29 Billion Toman Lawsuit Against Ahmadinejad's Oil Minister

The newspaper Shargh, in its front page on Saturday, titled "Nuclear Gap," quoted Abbas Araqchi stating: "The proposal for interviews and inspections of military sites in Tehran was rejected," while simultaneously, Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated: "Without visits to military sites, no agreement will be signed." The newspapers Kayhan, Vatan-e-Emruz, and Javan dedicated their front page headlines and photos to the "Friday worshippers' protests" against "an agreement at any cost." The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted "the people" as saying: "We will not allow a bad agreement," while Kayhan reported: "People in nationwide protests emphasized: Agreement yes, but not at any cost." Kayhan noted that "Tehran worshippers in the protest against an agreement at any cost demanded that the nuclear negotiating team not allow inspections of military sites by the West" and "held placards stating 'Military oversight is a foolish idea,' expressing their opposition to any access and oversight of military sites." The Javan newspaper also reported under the headline "The Secrets of Traders After Sanctions" about a meeting of "Iranian and American traders," stating: "It has been a few months since the French's outcry during negotiations, and both the French's problems in continuing their exclusive activities in the automotive industry have been resolved, and the quiet visits of American trade delegations in various forms have increased. However, special news indicates that these visits are being returned in Switzerland, and it is unclear why, how, and with what quality these economic meetings are being held and the extent of concessions given to American parties in this obscure and ambiguous atmosphere and whether they align with national interests or not." This newspaper explicitly named Mohammad Nahavandian, the head of the President's office, as one of "an economic activist and government official" who "traveled to Switzerland with his team" to meet with American investors and stated: "In an opaque environment, the risk to national interests exists, as many traders exploited the sanctions and a lot of money did not come back to the country and was lost." The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported on a "29 billion toman lawsuit against Ahmadinejad's oil minister" and stated: "The prosecutor of the Court of Audit announced the issuance of an indictment against the former oil minister due to the unilateral order to cut oil swaps." The Kargozar newspaper, in its front page on Saturday, quoted the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare as stating that "12 million needy people have been identified for food security packages," but the Shargh newspaper quoted economist Hossein Raghfar emphasizing that "40 percent of Iran's population," nearly 30 million people, "live below the poverty line." The Iran newspaper reported under the headline "The Mystery of Holding Political Ceremonies" about the cancellation of a government supporters' meeting in Karaj and the live broadcast of an unauthorized gathering of government diplomacy opponents in Mashhad. The Shahrevand newspaper published statements from Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, about "the destruction of ISIS-affiliated networks in Iran," but simultaneously emphasized in a commentary that "ISIS is not just a military threat." The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front page to the portrait of Ezzatollah Sahabi and Haleh Sahabi and a report on the fourth anniversary of their passing in Lavasan. The Etemad newspaper dedicated its front page to Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini's visit to Golestan and the "unprecedented reception by the people of Golestan" for him, while the Aftab Yazd newspaper criticized the lack of media coverage of Hassan Khomeini's visit to Golestan under the headline "Removal of the Imam's Grandson from National Media." The "Nuclear Gap" as narrated by Shargh: The Shargh newspaper in its front page on Saturday titled "Nuclear Gap" quoted Abbas Araqchi stating: "The proposal for interviews and inspections of military sites in Tehran was rejected," while simultaneously, Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated: "Without visits to military sites, no agreement will be signed." According to this newspaper, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, regarding the inspection list and access to certain Iranian individuals and sites, stated: "This list was provided by the 1+5 group as a solution to resolve the PMD issue, which pertains to the past and there are a series of unresolved and ambiguous questions from the past. Various solutions have been proposed to resolve it, but one solution that our counterpart proposed was to specify a list of individuals and sites to which the agency could have managed access. Access that does not allow the inspector to gather information from the surrounding environment and is carried out within a completely defined scope. This idea was proposed, and this suggestion was not approved in Tehran. We are working on other ideas and have clearly told the counterpart." Shargh quoted a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team stating: "Alternative solutions that address security concerns and existing worries are being proposed, and if we reach a conclusion, we will implement it; otherwise, we will continue negotiations until we reach an acceptable solution." The newspaper also reported that Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, stated that "his country will not accept an agreement with Iran without including access for inspectors to all facilities in Iran, including military facilities." According to the Shargh newspaper, Laurent Fabius emphasized in a gathering of French parliament members that "France will not accept the agreement without clarity on the possibility of inspections at all facilities in Iran, including military sites." Fabius, however, stated that "France seeks to reach an agreement, but not one that allows Iran to build a nuclear bomb. This is France's position, an independent and peace-seeking position. France is one of the permanent members of the Security Council with veto power. According to the understanding reached by the parties, the final nuclear agreement with Iran will be approved in the form of a Security Council resolution, and the Security Council sanctions against Iran will be lifted; this agreement cannot happen without France's positive view." Shargh also reported that Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, emphasized that "if the negotiating parties respect what was agreed upon in Lausanne and draft a comprehensive agreement with Iran based on mutual respect, then everything can be accomplished within the specified timeframe." According to this newspaper, Zarif stated in a meeting with his Greek counterpart: "If parties insist on excessive demands or renegotiations, then the work will become difficult." Shargh reminded that Zarif's statements came after Abbas Araqchi stated: "Negotiations will continue until July 10 and may even extend beyond that. We are not bound by time but by the issue of achieving a good agreement with details that are desirable to us, even if it takes a long time." The newspaper also