Change in Parliament Atmosphere Favoring Lausanne Agreement

The newspapers Etemad and Qanoon have focused on the reactions to Mohammad Javad Zarif's presence in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Etemad dedicated the front page of its Monday issue to the Foreign Minister's presence in the commission, stating that on Sunday, 'the Lausanne statement was the focus of the open session, factions, and the National Security Commission of the Parliament.' Qanoon reported on its front page on April 6 that 'the Parliament's harshness towards Zarif' was evident, noting that 'the parliamentarians did not observe the custom of hospitality and sparked a nuclear controversy during a meeting with the head of Iran's diplomatic apparatus.' Iran newspaper, while publishing a report on the 'heated nuclear session in the National Security Commission with Zarif's presence,' referred to new details regarding the verbal clash between Javad Karimi Qodusi and Mohammad Javad Zarif. According to Ahmad Shohani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, 'Karimi Qodusi claimed in his question, which was mixed with his critical view of the nuclear negotiations, that the Supreme Leader had given Zarif a warning in a meeting, and the Foreign Minister had mentioned his resignation, with the Leader suggesting he should resign.' Kayhan newspaper emphasized in its Monday headline that 'inspections of Iran's military sites are part of the Lausanne agreement,' stating that 'the Lausanne agreement allows inspectors from the agency to inspect Iran's military sites.' Hossein Shariatmadari, in his editorial titled '5,000 is greater than 19,000,' reiterated his criticism of the Lausanne nuclear agreement, writing that 'the eleventh government received 19,000 centrifuges and during the Lausanne agreement, removed 14,000 of them from the enrichment cycle.' The editorial writer advised Hassan Rouhani's government to 'refrain from exaggerated and undocumented praise of the Lausanne agreement,' which this newspaper claims 'is clearly unrealistic,' and 'if the Lausanne agreement does not align with national interests, now that there is still time and not all opportunities have been lost, the government and negotiating team should reconsider their decision.' Shargh newspaper reported on the 'release of the attackers on Ali Motahari' and quoted Mostafa Torkhamdani, the lawyer of this parliament member, stating: 'I recently visited the Shiraz prosecutor's office and found out that those arrested in connection with this case were released after being informed of the charges by the Revolutionary Court with bail and guarantees.' Khorasan North newspaper reported on its Monday front page, quoting Mohammad Langari, the director of education in this province, that due to the lack of suitable educational space, 'some students in Raz and Jargalan are studying in very inappropriate places like stables.' Aftab Yazd newspaper reported that Mehrdad Lahouti, the spokesman for the Parliament's Civil Commission, announced that 'the engine installed on the crashed Antonov plane was a helicopter engine.' Shahre Vahdat newspaper published a design of 'Azadi Tower' in Tehran on its front page, reporting that 'despite billions of tomans spent, Azadi Tower still leaks.' This newspaper wrote that during Nowruz 1394, 'like every year for the past 15 years, water leaked from the ceilings and walls of Azadi Tower so much that the managers of this complex placed trash cans and buckets under the ceiling to collect the water leaking from above in front of foreign and domestic tourists.' Khorasan dedicated its daily file to the issue of environmental destruction in Iran, emphasizing that 'the breath of the environment is numbered,' reporting that 'Iran ranks tenth in environmental destruction.' According to this newspaper, 'between 2008 and 2012, Iran's environmental ranking fell by 36 places,' while 'over the past 45 years, about 35 percent of the total forest cover has been destroyed,' and in addition, 'two-thirds of Iran's soil is rapidly turning into desert.' Khorasan quoted an assistant professor from the Faculty of Environment stating: 'We still do not have an environmental status report, while we signed a contract in 1993 to prepare a report on this matter. We do not have enough information on the status of resources. We have problems in watershed management, forests, and pastures,' and all of this is occurring while 'studies show that indirect factors such as water and climate, population growth, and economic factors are effective in land destruction. Land use change is one of the factors of environmental destruction. Rural migration to cities, population growth in cities, and the conversion of villages into cities and the construction of roads and communication routes are effective factors in environmental destruction.' The harshness of the hardliners towards Zarif; the change in the Parliament's atmosphere in favor of the Lausanne agreement. Etemad