Arrest of the 'Commander' of the Embassy Attack: 'A Weak and Superficial Individual'

The newspaper Shargh reported in its front page on Tuesday about the reactions to the disqualification of candidates for the tenth term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: 'From Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Motahari to Ghorbanali Daryanajafabadi, reactions were expressed on Tuesday regarding the disqualifications by the supervisory boards.' The newspaper Etemad also reported with the headline 'Time for Negotiation' about 'the beginning of efforts by the heads of the two branches to reconsider the widespread disqualifications.' The newspaper Iran mentioned 'the negotiation between Rouhani and Larijani with the Guardian Council,' stating: 'The heads of the government and parliament are negotiating with the Guardian Council to restore the rights of the disqualified candidates for the upcoming elections.' Reza Salehi Amiri, advisor to Hassan Rouhani and head of the National Library and Archives Organization, also wrote in a note in the newspaper Iran titled 'The Miracle of Dialogue': 'When all factions and tendencies believe that the best solution to this political challenge and the restoration of the rights of candidates is through dialogue and negotiation based on law, it is more appropriate to create a dialogue space between candidates and the Guardian Council instead of dry administrative correspondence and unfamiliar messages, creating an opportunity for national dialogue and resolving misunderstandings, and in this process, the unapproved candidates will either convince the Guardian Council to approve them or will be convinced by the Guardian Council's explanations regarding their disqualification.' The newspaper Kayhan emphasized in its Tuesday issue that 'the right of the people means preventing the entry of unqualified individuals' into the parliament, accusing reformists of 'exploiting' Ali Khamenei's remarks about 'the people's rights in elections,' stating that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic 'has repeatedly explained this term in his recent speeches and said that 'preventing the entry of unqualified individuals into the parliament and other institutions is one of the manifestations of the people's rights.' A day after the remarks of the Tehran prosecutor about the arrest of several perpetrators of the attack on the Saudi embassy, Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, a member of the National Security Commission of the Ninth Parliament, told the newspaper Shahrvand: 'The commander of the attack on the Saudi embassy,' who has a history of extremist actions in some provinces and organized the attack on the embassy from 'abroad,' was arrested upon his arrival in Iran. The newspaper Jahan San'at reported that on Tuesday 'the Iran Khodro industrial group and Daimler, owner of several major automotive brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes AMG, and Smart, signed a memorandum of understanding to begin their strategic cooperation to create two joint companies.' The newspaper Ebtekar described 'Iran's return to global markets' as one of the achievements of the implementation of the JCPOA. This newspaper wrote: 'An increase of 500,000 barrels in oil production, removal from the Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo sanctions list, re-connection of banks to the global interbank financial communication community, return of blocked funds and deposits for military weapon purchases,' as well as the entry of Airbus with 114 passenger aircraft and the contract of Mercedes with domestic automakers' are among the effects of the implementation of the JCPOA. The newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to Yukiya Amano, stating: 'Two days after the implementation day of the JCPOA and the operationalization of Iran's commitments and the 1+5, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency came to Tehran to discuss with senior Iranian officials and said: 'Iran will be an active member in the peaceful nuclear industry.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan published the statements of Mohammad Baqer Nobakht regarding the budget bill for the year 95, stating: 'Fuel prices will not increase,' and also 'the targeting of subsidies has been set at 48 trillion tomans like in 94, and the amount of subsidy remains at 45,500 tomans,' and of course 'the removal of subsidies for the wealthy will continue next year.' 