Alchemy with Bronze

Many Iranian newspapers praised Kimia Alizadeh, the first female medalist from Iran at the Olympics, in their Saturday editions by publishing photos of her. The newspaper Shargh referred to Kimia Alizadeh as "the alchemist of Iran" in its "second print" and simultaneously published a photo of Hassan Yazdani with the headline "Breakfast with the Taste of Olympic Gold," stating, "Yazdani ended a 16-year drought in freestyle wrestling." The newspaper Etemad also dedicated its front page to Kimia Alizadeh with the headline "The Alchemy of Our Land," praising her achievement: "On Friday morning, the first medal in the history of Iranian women's sports at the Olympics was won, and Kimia Alizadeh's name became immortal." The newspaper Ebtekar titled its article "Kimia of Alizadeh," while Hamdeli titled its piece "Alchemy with Bronze" to honor her. The newspaper Jahan San'at described Kimia Alizadeh's medal as "bronze made of gold," and Farhikhtegan reported that after receiving the first medal for Iranian women at the Olympics, Kimia Alizadeh stated, "I am happy for all the girls of Iran." This newspaper also noted that Kimia Alizadeh "reconciled the Iranian nation with the Rio Olympics through her extraordinary performance. A girl who took sleep from the eyes of many to prove that the daughters of Iran can also win medals at the global Olympics." The newspaper Shahrevand also dedicated its front page to Kimia Alizadeh, reporting with the headline "The Secrets of Becoming Kimia" that the 18-year-old won the first medal in the history of Iranian women at the Olympics. This newspaper pointed out the "international media coverage of Alizadeh's historic achievement," stating: "Kimia Alizadeh's winning of the first medal for Iranian women at the 2016 Olympics garnered admiration from many around the world, and reputable foreign media also covered this issue," evaluating it as a "sign of progress for women's sports" in Iran. The government-aligned newspaper Iran described her medal as "the first medal of the alchemy of women" and reported that following this achievement, artists and athletes updated their Instagram pages with messages and photos of the young taekwondo athlete, with female artists leading the way. This newspaper also published congratulatory messages from Hassan Rouhani, quoting the President of the Islamic Republic as saying: "The glorious victory of Kimia Alizadeh, which demonstrated the bravery and competence of the Iranian girl in winning the first Olympic medal for women in the country, reflects the magnificent manifestation of Islamic and Iranian culture; and also the pride of Behdad Salimi, who proved his undeniable heroism in the judgment and hearts of the people; prompted me to thank these dear ones and the heroes Rostam and Sohrab and other proud members of the Iranian delegation, whether they created glory heroically or fought valiantly and honorably until the end, and those who are waiting to display the glory of Iran, and to congratulate the Iranian nation and the families and coaches of these champions for raising these symbols of national pride." Some newspapers close to the conservatives, including the newspapers Javan and Hemayat, published the news of Kimia Alizadeh's medal in one of their front-page columns, but others close to this political faction, such as Kayhan, did not mention her medal on the front page. However, Kayhan wrote in the middle pages that "the veiled Iranian woman made history at the Olympics." The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz criticized the Minister of Sports and Youth on its front page for his remarks that "Iran's sports limit is four medals," stating: "Kimia Alizadeh exceeded Iran's limit. She raised the total Olympic medals for Iran to five. She stretched her legs beyond our carpet. Sorry for not respecting our place in the world." The newspaper Etemad reported in an article titled "Astonished Omran" alongside a photo of a five-year-old child in Aleppo, whose injured and astonished face after a bombing drew the attention of media and public opinion, especially social media users, stating: "A photo of the boy is circulating, causing a commotion in cyberspace, as another Syrian child becomes a witness to a war he should be celebrating his sixth birthday in a few months." He has seen his homeland in war since he opened his eyes and experienced play under the shadow of bombings. Sara Masoumi, in a report for Etemad, noted that the photos and images of Omran were taken when "the rain of bombs" fell in the early hours a few days ago and "the sound of roofs collapsing, walls crumbling, and glass shattering once again deprived the neighborhood of Qatriji in Aleppo of peace," and "while many media claimed that Russian bombs caused the destruction of Omran's home and family, the Russian Defense Ministry denied this on Friday morning, stating in a statement that Russia never bombs civilian locations. Militant groups target urban and civilian areas to prevent the transfer of humanitarian aid." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, published photos of killed Yemeni children alongside Omran's photo on its front page, describing the publication of Omran's photo as a result of the support of "the media of the ruling system" for "terrorists." This newspaper wrote: "About a year after the widespread publication of the image of Aylan, the Syrian child whose body was washed ashore in Turkey, this time another image of a child from Syria prompted the media of the ruling system, which had a deafening silence in the face of the massacre of children in a Yemeni school by Saudi bombings, to coordinate in publishing the photo of the injured Syrian child, openly showing their media support for Syrian terrorists and finding an excuse to end the siege and bombings of the terrorists." Simultaneously, the newspaper Kayhan published a photo of Russian bombers in action on its front page and wrote in its editorial: "So far, five phases of flight operations of the 'Tu-22M3' and 'Su-24' bombers from Hamadan to areas in Deir ez-Zor have been carried out," but introduced the casualties of these bombings as "Daesh" and wrote: "About 100 Daesh members were killed in these attacks." Saadollah Zarai, the editorial writer for Kayhan, emphasized that he "does not want to deny the importance of military cooperation between Iran and Russia in Syria and the recent use of Russian military aircraft from the Nojeh base" but wrote that "a