and Qanoon newspapers have focused on the reactions to Mohammad Javad Zarif's presence in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament. Etemad dedicated the front page of its issue to Zarif's presence in the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, stating that on Sunday, 'the Lausanne statement was the focus of the open session, factions, and the National Security Commission of the Parliament.' Ehsan Badaghi, a parliamentary reporter for Etemad, emphasized that 'the situation seems to have changed; the voices of criticism of the nuclear team have not subsided in Parliament, but the dominant voice in Parliament is something else,' reporting that 'the situation in Baharestan is more favorable for the negotiating team than after the Geneva agreement,' and this was evident on Sunday from the speeches made; where all five speakers in the open session took a supportive line towards the negotiations in their speeches. Etemad pointed out that before the open session of Parliament on Sunday, Ali Larijani also expressed his opinion in a gathering of the majority faction of Parliament regarding the Lausanne statement, stating that 'the outcome of the work so far is positive,' and this 'comment was made hours after a private meeting between Larijani and Zarif.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Javad Zarif presented his second report to the members of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Sunday; a session that, of course, hosted a large number of non-commission members as well, and he will present his third report on Wednesday 'in the Parliament session,' which 'may be public.' The parliamentary reporter of Etemad emphasized that if the Parliament session is held on Wednesday with the presence of the Foreign Minister, 'this will be Zarif's first public report to the members of Parliament,' while 'his non-public reports have always caused controversy so far. Yesterday, the session of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission was no exception. The verbal clash between Javad Karimi Qodusi and Mohammad Javad Zarif was the first news to leak out from this session; a clash over Karimi Qodusi's claim regarding the Supreme Leader's warning to the Foreign Minister.' Etemad emphasized that 'these clashes have always been over the nuclear negotiations, and it does not seem that there will be an end to them.' On Sunday, 'the heart of the opponents of the negotiations was expressed bluntly by Mehdi Koochakzadeh to the IRNA news agency, saying: 'The essence of the negotiations is a futile and wrong endeavor.' This newspaper, however, wrote that 'the atmosphere of the first open session of the year 94 in Parliament indicates significant changes in the alignment of representatives regarding the negotiations,' as 'with the seriousness of the nuclear agreement process, it seems that the passive and gray factions of representatives have gradually come to the conclusion that they must slowly join one of the main factions for or against the negotiations, and at the same time, the general atmosphere of Parliament indicates an increase in the weight of supporters of the negotiations. This could encourage the opposing factions to make more efforts to make their voices heard in society, like what Mehdi Koochakzadeh did in the open session on Sunday; raising a placard against the nuclear negotiations. An opposition that no longer has many supporters in Baharestan.' Etemad simultaneously wrote that 'not only is it unlikely that the 'Lausanne' color and flavor will soon disappear from the face of Parliament, but its scope will certainly extend to the hot days of summer as well. Days that after July 1, the deadline for reaching a final agreement in the nuclear negotiations, will overshadow everything with a major decision.' Qanoon newspaper reported on its front page on April 6 that 'the Parliament's harshness towards Zarif' was evident, stating that 'the parliamentarians did not observe the custom of hospitality and sparked a nuclear controversy during a meeting with the head of Iran's diplomatic apparatus.' According to this newspaper, several members of the ninth Parliament 'ignored that Mohammad Javad Zarif signed the most historic nuclear agreement between Iran and the world in Lausanne with six world powers and on Sunday at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, they shamed the Foreign Minister of the country.' Qanoon noted that 'this is not the first time that the Baharestanis have behaved this way with the ministers of the eleventh government, especially Zarif,' writing that 'last year, the parliamentarians proved to the country's diplomatic team that they are not trustworthy and that details of the negotiations should not be communicated to them, as less than 24 hours later, information will be leaked through some representatives to the media.' This newspaper named Mohammad Javad Karimi Qodusi, Hamid Rasai, and Mehdi Koochakzadeh as