Attack by 'Kayhan' and 'Javan' on Newly Established Reformist Party

The holding of the 'First Congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran' received widespread coverage in newspapers on Saturday. Newspapers such as Shargh, Etemad, Ebtekar, Aftab Yazd, Jahan San'at, Iran, Rouzan, Farhikhtegan, Qanoon, and Arman published reports on the congress with headlines like 'Reformist Unity', 'Return of Reformists', 'Unity of Reformists with the Nation', and 'Participation Maneuver in National Unity' on their front pages. Kayhan newspaper also launched a severe attack on the newly established 'United Nation of Islamic Iran' in its front page, stating: 'The traitors of the 2009 sedition have come with a new mask.' The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, referred to this party as 'Participation Party 2' and emphasized that 'Participation Party 2 is the same as Participation Party 1', writing that 'past experiences show that we should not wait for the next sedition.' The Shahrevand newspaper reported on the 'simultaneous reopening of the embassies of Iran and the UK', stating that the reopening of the UK embassy 'will take place on Sunday coinciding with Philip Hammond's visit to Tehran.' This newspaper assessed the reopening of the UK embassy in Tehran as 'the beginning of a new era of relations', noting that 'with the coming to power of Hassan Rouhani's government in 2013, there were murmurs about reopening the UK embassy in Tehran, but it took two years for these murmurs to turn into credible news.' Newspapers close to conservatives, including Javan, Vatan-e-Emruz, Kayhan, and Quds criticized the reopening of the UK embassy in Tehran with different headlines. Quds newspaper described the reopening of the embassy in a report about the UK Foreign Secretary's visit to Tehran as 'a suitcase full of deceit', while Javan referred to the reopening of the UK embassy as 'returning to the den through the window', but emphasized that 'the reopening of the London embassy in Iran, in addition to expanding political relations with Tehran, also has a regional aspect related to the return of British military forces to the Persian Gulf.' Vatan-e-Emruz, a newspaper close to the Steadfast Front, headlined 'The Return of the British', stating: 'The divisive forces have come.' Resalat newspaper reported on its front page about Ahmad Tavakoli's reaction to Hassan Rouhani's critical remarks regarding the Guardian Council's oversight methods, quoting this conservative member of the ninth parliament as saying: 'The President's position is incorrect; the oversight of the Guardian Council is evaluative.' Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper reported on its front page about 'a tax microscope on accounts', stating that with the issuance of the law amending direct tax laws by Hassan Rouhani, from now on 'banks and financial and credit institutions' and several other ministries and institutions will provide 'account information' to the tax organization. Ali Askari, the head of the tax organization, emphasized in an interview with Iran newspaper that 'we will close the loophole for tax evasion.' The head of the tax organization confirmed that 'the Central Bank provides individuals' and companies' information to the tax organization' and stated: 'Every individual who engages in economic activity must receive an economic identification number', and even 'according to the law, anyone without an economic number is considered a criminal.' Mohsen Ghavrian, a conservative cleric, stated in an interview with Arman newspaper that 'we will witness a shift in the Assembly of Experts elections.' Arman newspaper also reported, quoting Ali Rabiei, Minister of Labor, Cooperatives, and Social Welfare, that in Iran 'one person becomes unemployed every five minutes.' Qanoon newspaper reported on 'another plot against the role of the world', emphasizing that 'the Isfahan metro still claims the heritage of Iranians', stating that the second line of the Isfahan metro, which 'is supposed to connect eastern Isfahan to the west of this metropolis, will pass under a large part of the historical fabric of the city.' The first congress of the large reformist party; 'Reformist Unity' Shargh newspaper, in its front page on Saturday, referred to the holding of the 'Congress of the Large Reformist Party', describing it as 'Reformist Unity' and wrote: 'The first congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran was held on Friday at the venue of the Summit Hall. This congress heralded the end of the period of reformists' hiatus and provided an opportunity for all the great figures of the reform movement to be framed together again. A frame that, in the final hours of the congress, became more reminiscent of the images from not-so-distant years with the joining of a special guest to the reformists.' This newspaper emphasized that 'more important than the presence of well-known figures and special guests at the ceremony was its outcome', writing: 'At eight o'clock on Friday morning, perhaps the first question of anyone entering the summit hall was who would be the secretary-general. Given