endure poverty and hardships and livelihood difficulties, but they will not tolerate corruption.”

Speaking in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, President Raisi emphasized that the fight against corruption was a condition for the people to vote for this government, saying, “We must be sensitive to the possibility of corruption and in no way hesitate fighting its manifestations”.

Stating that there are grounds for corruption in more or less all institutions, the President added, “One of the grounds for corruption is human resources, so in recruiting, one should focus only on efficiency and legal competencies”.

Addressing the members of the cabinet, he reiterated, “You must be very careful and safe so that there is no corruption in your subordinates”.

The President stated, “In places where there is a negative atmosphere regarding your appointments, if these conditions are not correct, defend your actions, but note that meritocracy in the thirteenth government is not just a slogan, but the basis of work”.

Dr Raisi stressed the need to obtain the opinion of various regulatory bodies before employing individuals, noting, “The fight against corruption and attention to meritocracy is one of the basic principles of government in practice. But where we have done our job properly, we should not be influenced by negative atmosphere”.

The President said that if there is corruption in the government body, the officials should first deal with the wrongdoer and then introduce them to the judicial authorities for legal proceedings, adding, “I have no red line. Neither my office, nor my deputies, nor ministers are a red line for me”.

Raisi added, “I tried to choose my colleagues from among the honest and anti-corruption people. I have verified the purity of the people around this table so far, and we must continue to monitor and take care of it”.

The President emphasized, “In the thirteenth government, for the first time in the appointments of high levels, in addition to inquiries from intelligence authorities, inquiries are also taken from other supervisory authorities such as the Inspection Organisation and the Court of Audit”.

In another part of his speech, referring to the collection plan and measures to support beggars, Raisi said, “The government has a duty to prevent child abuse and mental and moral harm to them in matters such as begging. Therefore, we support the municipalities to resolve this situation”.

Emphasizing the need to follow up on the implementation of provincial travel approvals, the President said, “The results and fruits of provincial trips in the implementation of the approvals of these trips will be revealed and it is necessary to follow up the implementation of these approvals seriously”.

Meanwhile on Tuesday evening, Raisi gave an assurance that his administration is not facing any dead-end in the course of settlement of issues.

In comments at a meeting of the Administration’s Economic Coordination Headquarters, Raisi emphasized that there is no deadlock in the process of addressing the country’s problems.

The governmental units must act in a coordinated and systematic manner so that their complementary measures would contribute to the settlement of problems, he noted.

Additionally, Raisi was given a report about the latest condition of oil exports, which stated that the volume of Iranian oil sales has increased compared to the past and that the export of petrochemical products is in a proper situation.

In the meeting, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran briefed Raisi on the status of the currency resources and the efforts to repatriate the country’s financial resources frozen abroad.

A few days after taking office in August, Raisi called on his economic team to shift the focus on efforts to normalize the sale of oil and ensure the release of the country’s funds blocked abroad.

He has also emphasized that the settlement of the economic problems should not depend on the removal of sanctions.