Change in Rouhani's Tactics

The newspaper Shargh has headlined "Iran's Missiles at the UN Security Council" stating: "The missile exercise of the Valayat Authority conducted last week has once again turned Iran into a subject of discussion at the UN Security Council." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, has referred to "missile power" as a "backing for active and revolutionary diplomacy." Yadollah Javani, former head of the political office of the Guards and current advisor to the Supreme Leader's representative in this force, emphasized that "the angry and worried reactions of American officials regarding the Valayat Authority exercise were far beyond expectations and predictions," writing: "This is due to the complete achievement of the goals of the Revolutionary Guards' missile exercise and the clear messages of this exercise to friends and foes." The newspaper Shahrvand described the recent remarks of President Hassan Rouhani as an "objection to accusations, insults, and narrow-mindedness." According to this newspaper, the President of Iran, during a speech at the "Third National Congress Commemorating Martyr's Day," severely criticized the prevalence of "accusations and insults" and "narrow-mindedness" in the current political atmosphere, stating: "Unfortunately, some newspapers are insult letters. From the very beginning, one opens the newspaper with fear and trembling to see where we have been insulted and accused. Is this Islam and the Islamic community? Islam means the heart should be submissive to God, and people should be safe and secure from our hands and tongues." The newspaper Etemad also highlighted the "change in tone" of the President after the elections on February 26, assessing it as "Rouhani's change in tactics," stating: "For two or three weeks, Hassan Rouhani has been holding back less; precisely from the seventh of Esfand onward." Ehsan Badaghi in a report for Etemad emphasized that so far Hassan Rouhani has been "winning the game against his opponents," noting that he "has completed the most important project of his government in the JCPOA and is now comfortable working with the tenth parliament, which is expected to emerge with a moderate face in Iran's political sphere," and therefore "if until recently he spoke defensively towards his critics, now he seems to be in a different position." Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist figure, also wrote in a note titled "Why Has Rouhani Become More Explicit?" in Etemad, stating: "From an individual perspective, we should consider Mr. Rouhani one of the main winners of the February 26 elections," as he "showed his internal rivals and critics that his victory in the June 24 elections was not merely a coincidence," adding that the performance record of the eleventh government during the elections "restored the political trust of the supporters of the government to Rouhani's domestic policies and his team," and for this reason, Hassan Rouhani "is much more hopeful for the continuation of his government after 2017 due to the results of the February 26 elections." The newspaper Kayhan, critical of the eleventh government, published the President's remarks under the headline "Coward, Stone Age, Mercenary, Delusional... and Suddenly Morality," questioning whether "government officials have forgotten their rhetoric?" This newspaper described Hassan Rouhani's remarks as "noteworthy statements," writing: "The President in noteworthy remarks said: Unfortunately, some newspapers are insult letters, and from the very beginning, one opens them with fear and trembling to see if they have insulted or accused us." Kayhan also noted: "Rouhani has used terms such as newly arrived, destroyer, coward, delusional, rumor-monger, undocumented, illiterate, child, newly revolutionary, mercenary, etc., about his critics, while the critics have only addressed the government's performance when they see weaknesses in the government's work." Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a reformist figure, in a note titled "The Damage of Lies, on the Table of Speakers," in the newspaper Arman wrote: "Criticism of executive bodies is not only not harmful but brings numerous benefits for the criticized and the people, but presenting false news and accusations can initially tarnish and destroy the reputation of the concerned publication in the minds of the rational and the masses." He pointed out that "some publications, which sometimes feed from public funds, write scenarios," emphasizing that the people's approach in the February 26 elections, even "despite labeling reformists as English agents," showed that "first and foremost, these lies have caught up with the accusers and will continue to do so," and therefore "it is recommended that the government should not overreact to such issues." Hossein Payah in the editorial of the newspaper Shargh titled "Hajarian, Symbol of the Defeat of Violence" referred to the role and activities of Saeed Hajarian in the formation of the "Reformist Government" and his assassination on March 13, 1999, writing: "The admirers of violence took revenge on the herald of ending violence with assassination and gunfire. Unaware that reform and political development is a research-based and programmatic approach that has been embedded in public conscience compared to the past and cannot be eradicated by eliminating an individual from public consciousness." The editorial writer of Shargh emphasized that Hajarian's life "after blind violence and ignorant assassination is a symbol of the defeat of violence and the anniversary of Dr. Hajarian's assassination should always be a loud cry against violence and the costly defeat of violence-based methods." The newspaper Ebtekar, while publishing a report on the "behind-the-scenes of multi-billion embezzlements at Refah supermarket during the previous government," quoted Farshid Golzadeh, CEO of Refah chain stores, stating: "In 2013, before the presidential election, 5 billion tomans were siphoned from these stores, and also in 2012, the then-managers embezzled 8 billion tomans." The newspaper Qanoon also headlined its Tuesday issue "Embezzlement in Archives" regarding the failure to read the report of the investigation into the financial corruption case at the Martyrs Foundation during Masoud Zaribafan's management, writing: "Some raised issues to attract the attention of a segment of the people on the eve of the elections to show that they are concerned about the status of this important case," but now "they have forgotten the investigation into the Martyrs Foundation and are only addressing statements that do not solve the people's problems and only have a promotional aspect." Saman Saberian, the author of this report, referring to previous statements by members of the ninth parliament's investigation committee about "a 15 billion tomans embezzlement and a 170 billion tomans transfer in the accounts of the Martyrs Foundation and the exit of these resources from the country," wrote: "To better investigate and understand the status of the investigation into the Martyrs Foundation, we approached the main figures involved in this case and questioned all those who were in some way responsible for this case, but we received no appropriate and accurate responses." The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the prison organization, in its Tuesday issue headlined the latest report by Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, as "Watery and Unreliable Report." This newspaper quoted Mohammad Javad Larijani, Deputy of the Judiciary, stating: "In this report, the issue of Mohareb and Mofsed fil Arz, which exists in our law, has been used as a pretext," and that Ahmed Shaheed "has taken the place of the religious authority and believes that the issue of insulting the Prophet should not be pursued legally, and our question is what relevance this has to him." Mohammad Javad Larijani emphasized that "before anything else, Ahmed Shaheed should understand the laws of Islam and this great religion," stating: "We have answered his questions and issues in detail both in writing and verbally, in such a way that we have sent the written response to the UN, and our expert groups have also spoken verbally about this in Geneva and New York." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also accused Ahmed Shaheed of "Iranophobia," writing: "The UN human rights reporter has once again blackened Iran." The newspaper Qanoon quoted Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai regarding the "extension of temporary detention" of his client Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of "Erfan Halqeh," stating: "When the execution case was annulled, two accusations remained for my client; the first was interference in medical affairs, which they claimed has a private complainant, but so far no one has complained," and the second accusation is "leftist tendencies, which there is no evidence for in the case," and "based on these two cases, the detention order was extended while none of these matters require detention." This newspaper reminded that Mohammad Ali Taheri has been detained and imprisoned since May 3, 2011, by the Revolutionary Court's order. The newspaper Qanoon in a report titled "Let's Boycott Firecrackers" wrote: "Chaharshanbeh Suri is a traditional ceremony, and waging street wars and throwing grenades has no meaning," and for this reason, a campaign has been formed by "NGOs and influential figures" for "returning to the traditional execution of the Chaharshanbeh Suri ceremony and refraining from dangerous methods." The newspaper Hamdeli in a report on "The Electoral Secrets of Mashhad" noted that in the February 26 elections in the Mashhad electoral district, "members of the Stability Front will once again sit on the green seats of the parliament," writing: "While it seems that Mashhad has become the capital or the first base of the conservatives, many political activists in Mashhad and former representatives of this city in the parliament "while not accepting that Mashhad is a conservative city; believe that the governor of Khorasan Razavi should be changed."