representatives close to the Front of Steadfastness and opponents of the Lausanne nuclear agreement, emphasizing that in the opposition of some members of the ninth Parliament to this agreement, 'the hardliners are involved,' describing their statements as 'a violation of unity and harmony.' New details from the verbal clash between Karimi Qodusi and Zarif in Parliament. Iran newspaper reported on the 'heated nuclear session in the National Security Commission with Zarif's presence,' publishing new details from the verbal clash between Javad Karimi Qodusi and Mohammad Javad Zarif. This newspaper quoted Ahmad Shohani, one of the representatives present at this session, stating: 'Karimi Qodusi claimed in his question, which was mixed with his critical view of the nuclear negotiations, that the Supreme Leader had given Zarif a warning in a meeting, and the Foreign Minister had mentioned his resignation, with the Leader suggesting he should resign.' Ahmad Shohani also stated that in the Sunday session of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, 'twice as many people were present as the members of the commission, who were mostly non-members and critics of the nuclear deal, including figures like Rouhollah Hosseinian, Mahmoud Nabavian, Ismail Kowsari, Alireza Zakani, Zahra Tabibzadeh Nouri, Mehrdad Bazrpash, and others like Ahmad Tavakoli, the representative of Tehran.' The Ilam representative told Iran newspaper: 'Karimi Qodusi's claim disrupted the session for a moment. The Foreign Minister, while denying and calling such a claim a lie, said, why do you refer to the contents of a meeting you were not present at? Mr. Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, was present at the mentioned meeting, and you can ask him whether this issue was true or not.' According to Ahmad Shohani, a member of the National Security Commission, after this verbal clash, 'Mohammad Javad Zarif intended to leave the session, stating that he could not attend a meeting where lies were told, but following the protest reactions of other attendees in the session, including Ahmad Tavakoli against Karimi Qodusi, the Foreign Minister remained in the session.' Iran newspaper quoted Ahmad Shohani stating that most representatives present in the Sunday session of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the ninth Parliament 'emphasized why Karimi Qodusi uses the Leader to express his criticisms of the government or negotiations,' and 'the majority of the members of the National Security Commission support Mr. Zarif and the negotiating team, and in the Sunday session, some members intended to leave the session in protest against Karimi Qodusi's remarks and that he spoke more than his allotted time.' The Shargh newspaper reported on the 'release of the attackers on Ali Motahari' and quoted Mostafa Torkhamdani, the lawyer of this parliament member, stating: 'I recently visited the Shiraz prosecutor's office and found out that those arrested in connection with this case were released after being informed of the charges by the Revolutionary Court with bail and guarantees.' According to this newspaper, Ali Motahari was attacked by 'a group of plainclothes individuals' when he was heading to Shiraz University for a speech on March 10, 2015, and 'as he explained, he was assaulted and his vehicle was damaged. His vehicle remained stopped in the middle of the road, and he was prevented from attending the university,' and the Tehran representative 'sustained facial injuries in this incident, and most politicians in the country condemned this incident.' Shargh noted that 'some implicitly defended the incident,' stating: 'Now, while Motahari's lawyer reports the attackers' release on bail and the university officials being charged, Motahari himself told this newspaper that the final report of the attack on him will be submitted to the Minister of Interior within two to three days, and he will also meet with the Minister in the coming days.' Ali Motahari 'has postponed any comments on this matter until the final report is read,' and at the same time, Mostafa Torkhamdani, Motahari's lawyer, reported that with the attackers' release, 'the Shiraz university officials' have been charged due to inviting Ali Motahari 'and have become defendants.' According to Shargh newspaper, Mostafa Torkhamdani 'expressed satisfaction with the emphasis and order of the Shiraz prosecutor to pursue the case,' stating: 'For me and my client, the fact that the Shiraz university officials have also been recognized as defendants raises questions. We were not satisfied with this, and I have not filed a complaint against the Shiraz university officials as Ali Motahari's lawyer. We believe that Shiraz university acted according to regulations and has not committed any wrongdoing that would warrant being recognized as defendants.' Mostafa Torkhamdani, Ali Motahari's lawyer, emphasized that 'the main defendants in the Shiraz incident are other individuals.'