'Increasing the minimum pension from 750,000 tomans to one million tomans' is another feature of this bill. The newspaper Shahrvand reported that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, during his speech at the 21st Razavi Medical Research Festival, stated: 'Officials have announced that in the years 91 and 92, 150,000 of our essential brains left the country, and we have no news of whether they have returned or not.' Reactions to the disqualifications, from Hashemi Rafsanjani to Daryanajafabadi. The newspaper Shargh reported in its front page on Tuesday about the reactions to the disqualification of candidates for the tenth term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: 'From Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Motahari to Ghorbanali Daryanajafabadi, reactions were expressed on Tuesday regarding the disqualifications by the supervisory boards.' According to this newspaper, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 'again spoke about the people's rights,' and it was written on the Instagram page of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council: 'Some disqualifications are an infringement on the people's rights. If someone politically and for personal reasons deprives people of voting for someone by disqualifying them, according to the leader's fatwa, they have infringed upon the people's rights.' The newspaper Shargh noted that Ghorbanali Daryanajafabadi also 'expressed surprise at the lack of qualifications,' while simultaneously reporting that 'Ali Larijani is also set to meet with members of the Guardian Council.' This newspaper mentioned that 'Ali Motahari also quoted his martyr father in defense of the freedom of choice and condemned forced expediency,' quoting Ghorbanali Daryanajafabadi as saying: 'The use of the term lack of qualifications means disqualification. These actions are playing with the dignity of the people. The issue of determining the subject is raised, and officials must have the power to determine the subject, and if there is a need for time, they should state it so that at least the 40% statistic of lack of qualifications is reduced to 20%. This will reduce the psychological pressure on candidates, clergy, families of candidates, election implementers, supporters of candidates, and supervisory bodies.' Ghorbanali Daryanajafabadi emphasized that 'the Guardian Council and the Central Supervisory Board should promptly reconsider the disqualifications and lack of qualifications, especially to determine their status.' He said: 'Those who have not been qualified should be filtered so that the final result is clear, and the status of unqualified candidates is determined. Some of them may be approved; in this case, both the burden will be lifted from the Guardian Council and we will not give the enemy an excuse.' 'Time for Negotiation.' The newspaper Etemad in its front page on Tuesday with the title 'Time for Negotiation' reported about 'the beginning of efforts by the heads of the two branches to reconsider the widespread disqualifications.' This newspaper named Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic, and Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, as the two heads of branches who now have 'twenty days of opportunity' to negotiate, and these negotiations 'could create competition for an election that now has an opportunity only for one group,' as '99% of reformists have been disqualified based on current results.' Etemad pointed out that 'the two heads of branches have several tactics ahead, from division of labor to cooperation,' writing that Hassan Rouhani 'says that as President, he will use all his powers in this regard,' but 'the point is that if Hassan Rouhani wants to use the powers that the law has provided for him, he does not have much leeway, and it can be said that he cannot have a legal confrontation with the Guardian Council, but if informal negotiations are in play, the conditions may be somewhat different.' Mahshid Setoudeh in a report for the newspaper Etemad about Hassan Rouhani's negotiation method with the Guardian Council also wrote: 'The negotiations that have now become somewhat public began a year ago by the number one man of Hassan Rouhani in domestic politics. For months, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, has been negotiating and discussing with the Guardian Council on this matter. According to what Rahmani Fazli announced four months ago, there have been ongoing meetings with Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, on this matter. However, the output of the qualifications review from the supervisory boards has even shocked the Ministry of Interior itself,' and 'so far, the year-long negotiations of the Ministry of Interior with the Guardian Council have not been fruitful.' This newspaper also reported that Elham Aminzadeh, the legal deputy of Hassan Rouhani, announced on Tuesday: 'The President is negotiating with the Guardian Council regarding the disqualifications of candidates for the tenth term of Parliament to restore the dignity of those disqualified if a mistake has occurred.' Etemad noted that 'initial news of the qualifications review indicates that Larijani's allies in the electoral districts have not been disqualified much,' quoting Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, as saying: 'The Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly will request the Guardian Council members to form a working group to hear the objections of representatives.' The newspaper Etemad, while comparing the conditions of Ali Larijani and his supporting representatives in the previous parliamentary elections, wrote: 'Larijani's negotiations last time seemed to be with an entity higher than the Guardian Council,' and this time 'it is also possible that Larijani may repeat the successful experience he had regarding the disqualified representatives, but the conditions