military action whose broader scope has previously been carried out between Iran and Russia and has been ongoing for 10 months, why should it be so important for the American front that it is referred to as the beginning of a new structure in the Middle East or a disruptor of regional balance and the beginning of fundamental changes." Kayhan also, in its "special news" column, introduced critics and opponents of the deployment of Russian bombers at the Nojeh base in Hamadan as "the foot soldiers" of Israel, writing: "The false claim of handing over the military base to the Russians in Hamadan is the other side of the false slogan 'Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life for Iran,' and the proponents of this slogan have practically become the foot soldiers of the Zionist regime." This newspaper accused the critics of the deployment of Russian warplanes at the Hamadan airbase, stating: "The organizers of doubts about military cooperation between Iran and Russia against terrorists are, in fact, beating the drums for Daesh, America, England, Israel, and Al Saud," while "the difference between the model of resistance and the model of relying on Americans is that in the model of resistance, one can even give courage to Russia and use their capabilities in the fight against enemies for mutual interests, but in the case of relying on the master, one must inevitably play on his field and gain nothing but giving cash concessions." The newspaper Shahrevand also, in a note titled "The Russians Seeking a Military Partner in the Middle East," wrote: "For the first time, satellite images revealed the presence of Russian fighters at the Hamadan airbase. After that, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the military air operations against Daesh positions from the Hamadan airbase, and subsequently, Iranian officials also announced that this action had the approval of the Supreme National Security Council." Armin Montazeri, in a note for the Shahrevand newspaper, emphasized that "this is not the first time that Russian aircraft have been present at this base," writing: "Previously, these aircraft would land in Hamadan for refueling, but this time (since August 16) they are departing from Hamadan to Syria to attack Daesh positions," although "the presence of Su-34 fighters in Hamadan indicates that the Russians have reasons beyond the unsuitability of Syrian airbases, as the Latakia airbase is much closer to Daesh positions in Syria." According to the Shahrevand newspaper, "One of the reasons Russia chose Hamadan may be that the Russians have security concerns about the presence of their fighters in Latakia," and "flying from Hamadan solves this problem for the Russians," but the Russians also have other objectives, including "seeking to expand their military presence in the Middle East. The Russians even offered Iraq that if needed, they are ready to conduct air operations against Daesh positions in Iraq, but this has not been possible so far due to the presence of America in Iraq." The newspaper Shargh highlighted Ali Motahari's criticism of interventions in the executive affairs of the country, quoting this member of parliament as saying: "The interference of governmental and military institutions has restricted the government's ability to carry out certain tasks to create economic transformation, which needs to be clarified." Ali Motahari also stated: "The existing contradictions in dealing with the press and the government's failure to stand up to them represent a kind of dual governance, and also the cancellation of concerts in a province called Khorasan means federal governance, and in the long run, some provinces will claim autonomy; therefore, the government must stand against it." Shargh quoted the Deputy Speaker of the 10th Parliament as saying: "It is possible to have relations with America while adhering to the principles and values of the revolution; as if we had relations with America, many banking problems would have been solved." Abdullah Naseri, a reformist figure, informed the Arman newspaper about "a secret meeting of one of the reformist leaders with Mr. Rouhani," stating that "one of the leaders of the reformist movement explicitly told Mr. Rouhani that if he continues on the same path in the future, he may lose his voter base and not be in the Pasteur in 2016. This prominent figure of the reformist movement also reminded Mr. Rouhani of the necessity of changing some perspectives and managements of the government." According to Abdullah Naseri, "In this meeting, which was held at Mr. Rouhani's house, necessary warnings were given to Mr. Rouhani that he does not have an independent voter organization and should not fall into the trap of some individuals," and in addition, "after the formation of the 10th Parliament, some of Mr. Rouhani's close associates pressured him to facilitate the dissolution of the Hope faction to form a larger and more inclusive faction among reformists and Mr. Rouhani's supporters. When this news reached the reformist movement, one of the leaders of the reformist movement strongly advised Mr. Rouhani against this action and discussed the dangers and consequences of such a move with him." The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported that Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, stated: "The people whose youth go to minefields and only two bones remain of their entire bodies and fight against the enemies of God, if they are to pursue lust, debauchery, and sin and become contaminated with moral and social corruption; they will no longer go to the mines, and then the enemy will dominate us." These remarks by the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad come after the police commander of Shiraz reported the arrest of 63 half-naked girls and boys at two "night parties" in the northeast of the city. On August 17 of this year, news agencies reported that the Basij forces arrested 60 boys and girls at a "night party" in a roadside restaurant in the Sarakhs forest park in Tehran and handed them over to judicial authorities. In this context, "The Mystery of Nojeh," "Eight Addicts Die Daily in Iran," Bahonar: Mousavi Rejected My Proposal to Lift House Arrest, Changing the Playing Field of 'Proxy Wars'; War Against People in the Streets of Iran, Paragraph One; The Responsibility of Opponents and the Possibility of Radicalizing Iranian Society, The Death of the Last Mossad Representative in Tehran Amid Iran's Crisis.