Are Iranians Racist or Not?

The title of Ali Ayubi's report in the Shargh newspaper covers the conference 'Racism in Iranian Culture' held on Friday at the Baharan Institute, attended by Sadegh Zibakalam and Mohammad Javad Haqshenas. According to the newspaper, Zibakalam stated at the conference: 'I have come to the conclusion that we are racist. First, we see ourselves as superior to others, which is reflected in the structure of our official system and the prevailing attitude among the people. There is also hatred towards other ethnicities and nationalities, particularly the Arabs and Afghans. Another characteristic is the significant place we attribute to Iran in history and our suspicious view of other countries.' Shargh also reported that Mohammad Javad Haqshenas described Zibakalam's remarks as 'self-harm' and stated: 'One of our problems is management issues, such as in Isfahan and Mashhad where Afghans are not allowed to go to recreational centers. This cannot be attributed to all Iranians, and we cannot label all Iranians as racists.' Mahmoud Javad Haqshenas pointed out that 'Mr. Zibakalam says Afghans do not have insurance,' adding: 'Well, 11 million Iranians also do not have insurance. We should not be more concerned than necessary and consider bureaucratic administrative issues in Iran as a sign of racism.' The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported on Saturday that Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of the Basij, severely criticized the government of Hassan Rouhani, saying: 'We are spineless regarding economic issues, while we react to the slightest political matter, such as oil contracts or the purchase of Boeing airplanes by the government, all of which are disasters, yet our honor does not boil.' The same newspaper's front page titled 'Oil Ministry Overthrown in the Generals' Pit' reported that retirees brought by Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister, are now 'illegal' in the ministry, and 'hundreds of oil managers must be dismissed to avoid breaking the law.' Javan stated that according to the amendment to Article 95 of the Civil Service Management Law, which was passed in the ninth parliament and means 'prohibition of employing retirees in government agencies,' the deadline for retirees in the Ministry of Oil has also expired. Kayhan, also titled 'The People Thirst for Fighting Corruption, Judiciary Must Step In,' wrote: 'The corruption of greedy managers has endangered the security and trust of the people thousands of times more than any bullying, and we must not tolerate them.' This newspaper, published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, simultaneously accused Ali Rastgar, the resigned and arrested CEO of Bank Mellat, of spending over 17 million tomans for just two nights in a hotel and nearly 600,000 tomans for some meals for himself and his deputy. Kayhan noted that the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards arrested this state manager, who is said to have close ties with Hossein Fereydoun, the President's brother, by order of the judicial authority on charges of extensive involvement in an organized banking corruption ring. The Hamdeli newspaper, close to reformists, dedicated its front page to 'Security Rumor-Mongering.' This newspaper wrote that after the statements of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards about the arrest of the former CEO of Bank Mellat, 'some politicians and aligned media explicitly demanded that security institutions deal with Hossein Fereydoun, the President's brother, including Mohammad Javad Karimi Qodosi, a well-known opponent of the President and the government of Hope and Prudence, who immediately acted and said: 'We ask the judiciary and security apparatus to quickly pursue Mr. Fereydoun's case.' Hamdeli also referred to 'rumors' about the possible arrest of Safdar Hosseini, the resigned head of the National Development Fund of Iran, and rejected it, but wrote: 'These calculated and deliberate orientations by some opponents of the government indicate that they are trying to entangle the institutions of the system with their factional demands and wishes.' The newspapers Shargh and Etemad published a 'second edition' to cover the Munich armed attack. Shargh's front page titled 'Fear in the Heart of Germany' wrote: 'Germans had not yet recovered from the shock of a refugee stabbing five people on a train in Bavaria last Monday when a shooting in a shopping center in Munich again placed the country in a security situation.' The Etemad newspaper also reported with the headline 'The New Station of Terror: Munich,' stating: 'Armed individuals shot at people in the Olympia shopping center in Munich.' Sara Masoumi, in Etemad's report, noted that 'initial reports indicate 3 to 6 fatalities,' writing: 'These days, hearing sirens in various European cities is becoming normal. Cities that were once considered the safest areas in the world now see people having to venture out even for shopping with fear and trembling. Last Friday, the city of Munich was added to the list of cities where terrorists managed to carry out armed operations, leaving dozens dead and wounded.' Etemad simultaneously reported on its front page about the 'Organization of Ahmadinejad's People,' stating: 'While the eleventh government is preoccupied and political parties are inactive, Ahmadinejad's managers are preparing political camps.' The Arman newspaper dedicated its front page to Shahram Jazayeri, who was recently released after 13 years in prison and is spending his retirement at the age of 44 in one of the villas around Tehran, and quoted him as saying: 'If all Ahmadinejad's people are reformists, I proudly admit to being corrupt' and 'I thank Kayhan for making me famous.' Morteza Alviri, a reformist figure, in an interview with Etemad newspaper referred to the 'Hope List,' the list supported by reformists in the tenth parliamentary elections, as a 'linking list' and said: 'It was natural that in the 30-person list, 5 or 6 non-reformists would be included, and now in the tenth parliament, we should not question the entire list because of one, two, or three individuals.' The Farhikhtegan newspaper, while publishing a report about 'the escalating dispute over concerts,' wrote: 'The government's directive to the Ministry of Interior to revoke the police's authority to issue permits for holding concerts has not yet been implemented and has faced obstacles,' and Masoud Jazayeri, deputy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, emphasized in a directive to the police commander that 'the police's response to irregularities at concerts should be pursued seriously.' According to this newspaper, after the issuance of this directive by the government, Saeed Montazeralmahdi, the police spokesman, emphasized that 'there is no change in the police's mission regarding the holding of concerts,' stating that the police's missions in this area will continue as before, and Majid Mirahmadi, head of the monitoring and evaluation team of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, also announced that 'the government's directive regarding not consulting the police about holding concerts does not negate the police's missions.' The Ebtikar newspaper reported with the headline 'The Hottest Day of Mordad' that 'on Friday, the first of Mordad, Tehran recorded 42 degrees, Khuzestan 50 degrees, and Shush, Shushtar, and Abadan exceeded 50 degrees, breaking the heat record for this year, making the first of Mordad the hottest day of the year so far.' '250,000 Iranians infected with hepatitis C' is the front page headline of the Saturday edition of the Shahrvand newspaper. This newspaper quoted Mohammad Mehdi Goya, head of the Infectious Diseases Management Center of the Ministry of Health, stating: 'Currently, there are between 200,000 to 250,000 chronic hepatitis C patients in the country, and many of these patients are unaware of their illness; it can be said that in Iran and the world, over 90% are unaware of their disease.' Ehsan Rostamipour in a report for Shahrvand reported on 'the sale of historical tiles from Tehran at antique dealers' stalls,' writing: 'The historical tiles that have been stolen in Tehran have made their way to the stalls of antique dealers at the Friday market.' The Arman newspaper also reported on its front page about 'the arrest of 40 individuals' during the 'discovery of a terrorist tunnel,' quoting Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, stating: 'In investigations two nights ago in the eastern country, we encountered a 40-meter tunnel with a depth of 20 meters that intended to carry out explosions and operations underground,' and 'in this regard, 40 individuals have been arrested.' The Hamdeli newspaper published a portrait of Ahmad Shamlou on the occasion of the sixteenth anniversary of the death of this renowned poet on its front page.