Iran state media rejects Reuters investigation as 'disinformation'

[EC]

The original articles are must reads.

Via Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/us-iran-setad-reaction-idUSBRE9AI0NJ20131119

Iran state media rejects Reuters investigation as 'disinformation'

By Isabel Coles

DUBAI Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:56am EST

Credit: Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl

(Reuters) - Iran's state news agency dismissed a series of reports by Reuters about a multi-billion dollar organization controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as "disinformation" intended to undermine public trust in the Islamic Republic's institutions.

Last week, Reuters published a three-part series entitled Assets of the Ayatollah ( www.reuters.com/investigates/iran/ ) detailing how the organization, called Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam, has become one of the most powerful institutions in Iran through the systematic seizure and sale of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians.

Setad's total worth is difficult to pinpoint because of the secrecy of its accounts. But its holdings of real estate, corporate stakes in a variety of industries and other assets total about $95 billion, Reuters has calculated. Through Setad, Khamenei has at his disposal financial resources whose value rivals the holdings of the shah, the Western-backed monarch who was overthrown in 1979.

In an editorial, state news agency IRNA said the aim of the series was to tarnish the image of the institutions and undermine "the pillars of the Islamic Revolution".

"The goal of releasing such false reports about Setad... is creating doubt among the people about it and destroying people's trust in the popular institutions which serve the Islamic Republic," the editorial, published on Monday, said.

More at link.