the conditions created for prominent figures, there were not many choices for party members. In initial speculations, figures such as Hossein Kashafi and Ali Shakouri Rad were mentioned as the main candidates, and the presence of influential individuals from major reformist parties among the attendees at the congress sparked speculation about the composition of the central council from the early minutes of the morning.' Shargh reported that 'out of nearly one hundred candidates for membership in this thirty-member council, in the initial elections, 22 were elected, with the highest votes going to Azar Mansouri, who received 339 out of 413 votes. Following her were Ali Tajernia, Hadi Khaniki, Mohammad Kianoush Rad, Hamid Reza Jalai-Pour, Hossein Kashafi, Valiollah Shoja-Pourian, Ali Shakouri Rad, Fatemeh Rakei, Gholamreza Ansari, Jalal Jalali-Zadeh, Morteza Moballegh, Emadeddin Katami, Ashraf Boroujerdi, Mostafa Derayati, Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseini, Shamseddin Wahabi, Ali Soufi, Reza Bavafa, Hossein Abadi, Hossein Naqashi, and Ali Mohammad Haderi, who were elected to the central council with a majority of votes.' This newspaper also wrote that 'after this stage and with the announcement of the next 16 candidates, elections were held to determine the remaining eight members of the central council, with Zahra Aghajari, Hassan Mousavi-Nejad, Nasim Chalaki, Mohammad Ali Fazeli-Kia, Amir Aryazand, Mehdi Farahani, Ali Mohammad Mozaffari, and Hojjat Sharifi also joining the central council in this stage.' Shargh also described 'the presence of five women and a range of youth in the first central council' of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran as 'noteworthy features' of the composition of this party's central council; according to this report, the central council of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran introduced Azar Mansouri and Ali Shakouri Rad as candidates for the position of secretary-general to the general assembly, but 'before the voting began, Azar Mansouri announced that she would vote for Ali Shakouri Rad, directing her votes toward Shakouri Rad's basket, and thus Shakouri Rad was introduced as the first secretary-general of the party with a decisive majority of votes.' Shargh, referring to the broadcast of 'a message from [Mohammad Khatami], the President of the Reform Government', published parts of the opening statement of the congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran, which was read by Ali Shakouri Rad, and noted that in this statement, the previous government was referred to as a period characterized by 'mismanagement, populism, lawlessness, favoritism, corruption, and the loss of the material and spiritual assets of the country, resulting from the dominance of those who claimed to revive the slogans of the revolution but inflicted the most harm on the revolution and caused unprecedented pressures on the people.' This statement also referred to 'June 2013 as the shining of a star' and emphasized that 'the great capacities hidden among the social classes of this country once again created miracles, and the wisdom and foresight of the Supreme Leader and the selflessness of reformists led to the emergence of a new government with reformist and moderate slogans.' In a section of this statement, referring to the 'message' of the Supreme Leader in the 2013 elections, which stated that 'those who care for the Islamic Republic should vote for the sake of their country', it was emphasized: 'Today is the time to create an atmosphere so that those who trusted the Supreme Leader's words and entered this path can see the results of their trust.' Ebtekar newspaper referred to the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran as 'a party for public participation', implicitly alluding to its similarity to the 'Participation Party', which has not been allowed to operate since 2009. Ebtekar pointed out the pressure to prevent the issuance of a license for this party, referencing attacks that 'began months before the formation of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran' by 'conservative media', stating: 'These media attempted to convey that the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran is essentially a reconstruction of the Participation Party, which was dissolved after the events of the 2009 elections', trying to 'prevent the formation of the new reformist party, but they 'failed', and ultimately the first nationwide congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran was held.' Ebtekar particularly highlighted the composition of the guests at this party's congress, stating: 'Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy of Hassan Rouhani for Women and Family Affairs, Mostafa Moien, Mohammad Reza Khatami, Abdul Vahid Mousavi Lari, Mohammad Reza Aref, Zahra Eshraqi, Azar Mansouri, Fatemeh Rakei, Habibollah Peyman, Emadeddin Baki, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, Mohammad Gouchani, Hossein Kamali, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Ebrahim Yazdi, Abdollah Nouri, Feyzollah Arab-Sorkhi, Hadi Khaniki, Lotfollah