Arrest of Activists Without Government Knowledge?

The newspaper Etemad welcomed Mohammad Ali Najafi's selection as the mayor of Tehran with a photo of him, stating: "The selected candidate for the fifth council for the mayoralty of Tehran promised the people that their future lives would be better than today." The newspaper noted that until Thursday, all mayoral candidates were "busy drafting programs and preparing to present them to the members of the fifth city council," but suddenly, before the final vote, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, Hossein Marashi, and Elaheh Kolayi announced their withdrawal from the final competition for mayor. Zahra Nejadbahram, one of the members of the newly elected city council, pointed out that "all candidates presented their programs with seriousness and interest. The type of questions and comments from council members indicated that the attendees had carefully studied the candidates' programs and were fully prepared for this meeting," and told Etemad: "The other three candidates also announced their withdrawal to create unity and cohesion in the selection of the reformist mayor of Tehran, so that the mayor would be decisively elected with 21 votes from the 21 present members as the undisputed choice of the reformists." The newspaper Bahar criticized the process of selecting Mohammad Ali Najafi as mayor of Tehran on its front page, stating: "The mayor came from behind closed doors." This newspaper wrote that the informal meeting of the 21 members of the fifth city council was held on Thursday "behind closed doors and without the presence of journalists," while it was supposed that "the final candidate for the mayoralty of Tehran would be chosen among three candidates: Elaheh Kolayi, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, and Mohammad Ali Najafi." However, Bahar referred to Mohammad Ali Najafi as an "outstanding" figure with a "clear and transparent background," stating: "For 66-year-old Najafi, who has been prominent and held various responsibilities from Salsabil Tehran to Behesht Street, the mayoralty of Tehran is not considered a launch pad for becoming more important and famous, and he has also stated that if he becomes mayor, he has no aspirations for the presidency and will not accept any executive responsibility after the mayoralty." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, sarcastically titled: "The heart of the clerks in paradise has improved," referring to reports about Mohammad Ali Najafi's heart disease that circulated in 2013 when he resigned from the presidency of the Cultural Heritage Organization during Rouhani's first government. This newspaper, however, wrote in a harsher tone: "The honor of separating waste in Tehran has reached Mohammad Ali Najafi, the beating heart of the clerks and the new mayor of the capital." Javan explicitly defended the twelve-year mayoralty of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, stating that the reason for using such a description for the new mayor's selection was the remarks of Eshaq Jahangiri during the electoral debates, writing: "Just recently, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president, shouted at Qalibaf during the electoral debates, saying: You still have not been able to present a plan for separating the city's waste at the source." The newspaper Iran, in its Saturday issue, while reviewing the "performance of the Ministry of Intelligence" in Rouhani's first government, quoted Azar Mansouri as saying: "Some parts of this ministry, especially in provinces and cities, do not coordinate with the minister, and pressures are being exerted on political and civil activists that require more follow-up and attention." This reformist figure emphasized that "in the upcoming period, the protection of citizens' rights by intelligence agencies should be pursued more vigorously," stating: "It is expected that in cases where citizens' rights are violated by parallel intelligence institutions, the government should act according to the law." Azar Mansouri referred to the arrest of activists without the government's or state intelligence agencies' knowledge, deeming this a violation of citizens' rights and stating: "The government has the opportunity in the next four years to address this challenge." The newspaper Iran quoted Azar Mansouri as saying: "Evaluating the performance of the Ministry of Intelligence in the eleventh government without considering its performance in the ninth and tenth governments is inaccurate," and "one of our serious challenges in the ninth and tenth governments was the securitization of the environment and political and social pressures that stemmed from a security perspective on the political issues of the country, which ultimately hindered the activities of parties and any form of social, political, and collective action." In such conditions, many activists abandoned their work, but "in the past four years, the security and intelligence apparatus of the government has tried to remove this security atmosphere from the legal political and social activities, which has led to some openings in these areas, to the extent that it can be said that we have approached the Ministry of Intelligence during the reform period." Ahmad Shirzad, a university professor and reformist political activist, also told the newspaper Iran: "The views of officials and experts in this ministry regarding the protection of scientific information need to be reconsidered. No one denies scientific espionage, but my feeling is that among the experts in the Ministry of Intelligence, there is an inaccurate understanding of the process of producing scientific information and its publication and acquisition, which can lead to incorrect treatment of research centers, universities, and researchers." Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of the National Security Commission of the tenth parliament, regarding the performance of the Minister of Intelligence in Rouhani's government, said: "Alavi tried to separate the security domain from other areas. If a report or inquiry is requested from this ministry, it only comments on its specialized area, namely security and intelligence, and does not enter other areas such as politics," and in these four years, "the Ministry of Intelligence was a ministry of the system, not the government." The newspaper Arman reported on the "uncontrolled housing and rental market," stating: "The recession in the housing market has caused landlords to no longer be able to profit from buying and selling property. Therefore, they have increased their pressure on tenants." This newspaper, citing a report from the Central Bank, wrote: "The rental price index in the spring of this year increased by 9.4 percent compared to spring 1995," but at the same time, "officials from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development report that tenants' selection power has increased with the increase in housing production." The newspaper Arman emphasized that "the greed of some landlords has exhausted tenants to the extent that the unreasonable increase in rent prices in large cities like Tehran raises the possibility of government intervention in the housing and rental market." The newspaper Shahrvand reported in a piece titled "The Soldier Left Behind from Karbala" about the capture and killing of a member of the armored brigade of Najaf affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards at the Syrian-Iraqi border, stating: "The publication of the image of Mohsen Hajji, who was martyred by ISIS, sparked widespread reactions on social media." The newspaper Qanoon, on its front page titled "Behind the Scenes of a Martyrdom," referred to "mistakes that take lives," writing: "One day Khan Tuman and today Tanf; a range of the best servants of God lose their lives for various reasons, and some only observe the beheading of the truth with blame-sharing. The global bully (Russia) pursuing its interests occasionally declares that it is unacceptable. Yes, it is unacceptable that Iranian youths, who have gone hundreds of kilometers beyond their borders to protect the security of their country, lose their lives due to the miscalculations of some politicians. It is unacceptable that Russia, wherever its interests dictate, aligns with the United States and abandons Iran." This newspaper also wrote: "More than all these pains, the foolishness of a self-superior current is the bane of our lives. A current that believes that martyrs and martyrdom are confined to their ideological domain, and anyone who does not pay attention to their political games is excluded from this field. Undoubtedly, they also bear some responsibility for the martyrdom of these dear ones, and their hands are stained with the deviation they create in minds." The newspaper Hamdeli, on its front page titled "Another Rumor About Connection with Mossad," wrote: "A few weeks after the news of the arrest of two mourners on charges of espionage for Israel was confirmed, and amidst the days when two national football players were banned from the national team for playing against an Israeli team, a member of parliament announced that several managers of a media outlet claiming to support the values of the system have been arrested on charges of connection with Mossad." This newspaper wrote that "the presence of Ehsan Haji Safi and Masoud Shojaei in the Greek football team Panionios against an Israeli club caused political reactions, leading to the suspension of these two players from the Iranian national football team," but at the same time, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, tweeted "about the arrest of several managers of a media outlet claiming values." The newspaper Hamdeli pointed out that Mahmoud Sadeghi said that "while following up on the arrest of managers of reformist Telegram channels, he became aware of the arrest of managers of a principlist media outlet," but "provides no further information about these arrests," writing: "Now, although the judicial and security agencies have not yet confirmed the arrest of these site managers, Sadeghi's tweet should be taken seriously for the same reason that a previous tweet from another representative about the arrest of two mourners gave this matter legitimacy to the extent that the spokesperson for the judiciary also confirmed it." Davood Azarnoush, head of the Basij Sports Organization, defended the suspension of Ehsan Haji Safi and Masoud Shojaei from the national football team in an interview with Etemad, stating: "First, these two players must officially apologize, and even if they have to, they should ask for forgiveness from their club and join the nation. If they do not apologize, it means they are standing against the system. Then the path for their forgiveness will be paved." This newspaper quoted the head of the Basij as saying: "When Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) says we do not recognize Israel at all, what does that mean? It means that there should be no connection with them. Our leader said that Israel will not exist in 25 years, and then we go to confront them (play against them)." The head of Basij sports also accused the athletes who supported Haji Safi and Shojaei of "ill-considered" action, saying: "In which country do you find a professional athlete who commits an offense and is supported by some? Supporting the footballers from Haji Safi and Shojaei was a disgraceful act. We expected these two players to apologize for the offense they committed so that the issue of their offense could be addressed more easily and they could be forgiven. Unfortunately, they did not apologize. However, it is not too late for an apology. You know where ISIS originated, which beheads people like martyr Hajji? Haji Safi and Shojaei must recognize this and know where the values are. We have a problem with America, but their athletes come to Iran, and we go to America. Why? Because the red lines that exist for Israel do not apply to America." 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