'Black Sunday' in Parliament, the Fazel Larijani tape and criticism of Larijani family power and privilege
With Ali and Sadegh Larijani heading the legislature and judiciary while other brothers held senior posts, critics pointed to the family's concentration of power. In February 2013 ('Black Sunday'), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played a tape in Parliament accusing Fazel Larijani of influence-peddling with Saeed Mortazavi and Babak Zanjani (@babakzanjani_ch). The Larijanis denied wrongdoing.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- 'Black Sunday' in Parliament: Ahmadinejad plays secret tape of Fazel Larijani and Saeed Mortazavi - Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC Persian and IranWire reported that on February 3, 2013 ('Black Sunday'), during Parliament's impeachment of Labor Minister Abdolreza Sheikholeslami over his refusal to dismiss Social Security head Saeed Mortazavi, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played a secretly recorded tape and read transcripts of a meeting between Mortazavi and Fazel Larijani, accusing Fazel of trading on the influence of his brothers Ali (Parliament Speaker) and Sadegh (Judiciary Chief) for financial gain. Ali Larijani called the move 'mafia-like', denied wrongdoing by his family and refused Ahmadinejad further time to speak before MPs ousted the minister. Iran president accuses parliament speaker's family of corruption
- Khamenei rebukes the heads of branches over 'Black Sunday' and Larijani apologizes in Parliament - BBC Persian and The Guardian reported that after the parliamentary clash highlighted the feud between Ahmadinejad and the Larijani brothers, who headed two of Iran's three branches of government, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (@khamenei_fa) said on February 16, 2013 that airing unproven charges against the other two branches was 'against Sharia, the law and ethics', while also calling the minister's impeachment 'pointless' and saying Speaker Larijani had gone 'a bit too far'. The next day, Ali Larijani apologized to Khamenei in Parliament, and both he and Sadegh Larijani pledged obedience in separate letters. رهبر ایران رئیسجمهور را به رفتار خلاف شرع و قانون متهم کرد
- Fazel Larijani summoned and Babak Zanjani details the Social Security companies meeting - BBC Persian and Radio Farda reported that after Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei (@ejei_org) announced that Fazel Larijani and businessman Babak Zanjani (@babakzanjani_ch) had been summoned to court over the recordings, Zanjani told BBC Persian on March 17, 2013 that he had held a five-minute meeting with Fazel Larijani about his plan to buy some 117 Social Security Organization companies for $5.2 billion, in which Fazel offered to help with the transfers without asking him directly for money. Fazel Larijani denied seeking payment and the case against him ended without conviction. لاریجانیها، حکایت پنج برادر
- Reports trace the decline of the 'Larijani dynasty' after the Tabari graft case and loss of key posts - Middle East Eye, BBC Persian and Radio Farda reported on the rise and decline of the five Larijani brothers (Ali, Sadegh, Mohammad-Javad, Bagher and Fazel), who for years simultaneously led Parliament, the judiciary, the judiciary's human rights council and major medical posts. The reports noted that after Sadegh left the judiciary in 2019, his longtime executive deputy Akbar Tabari was convicted of corruption, Guardian Council jurist Mohammad Yazdi publicly clashed with Sadegh, and Ali stepped down as Speaker in 2020 before being barred from the 2021 presidential election. Iran's Larijani brothers: The rise and fall of a political dynasty
- Emory University dismisses Ali Larijani's daughter Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani after protests - Iran International and CBS News reported on January 24, 2026 that Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta confirmed Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, an assistant professor of hematology and oncology and daughter of Ali Larijani, was no longer employed there. Her residence and career in the US had long drawn criticism over the contrast between Iranian officials' anti-American rhetoric and their children's lives in the West, and her dismissal followed protests outside the institute and a letter from US Representative Buddy Carter after her father was sanctioned over the January 2026 crackdown. Emory University sacks daughter of Iran's top security official Larijani