Aftershocks of the 'Good Gene' Controversy

The newspaper Sharq published a commentary titled "Aftershocks of the 'Good Gene' Controversy" regarding the controversial statements made by the children of two reformist figures: "The publication of an interview with Hamid Reza Aref, the son of the first vice president of the reformist government, caused a stir, and just when it was expected that this controversy would gradually fade from the center of attention on social media, Mustafa, the son of Abdul Vahid Mousavi Lari, revived it again." According to the newspaper, Hamid Reza Aref's interview had multiple themes, each attracting criticism, but the most prominent keyword used in the critiques was "good gene," as Hamid Reza Aref, in response to criticisms that his successes in various fields were due to nepotism, mentioned the "good genes" he inherited from his parents as the reason for his success. Sharq noted that on Sunday, Mustafa Mousavi Lari reacted to the widespread Twitter criticisms of Hamid Reza Aref's statements by posting a quote from a scene in "The Lion King" on his Instagram: "Hyenas scare a few wild cows, and suddenly all the cows start running. Meanwhile, most of the cows don’t even know what the issue is, meaning they don’t know what they are fleeing from and what goal they are running towards. They just run along with the others and in the process, they kill their beloved king. The Twitter waves that have formed these days strangely remind one of this scene." The newspaper wrote that "Mustafa Mousavi Lari's statements could not be seen as unrelated to the recent wave of public criticism towards Hamid Reza Aref's words. Even if he published such a statement without malice and merely as a warning to reduce the criticisms, the use of keywords like hyena, lion, and cow alongside discussions of good genes and blood that Hamid Reza Aref had raised reminded one of the racial superiority view that the son of Mohammad Reza Aref had used to defend his successes." Sharq also pointed out that another similarity in the controversy surrounding these two political offspring was that after their main statements, they were forced to explain themselves; however, unlike Hamid Reza Aref, who described the wave of criticism directed at him as venting, slander, and insults, Mustafa Mousavi Lari apologized for deleting his Instagram post. The newspaper reminded that "criticism of 'Aghazadegi' (the phenomenon of privileged children of elites) is not a new discussion, but with the return of reformists to the official power arena and the striking impact of the reformists' electoral lists known as 'Hope List,' this discussion has intensified among reformists and transformation seekers, focusing on self-critique." Journalist Jafar Golabi also wrote in a note for the newspaper Qanoon titled "Aghazadeh with Good Blood and Superior Gene" that: "If the words of Mr. Aref's offspring were merely a singular, uninformed, and fleeting emotional statement, it would not deserve attention, and we should have passed over it. Unfortunately, this mindset not only has a background but also has a wide reach and effectiveness in decision-making. He explicitly believes in good blood, superior genes, family lineage, and extraordinary talent that inherently makes people like him superior to others, and inevitably, a superior person must also have superior privileges." The columnist of Qanoon wrote, "The bitter reality is that we are dealing with a generation of Aghazadehs and children of officials, wealthy individuals, and personalities who, only some of them, have not separated themselves from the common people through their parents' diligence and do not feel like they are cut from a different cloth. When the issue extends to 'good and bad genes and superiority,' one must feel alarmed and fear racial discrimination." This newspaper emphasized that "perhaps if such a mindset did not have grounds and prevalence among the elites of our society, we would not witness such discrimination and a terrifying class gap. I wish a sense of danger from this meaning would arise among the elites of society, and while there is still time, they would strive to remedy these thoughts and mentalities." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, published a note in its Tuesday issue stating that "the security borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran" extend beyond political borders, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic "defines its security borders within a thousand-kilometer radius." Within this framework, Americans are considered a "security threat, and their presence will be unacceptable to the Islamic Republic and other nations in the region." Yadollah Javani, former head of the political office of the Revolutionary Guards, interpreted these statements as a result of the Islamic Republic's new definition of its "security borders" and wrote: "Western powers, including the United States, have no choice but to accept the Islamic Republic as an effective regional power in West Asia and a determining power in global developments to secure their interests. Accepting this emerging power and reconciling with it requires acceptance of the Islamic Republic's security theory and the boundaries of Iran's security borders based on this theory." The columnist of Javan emphasized that "today, the security borders of the Islamic Republic are considered the eastern Mediterranean from the west, and based on this, the security of the Islamic Republic is intertwined with the security of its allied countries such as Iraq and Syria." He wrote that the military forces that the Revolutionary Guards previously sent to Syria under the title of "Defenders of the Shrine" are "not only defending the sanctity of the Ahl al-Bayt but also defending the security of the Islamic Republic and, in fact, the security of the Iranian nation." The newspaper Etemad reported on the casualties from "poisoned alcohol" in Sirjan, quoting the deputy of treatment at the Sirjan Medical Sciences Faculty, stating that at least "78 people were poisoned, and three died" following the consumption of "fake alcoholic beverages." According to this newspaper, personnel from three hospitals in Sirjan witnessed a large influx of patients suffering from alcohol poisoning. A local journalist who was present at the hospitals from the early hours of the incident reported that "young men, most of whom were men, were being transported one by one by emergency ambulances to the hospital, all due to the consumption of homemade alcoholic beverages. Almost half of the poisoned individuals were in critical condition." This unnamed local journalist also mentioned that "considering the statements of patients hospitalized, it is likely that some of the poisoned individuals did not go to the hospital to preserve their dignity. Meanwhile, the hospital courtyard witnessed families arriving from 8 PM on Saturday to 6 AM on Sunday, trying to find out about the condition of their poisoned children." The newspaper Etemad also quoted Dadkhoda Salari, the prosecutor of Kerman, stating that "according to the investigations of the Sirjan police, a truck driver brought two 20-liter cans of homemade alcohol from Isfahan to Sirjan and distributed it, causing this incident," but "this alcohol was contaminated with methanol or wood alcohol." According to this newspaper, Mohsen Nikvarz, the prosecutor of Sirjan, also stated that "since the main suspect in the case has not yet been arrested, there is no precise information on the amount of alcohol distributed. If the fugitive individual distributed it knowing about the poisoning, he would be responsible for the deaths of three people and the poisoning of several young people in the city. However, the actions of some young people in consuming alcohol are also very reprehensible and subject to punishment." Etemad recalled a similar incident in Rafsanjan, stating that "in 2013, a similar incident occurred in Rafsanjan County in Kerman Province, where four people died due to the consumption of fake alcoholic beverages, and 298 people were hospitalized due to poisoning." The newspaper Jahan San'at examined the impact of currency prices on people's lives and livelihoods, stating: "Currently, the exchange rate, especially the price of the dollar, has become one of the people's dilemmas in securing their living necessities. Although the Rouhani government cannot be solely blamed for the current state of the currency market, the people's experience from Ahmadinejad's government has raised fears that they might want to release the currency spring again." This newspaper noted that "Mohammad Ahmadinejad handed over a dollar worth 904 tomans with a 300 percent increase to the eleventh government," stating: "During the eight years of the ninth and tenth governments, the Iranian economy turned into a ruin, ultimately exacerbating class gaps to the point where we have reached a situation where people's purchasing power has severely decreased. However, with Rouhani's re-election as the head of the twelfth government, it remains to be seen how the government's performance will be in the second four years, as the patience of the people, economic activists, the private sector, and officials has run out of this multitude of economic problems, and everyone is waiting for the return of prosperity to the Iranian economy."