Comparison of Different Governments' Actions for Tehran's Air Quality

The newspaper Shargh dedicated the front page of its Saturday issue to the air pollution in Tehran over the past few weeks, as well as an image of the city after rain, with the headline "Air Pollution; Tehran Could Have Been Beijing or London," providing a comparative look at the actions taken for Tehran's air quality under the reformist, principlist, and moderate governments. The newspaper Etemad published a report on the "absence of prominent principlists" at the electoral conference of this political faction, stating: "Ali Larijani, Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, Mohammad Yazdi, Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohsen Rezai, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, and Mohammad Reza Bahonar did not attend the principlist electoral conference, but Ahmadinejad's ministers did." The newspaper Resalat dedicated its front page to the principlist electoral conference and quoted Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, a former representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and current Secretary General of the Society of Clerics, stating that in elections, "if people do not discern themselves, which they often do not, they should refer to trustworthy, compassionate, and reliable individuals." This newspaper also reported that Reza Tavakoli, Chairman of the Policy Council of Friday Prayer Imams, stated: "Currently, the sun of moderation has shone on the frozen bodies of the seditionists and has given them life." According to this newspaper, Reza Tavakoli announced the number of casualties in the 2009 protests as "34 people" and stated: "The confrontation with the 2009 sedition was managed by the Supreme Leader, who repeatedly emphasized the importance of enemy recognition and adherence to the law," but "34 innocent people were martyred by foreign agents." The newspaper Qanoon, while publishing a note and criticizing the broadcast of a documentary about the 2009 events on the official Islamic Republic television, noted that for the first time in this program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also introduced as a "culprit" in these events. Ahmad Gholami, in the editorial of Shargh titled "The Storytelling of Principlists vs. The Text Reading of Reformists," wrote: "Principlists and the parties derived from them all narrate in a classical manner: the method of storytelling. By dividing people into black and white, good and bad, a narrative based on a simple and clear antagonism that does not require serious analysis from the masses and their supporters, the whole story is a choice between the white piece (principlists) and the black piece (reformists). This storytelling method of the principlists has faded and become clichéd after Ahmadinejad's repeated storytelling and has lost its effectiveness. It is unfair not to say that Ahmadinejad was a master in 'storytelling politics.' He was a skilled storyteller who pushed many from the bridge of righteousness into the abyss before the astonished faces and wide-open eyes of his listeners." The editorial writer of Shargh, noting that the "politics of reformists" can also be interpreted as "text reading politics," reminded that "text reading politics is an elitist action, and secondly, every text is subject to interpretation and analysis. Reformists have suffered serious blows from these two perspectives, the first returning to the people and the second to their organization. In their text reading politics, they have inevitably lost the lower classes and have led to the rise of Ahmadinejad," and now, despite the fact that "reformists have more popularity, they must ignore the 'victory of the 2013 elections' and 'forget the people who came to the polls and voted for Rouhani.' The political framework of that day and the ability to create politics due to the victories achieved in nuclear negotiations and the failure of unfulfilled promises have lost their effectiveness. Reformists must discover and create a new framework for politics." The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated its front page to the confrontation of municipal officers in Tehran with street vendors in the market and metro, criticizing these confrontations. This newspaper, referring to the poor economic and livelihood conditions of many families and reminding that the poverty line, according to experts like Hossein Raghfar, has reached 3 million and 200 thousand tomans and the unsatisfactory employment situation, wrote: "Creating jobs is the most effective plan for organizing street vendors; eliminate the poverty spread." The newspaper Kayhan, in the headline of its Saturday issue, wrote: "The only response to America's audacity is to stop the JCPOA." This newspaper, referring to the fact that "after the adoption of Resolution 2231, the officials of the eleventh government welcomed it and emphasized that paragraph 3 of Annex B of the resolution, which concerns ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, does not include Iran's ballistic missiles," wrote: now "American officials, citing Resolution 2231, consider the continuation of Iran's missile program, especially the testing of ballistic missiles, as a reason for imposing new