reported that Jeff Rathke, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, announced that "the United States is not seeking to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran beyond the July 10 deadline," stating that the U.S. "believes that the world powers along with Iran can achieve their goal of reaching an agreement within the set deadline." The old debate about the population below the poverty line; 12 or 30 million? The Kargozar newspaper in its front page on Saturday quoted the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare as stating that "12 million needy people have been identified for food security packages," but the Shargh newspaper quoted economist Hossein Raghfar emphasizing that "40 percent of Iran's population," nearly 30 million people, "live below the poverty line." According to this newspaper, Abolhassan Firouzabadi, the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, stated during his speech at the first applied scientific conference of general managers of welfare organizations that "there is currently no map of poverty in the country; however, last year, 12 million people were identified for providing food security packages." Firouzabadi mentioned that "welfare is one of the few extensive organizations in the social, cultural, and supportive fields," stating that "given the process of targeted subsidies, people in society are struggling with numerous problems and there is a lack of balance in the appearance and essence of society, which has doubled responsibilities." The Shargh newspaper, while publishing the statements of the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, stated: "Poverty in Iran is pulling more and more people below the line year by year. Since 2005, the number of the poor in the country has significantly increased. Mismanagement and lack of foresight by governments have reduced people's purchasing power. Previous reports indicated that one-third of Iran's population was below the poverty line, but now the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare only reports the identification of 12 million needy people in the country." Hossein Raghfar, an economist and designer of Iran's poverty map, stated in an interview with the Shargh newspaper that "40 percent of Iran's population is below the poverty line and the number of the poor in the country is increasing day by day." According to Raghfar, "Considering Iran's population of 77 million at the end of 2014, it can be concluded that more than 30 million people in Iran are currently below the poverty line, and the government has no specific program to stop and reduce this number of poor people in the country." While Abolhassan Firouzabadi, the Deputy Minister of Welfare, announced that "there is no map of poverty in the country," Hossein Raghfar told the Shargh newspaper: "In fact, there is a poverty map, but there is no specific program from the government to eradicate poverty." Raghfar noted that "before 2005, the poverty rate in Iran was below 30 percent, but since then, this figure has been on the rise," stating that "currently, it should be said that the number of the poor in Iran's population has reached over 40 percent, and if the government does not have a program for this issue, this figure will increase further." This economist emphasized that "the trend of indicators shows no signs of improvement in Iran's economy and multiple factors influence the formation of poverty in Iran," stating that "the share of the capital Tehran compared to other provinces in terms of the number of poor people within it is about 30 percent" and "Sistan and Baluchestan also has a large poor population." Raghfar, reacting to Abolhassan Firouzabadi's statements about the "identification of 12 million needy people," stated that "these 12 million identified are only individuals under the coverage of two organizations, the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation and the Welfare Organization, who have files in these two organizations and their livelihood status is clear." According to the Shargh newspaper, Raghfar emphasized that "the poverty line in the capital Tehran is 2 million and 700 thousand tomans" and stated: "The poverty line is increasing so much that for a five-person household in Tehran, the poverty line is 2 million and 700 thousand tomans" and added that "the poverty line varies from one province to another." A lawsuit of 29 billion tomans against Ahmadinejad's oil minister: The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported on a "29 billion toman lawsuit against Ahmadinejad's oil minister" and stated: "The prosecutor of the Court of Audit announced the issuance of an indictment against the former oil minister due to the unilateral order to cut oil swaps." This newspaper refrained from naming the minister in question but implicitly referred to Masoud Mir Kazemi, stating that "this accused minister is currently a representative of the Front of Steadfastness in the Islamic Consultative Assembly." According to Aftab Yazd, Fayyaz Shajari, the prosecutor of the Court of Audit, regarding the former oil minister's case, stated: "The order of the then oil minister to unilaterally cancel all swap contracts led to the loss of credibility for the National Iranian Oil Company and Niko." The prosecutor of the Court of Audit noted that at that time, "the then oil ministry managers provided their official reports and letters to the oil minister regarding the lack of technical and economic justification for canceling the swaps," but "the oil minister issued the cancellation order without paying attention to those reports, and since one person issued the order, only the oil minister will be tried." Aftab Yazd quoted Fayyaz Shajari as stating that in the former oil minister's case, "in addition to punishment due to the occurrence of an offense, claims of over 5 million and 140 thousand dollars due to damages from the unilateral cancellation of swap contracts, 870 thousand and 195 pounds as legal costs, 345 thousand and 369 euros as court costs, 2 million dollars for defense costs, and 54 thousand and 580 euros as part of the ICC costs are claimed by the prosecutor." The prosecutor of the Court of Audit also stated that "this case is on the verge of a ruling by the advisory board." The mystery of holding political ceremonies; cancellation of the authorized meeting in Karaj: The Iran newspaper reported in a report titled "The Mystery of Holding Political Ceremonies" about the cancellation of a government supporters' meeting in Karaj and the live broadcast of an unauthorized gathering of government diplomacy opponents in Mashhad. Mehraveh Khwarazmi wrote in the Iran newspaper: "In the past three days, while news related to the gatherings and marches of the government critics and nuclear negotiations was published in the media, the cancellation of a meeting in support of the government was met with media silence." According to this newspaper, "the opponents" in Mashhad held their gathering in front of the city council with the title "We will not allow it," with slogans such as "The unproductive path must end," and Mehdi Bazrpash, a member of parliament, attended this gathering to give a speech, while the local media of Khorasan Razavi broadcasted this event live, while Ali Mohammad Golestani Far, the governor of Mashhad, emphasized that "the...