Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said courts should aim to punish those guilty of corruption “quickly and fairly.”

Sayyed Khamenei’s statement was in response to the national judiciary chief’s stance on financial crimes and corruption in Iran.

“The current special economic conditions are considered an economic war,” judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said in a letter to Imam Khamenei, calling for the creation of special courts to tackle financial crimes, state television reported.

Imam Khamenei agreed, saying: “The purpose (of the courts) should be to punish those guilty of corrupt economic practices quickly and fairly,” the TV added.

The statements came amid public protests against high costs of living in the country and alleged corrupt financial practices.

Source: Agencies