sanctions." However, the newspaper Iran, close to the government, reported on "America's retreat after Rouhani's decision" and wrote: "Shortly after the news of the sanctions that American officials placed on their new list became public, our President reacted to this action by issuing an important directive to the Minister of Defense, emphasizing that the production of various missiles must continue with greater speed and seriousness and that Iran's missile program is in no way part of the JCPOA." The absence of prominent principlists at the electoral conference was noted by the newspaper Etemad, which published a report on the "absence of prominent principlists at the electoral conference" of this political faction, stating: "Ali Larijani, Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, Mohammad Yazdi, Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohsen Rezai, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, and Mohammad Reza Bahonar did not attend the principlist electoral conference, but Ahmadinejad's ministers did." The newspaper Etemad also referred to Ali Larijani as the major absentee of this conference, stating: "After all the discussions that principlists have had in recent months about their electoral coalition, last Friday they held their first nationwide gathering titled 'Insight and Renewing the Covenant with the Leadership' at the Tehran Mosalla conference hall; a gathering that was supposed to be attended by figures associated with all political groups of principlists to convey the message of unity among principlists across the country." According to this newspaper, although many principlists attended this conference, the leaders of this faction still preferred not to attend and be absent at such gatherings, and even the noticeable absence of the jurists of the principlist faction, namely Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, led Reza Tavakoli, Deputy of the Society of Clerics, to briefly address the reasons for the absence of these two prominent principlists, stating that Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi was on his way to the hospital due to illness and Ayatollah Yazdi was unable to attend due to physical conditions. Maryam Vahidiyan, a reporter for Etemad, noted that "Mohammad Yazdi and Mesbah Yazdi were not the only absentees at the principlist conference," writing: "In this ceremony, there was still no news of Ali Larijani, nor of Saeed Jalili, Velayati, and Qalibaf, and Rezai also did not attend, sending their representatives instead. Amidst this uproar of absences, the absence of Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Secretary General of the Front of Followers of the Line of Imam and Leadership, was also noticeable; a politician who, by not registering for the parliamentary elections, somehow showcased his political intelligence to his political peers. Among the members of the Motalefeh Party, only Mohammad Nabi Habibi attended, and there was no news of Asadollah Badamchiān either." The newspaper Etemad noted that in the absence of prominent principlist figures, the hall of the principlist electoral conference was "full of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ministers from the previous government," writing: "The Yektaeiha, the Front of Efficient Friends of Islamic Iran, which 'has not yet received political activity permission from the Ministry of Interior,' were the first to enter the Tehran Mosalla conference hall, indicating that they have placed special emphasis on the principlist electoral list. Perhaps this presence led to Gholamali Haddad Adel, the spokesperson for the principlist electoral coalition, announcing the next day that Hamid Reza Hajibabaei, the former Minister of Education, had become the representative of the non-Yekta coalition in the principlist electoral coalition council." According to this newspaper, "Among the Motalefeh members, only Mohammad Nabi Habibi, the Secretary General of this longstanding principlist party, was present," but members of the Stability Front close to Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi and the Front of Martyrs "mostly attended," and of course, "the principlists had a new guest among them on Friday, a guest who did a remarkable job during Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's election as mayor of Tehran; Elaheh Rastgoo." The newspaper Etemad wrote: "Aside from the electoral recommendations of Ayatollah Mohammadi Kermani, Secretary General of the Society of Clerics, to the principlists for unity and efforts to prevent a repeat of the sixth parliament, the recitation of poetry combined with a speech by Saeed Haddadian was noteworthy" as "this famous reciter, aside from sharing his memories of the 2009 events, advised the principlists to reach an electoral coalition as soon as possible." This newspaper reminded that "Saeed Haddadian is the same reciter who a few months ago threatened the principlists that if they do not quickly achieve political unity for the elections, reciters will provide electoral lists," and it also noted that "Haddadian's presence at the principlist electoral conference indicated that principlists can never ignore the network of mosques and religious gatherings in Tehran and across the country." The opinion of the Secretary General of the Society of Clerics about voters; people often do not discern, they should refer to compassionate individuals. The newspaper Resalat dedicated its front page to the principlist conference and quoted Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, a former representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and current Secretary General of the Society of Clerics, stating that in elections, "if people do not discern themselves, which they often do not, they should refer to trustworthy, compassionate, and reliable individuals." