Bankruptcy of Rural Economy

The headline "Bankruptcy of Rural Economy" is the front page of the newspaper Tejarat, evaluating a recent report from the Research Center of the Parliament regarding "rural development indicators, income gap between urban and rural areas in Iran, developmental and infrastructural status of villages, and food security in rural households." According to the newspaper, "an analysis of the income ratio of urban to rural individuals from 2001 to 2014 shows that this ratio averaged 1.9, meaning that during the period under review, the income of each urban individual was approximately 90% higher than that of each rural individual. This ratio peaked between 2008 and 2010 and slightly improved after 2010, but after 2013, the income gap between citizens and rural residents gradually increased again, reaching over 87%." Mansour Bitareh, in his editorial titled "Oil Money Spent on Destroying Villages," writes: "Now, the evidence and statistics published by official institutions regarding the performance and policies of the two previous governments reveal very strange facts. Just a few days ago, the Statistical Center of Iran published data showing that between 2006 and 2013, about 88% of job opportunities created were effectively lost," and on Wednesday, "the Research Center of the Parliament published a report indicating the depth of another disaster." The editorial writer points out that "it has been stated until now that Ahmadinejad's government was able to reduce the gap between poverty and wealth or significantly improve the lives of villagers compared to previous governments," but the report from the Research Center shows that "since 2004, poverty and unemployment in villages have become more widespread, to the extent that the unemployment rate in the lowest income deciles in villages has reached about 70%, and low-income rural deciles allocate more than 50% of their income to food procurement and are in a state of severe food insecurity." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, has reported on the 13th of Khordad about "warnings regarding possible unruliness" during the anniversary ceremony of Ayatollah Khomeini's death, while simultaneously, the newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, has reported on a "targeted effort to discredit the faithful and Hezbollah movement." The newspaper Iran, referring to the passage of "seven years since the first disruption in the June 4 speech" of Hassan Khomeini, wrote: "Concerns about using this ceremony as an opportunity for disruption and unruly movements have become a recurring phenomenon," but "the remarks of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic last week in publicly opposing these movements have created hope that some self-proclaimed loyalist movements will refrain from their uproar and at least respect the sanctity of such ceremonies." This newspaper reminded that Ali Khamenei emphasized in his remarks on the third of Khordad this year that "I oppose uproar, commotion, and shouting! I see sometimes individuals opposing someone or a meeting; they start making noise, causing a commotion, and shouting; I do not agree with these actions; they are of no benefit." The newspaper Iran wrote that this explicit stance of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic is while "some news agencies and news websites have reported on a new agenda from the think tank and operational room of the alarmists under the pretext of confronting the self-constructed confrontation movement," and even "according to these reports, these movements intended to disrupt the ceremony and the speech of the President at the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini, as per their usual habit, to trigger the public's opposition to the President," but "awareness of the alarmists' designs and reporting them to senior officials of the system led to another warning from the leadership to these circles, so that he reiterated several times that he strongly opposes these actions and considers them to weaken the system." This government-affiliated newspaper, citing hearsay, also wrote that after the Supreme Leader's warning, "any attempt for such an action will face severe opposition from security agencies." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, while emphasizing what it called "targeted efforts to discredit the faithful and Hezbollah movement," wrote: "The Western-oriented movement has resorted to falsehood against the Hezbollah movement instead of demanding the ideals of Imam," and "the chain newspapers" are trying to "discredit the religious and Hezbollah movement of society under the pretext of holding the memorial ceremony for Imam and to demonize the religious movement of society." This newspaper also published parts of the recent remarks of Ali Khamenei about "disrupting speeches and uproar in meetings," but wrote: the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic "has expressed concern about the plots and directed movements of the opposing forces against the religious and Hezbollah forces and has shown dissatisfaction with the discrediting of the revolutionary movement in society, a trend that has been carried out by the reformist movement and other groups aligned with this faction over the years since the revolution." The newspaper Javan explicitly accused reformists and government supporters of "discrediting" and "demonizing" Hezbollah forces, stating: "The insistence of supporters of the eleventh government on discrediting revolutionaries and removing critics from the scene is so intense that more than a year after previous emphases from the leadership, he once again criticized the attacks against the faithful and revolutionary forces." This newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards emphasized that "the Western-oriented movement sees one of the most important barriers to achieving its goals as a barrier named the faithful and revolutionary forces, and for this reason, it must, under various pretexts and through fabrication or news-making, once again portray the revolutionary forces as a violent, harsh, and illogical face." The newspaper Shahrvand, in the front page of its Thursday issue, titled "Response to a Request for a Trial," wrote that Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the first deputy and spokesman of the judiciary, regarding the possibility of trial for Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, who have been under house arrest since February 14, 2011, said: "As long as the resolution of the Supreme National Security Council remains in effect, nothing can be done." According to this newspaper, the spokesman of the judiciary on Wednesday, on the sidelines of "the provincial trip of the head of this authority to Tehran province," in response to a question "regarding Mr. Karroubi's request for a trial, has the judiciary taken measures for holding a trial?" said: "As long as the resolution of the Supreme National Security Council