Chaos in the 10th Board of Directors

The newspaper Arman in its Sunday front page titled "Chaos in the 10th Board of Directors" writes: "While on Sunday, in the first working session of the 10th Parliament, the President and the Board of Directors for the first year of this Parliament will be determined, a group of representatives 'have breakfast with Mohammad Reza Aref and talk about supporting the ideals and goals he has set for the 10th Parliament, but during lunch, they go to Ali Larijani.' Motahareh Shafiei in her report emphasizes that 'it should not be overlooked that the circle of Aref and Larijani's associates play a significant role in the calmness of the election of the Speaker of the Parliament,' stating: 'Until now, these two circles have adopted different approaches. Larijani's associates have chosen to move quietly,' but 'some young associates of Aref do not pay attention to the fact that the election of the Speaker of Parliament is by the votes of representatives inside the Parliament and not a general election, and the atmosphere created, especially outside the Parliament, has a significant impact on the vote for Aref.' This newspaper also named 'Ali Motahari and Masoud Pezeshkian' as the most serious candidates for 'Vice Presidents' and reminded that in evaluating 'the prominent individuals from the principlist faction who have entered the 10th Parliament, such as Kazem Jalali, Hamid Reza Hajibabaei, Jahanbakhsh Mohabiniya, Aladdin Boroujerdi, Mohsen Kouhkan, and Abdolreza Misri who might consider themselves candidates for the vice-presidency,' still 'Motahari and Pezeshkian have a better chance because they can attract not only reformist votes but also some independent and even moderate principlist votes in the 10th Parliament.' The front page of the newspaper Etemad is also dedicated to 'the formation of a committee for interaction,' stating that 'the representatives of the Hope faction and the principlists supporting Larijani sit at the same table just before the new Parliament starts its activities in the last hours before the election of the Board of Directors.' According to this newspaper, Ali Larijani 'in his last press conference as the Speaker of the 9th Parliament not only did not show goodwill towards the Hope list but also did not seem very eager to welcome a process of 'interaction,' but on the other hand, the Hope list 'will try the dialogue channel one last time' and for this purpose, 'Gholamreza Tajgardoon, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, and Ali Nobakht' from the Hope list will discuss with 'Ahmad Amirabadi, Jahanbakhsh Mohabiniya, Mohammad Dehghan, Kazem Jalali, and Behrouz Namati' about how to determine the Speaker and members of the 10th Parliament's Board of Directors. Elias Hazrati, a representative from Tehran on the Hope list and the owner of this newspaper, also stated: 'We are trying to quickly pass the election of the Speaker and the Board of Directors of the 10th Parliament so that it does not become a mountain of Damavand that we get stuck behind' or 'turn it into a deep valley that its disputes will plague the Parliament for years.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, while printing images of Ali Larijani and Mohammad Reza Aref on its front page, wrote: 'Reformists will pass over their list leader tomorrow.' This newspaper emphasized that 'the reformists in Parliament do not have enough votes or political will to elect a familiar president,' reporting that 'nearly 188 members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly attended the session of the Velayat faction and elected Ali Larijani as the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.' The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also wrote: 'The scenario that unfolded in the Assembly of Experts elections will be repeated in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and its presidency,' and just as 'in the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Jannati, who ranked last in Tehran, was elected as the president by the votes of the people’s experts in the internal elections,' on Sunday, 'Ali Larijani will be elected as the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly by a decisive vote from the representatives of the people,' and 'such an event effectively nullifies the scenarios and extensive propaganda of the reformists in the virtual space and shows the reality.' The newspaper Hamdeli, which is close to the reformists, reported under the headline 'Aref's Threat' that Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, a representative of the 9th and 10th Parliaments, 'while announcing support for Ali Larijani's presidency, also spoke about the possible reaction of the principlists to Mohammad Reza Aref's presidency,' saying: 'If Mr. Aref becomes president, of course, the high system of the country will certainly respect this position towards him, but I doubt that his presidency will be without challenges inside the Parliament.' This newspaper quoted Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Society of Clerics of Tehran, as saying: 'Mr. Aref will face challenges in managing the Parliament because part of the principlist faction will not tolerate this presidency and will exert all their efforts to counter such a presidency,' but 'we do not foresee such a phenomenon for Mr. Larijani's presidency from the reformists.' The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh published an interview with Gholamhossein Karbaschi, stating: 'The 10th Parliament is not decrepit.' Gholamhossein Karbaschi, Secretary-General of the Construction Party, told this newspaper: 'We must act very wisely and away from emotions, and in my opinion, the position of the presidency of the Parliament and the Board of Directors is valuable only if it can maintain the unity that existed before the 7th of Esfand among reformist and moderate forces that led to the victory of the Hope list.' The newspaper Qanoon has a report on the behind-the-scenes