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani emphasized that "the support of religion is to create a Council of Experts that guarantees the leadership's authority," stating: "We hope that this community leadership connects to the leadership of Imam Zaman, and there will be no need for another leader to be elected by the Experts, but if something happens to the Supreme Leader, we must think about the future, and there must be a council that elects a worthy individual," and for this reason, "it is necessary for individuals to enter the Council of Experts who can prove their past. People must pay attention to these issues. If they do not discern themselves, which they often do not, they should refer to trustworthy, compassionate, and reliable individuals." This newspaper also published other parts of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani's speech at the principlist gathering on Friday, quoting the Secretary General of the Society of Clerics as saying: "We have not forgotten that we once had a sixth parliament with what situation. We must have a parliament that does not stand against the leadership but rather supports it. Today, everything we have achieved is due to adherence to the leadership, and in summary, a parliament representative is worthy only if he is obedient to the leadership, and if he has this characteristic, he will also be compassionate towards the people and the underprivileged and will prepare himself to serve Islam." Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani criticized, without naming, "wrong individuals," saying: "One of the harms that the history of Islam has suffered has been from wrong individuals who mixed truth and falsehood and confused many. Usually, the good qualities of these individuals deceive people and prevent their bad qualities from being seen." The Secretary General of the Society of Clerics stated: "In the 2009 sedition, one of the issues was this, and many said these two individuals at the head of the sedition had brilliant records in the revolution. If those two individuals did not have records and did not enjoy previous privileges, people would not have been so deceived by them." According to the newspaper Resalat, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, referring to internal disputes within the principlist faction and emphasizing that "whatever harm we suffered in the past was due to impurities," stated: "When there is sincerity, there will be no disputes over parliamentary seats, and one will say that person is better than me, and I will step aside for him, and if I come, the votes of the principlists will be split because my only goal is God." The Secretary General of the Society of Clerics advised the principlists that "if we enter this principlist group, our only goal should be God, to serve the religion, and to form a God-pleasing parliament that serves the system and is obedient to the leadership," adding that groupism and seeking shares should not play a role in our entry into the principlist group. "We should have a state of mind that if the product of the principlist coalition council results in the election of better individuals and none from our group are in it, we should not be the least bit upset; this matter is very important, and we must practice and recommend ourselves to this." The struggle between narrative and reality; "Adjusting the narrative of the state television about the 2009 protests." The newspaper Qanoon, while publishing a note and raising criticisms about the broadcast of a documentary regarding the events of 2009 on the official Islamic Republic television, noted that for the first time in this television program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also introduced as a "culprit" in these events. Qasem Khorami, in a note for the newspaper Qanoon, pointed out that "the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, in an unprecedented and understandable action, under the pretext of examining the events leading to the 9th of Dey 1388, produced and broadcast a documentary titled 'Documentary 88.'" He reminded that "for the past six years, the state television had a fixed and constant analysis of the events of 2009, and despite access to hundreds of documents, films, and new information, no change or blemish was made to its initial analysis." The writer of the note for the newspaper Qanoon, referring to the fact that "from the perspective of state television, one faction represented light and whiteness, and another faction represented darkness and blackness," wrote: "However, this year, in the analysis of the events leading to the 9th of Dey, state television adjusted its previous narratives and introduced faint elements of reality.