Mithami, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Mohsen Mir-Damadi, and other prominent figures were present at the first nationwide congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran.' The harsh attack by 'Kayhan' and 'Javan' on the newly established reformist party; 'We should not wait for the next sedition' The Kayhan newspaper, published under the supervision of the representative of the Supreme Leader, severely attacked the newly established Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran in its front page on Saturday, referring to the congress of this party and stating: 'The traitors of the 2009 sedition have come with a new mask.' This newspaper labeled the guests and members of the first congress of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran as 'the agents of sedition' and wrote: 'On Friday, the first congress of the so-called United Nation Party was held with the presence of individuals involved in the 2009 sedition and also members of the dissolved Participation Party. A glance at some of the attendees at this meeting clearly shows that the seditionist and dissolved Participation Party has once again begun its work for another sedition with a new mask.' Kayhan named Abdul Vahid Mousavi Lari, Mohammad Reza Aref, Abdollah Nouri, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, Mohammad Reza Khatami, Hossein Kashafi, Valiollah Shoja-Pourian, Gholamreza Ansari, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Azar Mansouri, Hadi Khaniki, Mohammad Reza Khabaz, Mostafa Moien, Fayyaz Zahed, Emadeddin Baki, Fatemeh Rakei, Habibollah Peyman, Hossein Kamali, Lotfollah Mithami, Zahra Eshraqi, Arab-Sorkhi, Javad Etefat, Faraj Kamijani, and Shahindokht Molaverdi, Deputy of Hassan Rouhani, as those present at this ceremony and wrote: 'A glance at the names of those present at the first congress of the so-called United Nation Party shows that the majority of attendees were individuals involved in the 2009 sedition and even anti-revolutionary movements of the 1980s and 1990s, which proves the reality that the traitors of the 2009 sedition have come to the arena once again with a new mask.' This newspaper described the Participation Party as 'a dissolved and anti-revolutionary party' and wrote: 'The presence of central members of the dissolved and anti-revolutionary Participation Party in the new party raises the question of whether Participation wants to bypass the law and continue its activities under a new name?' Kayhan also referred to the publication of newspapers close to reformists after repeated closures in the second half of the 1990s, stating: 'The history of chain publications shows that reformists have always continued their activities in another publication under a different name after the closure of one of their illegal publications, and apparently this method has also been extended and implemented regarding parties and groups.' The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also referred to the 'Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran' as 'Participation Party 2' in its editorial on Saturday, emphasizing that 'Participation Party 2 is the same as Participation Party 1', writing that 'the operational scenario on Friday showed that the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran is the same as the Participation Party, and other than promoting burnt-out figures from organizational membership to the rank of spiritual father, no other change has occurred.' Abdullah Ghanji, the editor-in-chief of Javan newspaper, emphasized that the spirit governing the session on Friday was 'a blend of obstinacy against the establishment and enlightenment in attitude and behavior', writing: 'This deliberate and conscious approach was executed, and the composition of Party Number 2 of Participation was a blend of former members, non-intellectual reformists, and newly arrived youth who will undoubtedly be sacrificed like Saeed Shariati and Shahabeddin Tabatabai in the historical-behavioral context of the party.' The Javan newspaper emphasized that the statute of the Party of the United Nation of Islamic Iran 'does not mention the name of the Supreme Leader to showcase its intellectual prestige to the West' and promised to expose members of this party, writing: 'There are heaps of materials against political and social Islam, the Supreme Leader's authority, and the general policies of the system from some members of the central council of this party, which Javan newspaper will gradually begin to publish.' This newspaper also criticized Hassan Rouhani for allowing the establishment of a new party for reformists, referring to the President of the Islamic Republic as someone who 'is also confused between enlightenment and political maneuvering'. The editorial writer of Javan addressed Hassan Rouhani, stating: 'You may take pride today that thanks to your government a party has sprouted, but you are more aware than the writer of this deviation. Only your intellectual prestige and your non-native measurement indicators have generated this self-censorship,' but you 'will soon pass beyond today's honeymoon.'