of the hardliners' attack on the Khamalieh seminary in Khorramabad and refers to this event as 'Black Tuesday of Khorramabad,' writing that in this clash 'seven clerics were beaten.' This newspaper wrote: 'On Tuesday, one day after the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic warned specific factions in Tehran about the useless uproar and commotion, a group attacked the seminary in Khorramabad; they beat the students, broke the windows of the seminary, and facilitated the entry of special forces into the place of study and discussion of religious sciences.' The newspaper Qanoon pointed out that this event 'may be unprecedented in contemporary Iranian history,' writing: 'The clash of so-called Hezbollah forces with the students of the seminary occurred after supporters of Hossein Allah Karam, a controversial speaker at the Khamalieh seminary, shouted 'Death to Hashemi' and subsequently 'shouted against the wife and daughter of the head of the Expediency Discernment Council.' These slogans initially provoked a reaction from one of the officials of the seminary and then other students,' and 'this is how Black Tuesday of Khorramabad was born.' According to this newspaper, supporters of Hossein Allah Karam, after 'the students and clerics of the Parliament, worried about the loss of respect for the seminary, drove them out,' with 'insults and curses, breaking windows and shouting and punching,' and attacking individuals who did not comply with the unreasonable demands of this group.' The newspaper Qanoon reported that the number of hardliners in this clash was 50 and emphasized that 'this 50-member minority, some of whom were also seen during the attack on the governor of Lorestan in 2001, are trying to intimidate the government, the people, and the seminary with their violent actions.' The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on the continuation of the 'Crisis of the Caspian Sea Retreat,' writing: 'Gorgan Gulf will dry up in eight more years.' This newspaper pointed out that 'the Caspian Sea has receded several hundred meters from the shore, with reports indicating at least a 500-meter retreat and some news suggesting a one-kilometer retreat,' writing: 'This retreat has not left Gorgan Gulf in good condition. The 'Khazini' canal, which is one of the water inlet canals from the Caspian Sea to Gorgan Gulf, has dried up, and now this gulf is only connected to the Caspian Sea through the 'Chap Oghli' canal. The water that reaches Gorgan Gulf through this canal is not sufficient to sustain the gulf and has severely reduced the water depth.' According to this newspaper, quoting Mazdak Darbiki, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Golestan, 'Given the current conditions of Gorgan Gulf, it will have a fate similar to Lake Urmia,' and 'in a best-case scenario, it will dry up in 16 years and in the worst-case scenario, in eight years.' This newspaper reported that some environmental experts believe 'the reduction in the depth of Gorgan Gulf, which has occurred due to the retreat of the Caspian Sea, may be due to the geological characteristics of the Caspian Sea,' but some experts also say that 'the continuation of the current conditions and the drying up of Gorgan Gulf' is concerning and predict that this gulf will have no connection to the Caspian Sea in the coming years.' Shahram Fadakar, Deputy of the Coastal and Wetland Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, emphasized the necessity of having a legal regime for this lake, calling the situation of the Caspian Sea's level reduction a crisis and announcing the formation of a committee to save Gorgan Gulf. The newspaper Shahre Vahdat quoted Shahram Fadakar regarding the reduction of the Caspian Sea level, stating: 'This event is influenced by three major factors' and 'the annual reduction of the Caspian Sea by 18 to 20 centimeters is affected by internal and external factors, climate change, and drought.' The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated its front page to Asghar Farhadi and Shahab Hosseini upon their return to Iran, reporting on 'the national reception and the bitterness of enemies from global attention to Iranian cinema.' The newspaper Kayhan quoted Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi as saying: 'Turning to Geneva, Lausanne, and New York leads to the dominance of the infidels.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, in a 'meeting with a group of Pasdaran,' stated that those who 'are longing for their stomachs and lusts shout for reconciliation with everyone and seek to lift sanctions even at the cost of surrendering,' and just as turning to non-God and being pleased with Geneva, Lausanne, and New York leads to being deceived by enemies and their dominance. The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported under the headline 'Hajj Still Unresolved, Political Relations at Peak Tension,' stating: 'The issue of sending Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia has not yet been resolved, and once again another challenge has impacted the relations between Tehran and Riyadh, although there was hope that with the negotiations being conducted by the Iranian delegation sent to Riyadh regarding Hajj, at least some of the turbulent relations between the two countries would ease.' According to this newspaper, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, stated: 'The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is fighting with the people of Syria and in Iraq and is conducting sabotage operations worldwide.' The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported under the headline 'Hashemi Boycotted,' stating: 'The state television broadcasted the speech of the President of the United States in Japan live, while the head of the Expediency Discernment Council has no place in the news sections of television.' The newspaper Sharq dedicated its front page to Ezzatollah Sahabi, writing: 'The fifth anniversary of the Sahabi family's passing was held.'