Fundraising in the name of the revolution: transparency is the condition for keeping Iranians' trust

Every major political transformation needs money, and wherever a lot of money circulates, there is also a risk of abuse. Iran's national revolution is no exception. In the months after the uprising of Dey (December–January) and the war, numerous campaigns have been launched among Iranians abroad to help the wounded, the families of the fallen, political prisoners and newly founded media outlets. In the assessment of DIAR's analysts, the core issue is not the money itself but the trust that underpins Iranians' hope for freedom, which is damaged by every opaque campaign.

Why financial transparency is a political issue

Iranians who send money for a person wounded in the uprising, a bereaved family or a media project are in effect placing their trust in Iran's national revolution. When it is never made clear what happened to that money, the damage is not limited to the donors' pockets; public trust in the entire movement breaks. A donor who has been deceived once will not help even the neediest compatriot next time.

This cynicism is exactly what the Islamic Republic's propaganda machine has been trying to build for years: the image of an opposition that, in its words, is "money-grubbing" and "fragmented". Every campaign run without accountability supplies raw material for that narrative. Worse, because most of these campaigns are promoted in the name of Prince Reza Pahlavi or with his image and name, the disrepute caused by a few people is pinned on the leadership of the revolution, a leadership that had no role in those campaigns.

Background: the funds that never answered

The experience of past years shows this concern is not baseless. At various times, funds set up online to support strikes, launch a television channel or help victims collected money, and then either no clear report of expenses was published or the people running them fell out over the money. Each time, what remained was public doubt, not the television channel or the aid that had been promised.

Another point is the political background of those who run the campaigns. Anyone who collects money from Iranians must make clear where they stood in the past, which groups they have worked with and whom they cooperate with today. Iran's national revolution has clear boundaries: ties to the Mojahedin-e Khalq organisation (MEK) or to separatist groups are incompatible with the ideal of a free, united and democratic Iran, and Iranians have the right to know about such ties before they give. Not long ago, the rumour-mongering about a rift in Prince Reza Pahlavi's camp showed how any ambiguity becomes a tool against the revolution.

Criteria for informed giving

In DIAR's assessment, a few simple criteria can protect donors from abuse:

• A registered entity: giving to an organisation registered as a charity or non-profit in a democratic country, with accounts subject to the law, is far safer than giving to a personal account.
• A spending report: a campaign must say before it starts what the money will be spent on and, once it ends, publish a report of expenses and receipts.
• A clear cap and end date: a campaign that raises several times its stated goal and stays open must explain where the surplus goes.
• The background of those running it: the political and professional record of those who manage the money, including past work with state media or with groups opposed to Iran's integrity, must be clear to donors.
• Independent verification: claims of delivering aid inside Iran must, as far as the safety of the recipients allows, be verifiable.

Trust, the revolution's capital

In recent months Iran's national revolution has won broad support, from the backing of thousands of doctors and political prisoners for Prince Reza Pahlavi to large gatherings of Iranians in cities around the world. This social capital is the movement's most valuable asset and must not be sacrificed to opaque campaigns.

Asking what happens to the money is neither hostility to aid work nor sowing division; it is part of the same culture of accountability that Iranians are fighting for against the Islamic Republic. A movement that promises Iran's tomorrow on the foundation of law and transparency must observe those same standards among its own today. Anyone who raises money in the name of the revolution must be ready to answer for it.

Financial transparency in aid campaigns is the condition for keeping Iranians' trust in the national revolution, and any ambiguity serves only the Islamic Republic.