are somewhat harder for other candidates close to him who could not pass the Guardian Council filter. It is unclear how much Ali Larijani needs to intervene in this matter and how much he will spend his tickets in the arena of other candidates, which may include reformists.' Kayhan: 'The people's rights mean preventing the entry of unqualified individuals' into the parliament. The newspaper Kayhan in its Tuesday issue emphasized that 'the people's rights mean preventing the entry of unqualified individuals' into the parliament, accusing reformists of 'exploiting' Ali Khamenei's remarks about 'the people's rights in elections,' stating that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic 'has repeatedly explained this term in his recent speeches and said that 'preventing the entry of unqualified individuals into the parliament and other institutions is one of the manifestations of the people's rights.' This newspaper described critics of the widespread disqualifications of candidates for the tenth term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly as 'extremists' and wrote: 'The insistence of the reformist claimants to confront the Guardian Council and to criticize and attack this legal institution is while the history of the turbulent revolution shows that many personalities and groups have walked this path over the past four decades, which has faced a decisive reaction from the Imam and the Supreme Leader.' Kayhan also referred to the fate of the representatives of the sixth parliament and their sit-in and protest against the Guardian Council, mentioning the early years after the revolution and the fate of Abolhassan Banisadr, the then President, stating that Ayatollah Khomeini 'referred to those who opposed the vote of this council as corrupt on earth.' This newspaper also quoted Zahra Tabibzadeh Nouri, a principlist member of parliament, stating: 'Those attacking the Guardian Council are the creators of the 78 and 88 seditions' and 'the foot soldiers of America and the completers of the infiltration project.' Kayhan, referring to the approval of 4,720 candidates out of 12,046 registered candidates for the parliamentary elections, quoted Zahra Tabibzadeh Nouri as saying: 'In this election, we witnessed a significant increase in the registration of candidates, which naturally led to some candidates being disqualified by the Guardian Council for reasons such as having criminal convictions, security issues, and unethical backgrounds, which is legal and logical.' Arrest of the 'Commander' of the Attack on the Embassy. A day after the remarks of the Tehran prosecutor about the arrest of several perpetrators of the attack on the Saudi embassy, Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, a member of the National Security Commission of the Ninth Parliament, told the newspaper Shahrvand: 'The commander of the attack on the Saudi embassy,' who has a history of extremist actions in some provinces and organized the attack on the embassy from 'abroad,' was arrested upon his arrival in Iran. This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament referred to a recent meeting of this commission regarding the investigation of the incident of the attack on the Saudi embassy, describing the attackers of the Riyadh embassy in Tehran as self-styled forces with a history of extremist actions. Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani told the newspaper Shahrvand: 'The overall conclusion reached in this meeting was that unfortunately an individual with a negative history has been able to organize and structure some forces who were not familiar with him.' This parliament member did not disclose the name and identity of the 'commander' of the attack on the Saudi embassy but stated: 'This person has previously carried out similar actions and has had radical actions in various cities, and there are records of him in such matters. In this incident, they were able to gather and organize a group and suddenly attack the embassy building after 10:30 PM, and in contrast to the restraint and negligence shown by the police forces, they set the embassy on fire.' This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly also stated that 'there has been a severe crackdown on these individuals, and many of them have been arrested, and the person who was actually the main commander and was giving orders to his forces from abroad was arrested as soon as he entered the country and is currently on trial.' Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani emphasized that the 'commander' of the attack on the Saudi embassy 'was a very superficial individual with a weak foundation in terms of faith and belief and has carried out these actions.' He stated: 'While he has shown abnormalities in the past, his record as an extremist is available.' This parliament member stated that the attack on the Saudi embassy 'was not a spontaneous event but was completely organized. However, regarding their affiliation with the English Shiite current, I must say that this is not correct, and there is no connection between these self-styled elements and this current. Nevertheless, the judiciary must take serious action regarding this case.