remains in effect, nothing can be done. The essence of this issue is based on the resolution of the Supreme National Security Council, unless another decision is made." The newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz, close to the Stability Front, focused on another part of the spokesman's remarks regarding "parties" and wrote: "Mohseni Eje'i reported on the hidden coordination of a specific movement for disorder in Tehran and cities." This newspaper, referring to what it described as "an unusual party in Saadat Abad," wrote: "In early May, a 40,000-square-meter garden in the Saadat Abad area of Tehran hosted a strange party. The excessive noise at this party led to repeated calls to the police, and after the police arrived and observed the strange situation at the party, individuals were arrested, among whom were a significant number of notable figures, including actors, singers, and football players." Vatan-e Emrooz simultaneously quoted the spokesman of the judiciary as saying: "One of the individuals who was at the Saadat Abad party was also present at parties in Mashhad and Mazandaran, indicating that someone was guiding them, but the invited individuals were not from a specific class, and evidence suggests that illegal issues, including alcohol, were used at these parties, which is against Islamic law and law." The newspaper Ebtekar has also highlighted the spokesman's defense of the execution of the flogging sentence for 35 male and female students in Qazvin, quoting Mohseni Eje'i as saying: "The execution of the flogging sentence for several girls and boys in Qazvin was in accordance with the procedural law." According to this newspaper, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i related the holding of parties to some embassies and stated: "Some individuals were talking to individuals who had come from an embassy and were showing them off and making arrangements under the pretext of a party." The newspaper Arman has a report about potential rivals of Hassan Rouhani in the 2016 presidential elections, mentioning Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, as one of the probable candidates for the conservatives in the 2016 elections. This newspaper describes Qassem Soleimani as a "beloved general" and writes: "These days, some media are discussing the possibility of the beloved general's candidacy in 2016," and noting that "he is currently beloved by the people of Iraq, and his advisory presence in Iraq and Syria in suppressing Takfiris has become well-known among Iranian youth." Arman, however, also points to the potential obstacles to Qassem Soleimani's candidacy, stating that "the complexities of Iran's advisory presence in Iraq and Syria, which are currently evident in the suppression of ISIS in Iraq, may keep the general in a command role." This newspaper points out that "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is currently busy with provincial trips, and it is no secret that he is planning for the 2016 elections, either to run himself or to introduce someone," mentioning Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili, who were also rivals of Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 elections, as potential candidates for conservatives to compete with Hassan Rouhani in the 2016 presidential elections. The Arman newspaper simultaneously evaluates the situation in the reformist camp as different, stating: "Hassan Rouhani is currently the president supported by reformists and moderates; because his perspective on national interests and domestic and foreign conditions aligns with the views of reformists. Although some are trying to propose a project to move past Rouhani as the 2016 elections approach, Mohammad-Reza Khatami, a reformist political activist, recently announced the support of reformists for Rouhani in 2016, thwarting this project." The newspaper Jahan San'at has titled its front page "A Fateful Day for OPEC," stating: "Given the current state of global crude oil markets and the political situation in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's position in the 169th OPEC meeting will be very important and decisive, and two events are expected to occur in this meeting; negotiations on production ceilings and the election of a new president." Hussein Amiri Khamekani, an energy expert, emphasized in a note in this newspaper that "the best decision for OPEC for Iran in Thursday's meeting is to understand Iran's situation and accept Iran's right to increase its production to pre-sanction levels." The newspaper Shahrvand reported on "the damage to the prominent role of the second coal mine in Khuzestan" and wrote: "Bad news about cultural heritage is not a new topic, but the fact that the destruction of ancient artifacts occurs at the hands of restorers from the Cultural Heritage Organization is a new occurrence." The newspaper Etemad, in a report titled "A Fraction on Water," has reported on the possibility of the collapse of the "Wilayat Fraction" in the tenth parliament. Ehsan Badaghi, in this newspaper's report, emphasized that "the coalition for the presidency did not last," writing: "The 'Wilayat Fraction' of conservatives was only 'comprehensive' for a week in Baharestan. It emerged on Saturday with the pose of 'absolute majority' and by Wednesday, whispers of its disintegration began." According to this newspaper, "they only agreed on one project; the presidency of Larijani. A project that, with its completion, left no other connecting link for the members of the Wilayat Fraction, and the conservatives in parliament have just realized that sitting at the same table requires more than a coalition for Ali Larijani's presidency." The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh, while publishing a report about "bargaining for the price of the 40-hectare Evin," quoted Soghrat Jahangir, the head of the Prisons Organization, regarding the transfer of Evin and its assignment to the Tehran municipality for conversion into green space, stating: "It has been decided for now that experts from the Prisons Organization and the municipality will hold a joint meeting to determine the price of Evin and then see how the municipality will act in return for Evin and in what time frame it can fulfill its commitments." The headline of the newspaper Qanoon is about student protests against the final exams of the third year of high school. According to this newspaper, "the protests of students initially began due to the difficulty of the chemistry exam questions and then affected the rest of the subjects." Abdolrasool Emadi, the deputy minister of education and head of the Ministry's assessment center, rejected the difficulty of exam questions or any public complaints about the exams, stating: "Many of the protesters are seeking higher grades for a better chance of passing the university entrance exam, as this year, with the parliament's resolution, students' academic grades positively affect their university entrance admission."