Criticism of Mohammad Javad Zarif for Trip to Paris

The Kayhan newspaper, in its Sunday editorial titled "Beyond Inappropriate," criticized Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, for his "presence in Paris." Simultaneously, Kourosh Shojaei, in the editorial of the Khorasan newspaper titled "The Service of Muslim Pretenders to Islamophobes," wrote: "The crimes of Takfiri groups, these mercenary terrorists and Muslim pretenders, especially in recent years, have inflicted heavy blows on the body of the 1.7 billion strong Islamic Ummah." The newspapers Te'dad, Shargh, and Etemad dedicated their front pages to the "disclosure of clues in the Babak Zanjani case" by Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani. According to Te'dad, Eshaq Jahangiri stated on Saturday that "Babak Zanjani had hours of meetings with Mahmoud Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank, in a private room, and even if the head was present in an official meeting, he would leave and meet with Babak Zanjani in a side room." Shargh also quoted Eshaq Jahangiri saying: "They want to mislead the government in the name of corruption to divert attention from where it should be focused," but "we will not be fooled, and the hands behind economic corruption must be revealed." Etemad reported that the newspaper "Mardom-e Emrooz" has been suspended by the Culture and Media Court. Mohammad Gouchani, the editor of Mardom-e Emrooz, told Etemad that "this newspaper was suspended due to publishing an article related to the Charlie Hebdo incident." Concurrently, Kayhan, which had previously called for security and judicial authorities to take action against Mardom-e Emrooz, praised the Tehran prosecutor's office for the suspension of this newspaper in its Sunday issue. The Shahrvand newspaper reported that the "Deputy of the Arvand Free Zone" slapped a teacher in front of students at his child's high school in Khorramshahr after a discussion with his child. The Aftab Yazd and Etemad newspapers dedicated their front pages to Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president, and his letter to the UN Secretary-General. Aftab Yazd reported that in this letter, Khatami proposed "calling on scholars, intellectuals, politicians, governments, and civil institutions for urgent action aimed at achieving historical reconciliation," addressing the UN Secretary-General: "Do not allow the world and humanity to remain exposed to fear, insecurity, and danger under any pretext. We must seriously defend the essence of religion, freedom, justice, ethics, dialogue, and peace." Etemad also evaluated this letter as "Khatami's call for the eradication of violence," stating: "In a letter to Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, Khatami condemned violent and extremist actions around the world, regardless of name or ideology, calling for serious action from the UN and international organizations and peace-loving individuals." Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, the spokesman for the Combatant Clergy Association, told the Law newspaper: "In the 2009 elections, there were violations by Ahmadinejad during the debates. If a case is formed regarding this, he can be prosecuted, so it is not an unreasonable statement." This principlist representative of the ninth parliament, however, defended the house arrest of the candidates who protested the 2009 elections, stating in an interview with the Law newspaper: "These two issues cannot be intertwined because the weight of the two behaviors was not the same. One behavior was a rebellion against the system and reduced the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran on a national and regional level. It created an internal crisis that lasted for months and had many political and economic repercussions, but what Ahmadinejad did was also wrong. He angered many." The Khorasan newspaper reported on its front page that Mohammad Javad Zarif stated before leaving Geneva for Tehran: "Negotiation and pressure cannot coexist." The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a note in its Sunday issue defending the "house arrest" of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, emphasizing that this house arrest was based on the "resolution of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic" and is "legal." This newspaper mentioned "the application of punishment" and "preventive measures" as two duties of the government to ensure the security of society, stating that regarding the candidates who protested the 2009 elections, "the first state has not yet been operationalized for reasons, and no punishment has been imposed on them because no court has been formed, and only preventive measures aimed at ensuring the security of society have been considered." The Javan newspaper also noted: "Perhaps if the Supreme National Security Council had not ordered the house arrest based on certain interests, the necessary punishment specified in the Islamic Penal Code, such as those related to some or the corrupt on earth, would have been imposed on these individuals, although as expected, a court will be formed in the near future to address the various accusations against these individuals." The disclosure of clues in the Babak Zanjani case; private meetings of Zanjani with the former head of the Central Bank. The newspapers Te'dad, Shargh, and Etemad dedicated their front pages to the "disclosure of clues in the Babak Zanjani case" by Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani. Etemad, noting that a year has passed since Babak Zanjani's arrest, reported that Eshaq Jahangiri "mentioned the connection between Babak Zanjani and Mahmoud Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank," stating that "ministers used to visit Babak Zanjani, and the head of the Central Bank held private meetings with him." According to this newspaper, Babak Zanjani, who "once tried to convince that he had dealings with the late Nourbakhsh, the former head of the Central Bank, is now accused of special dealings with Mr. [Mahmoud] Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank." This newspaper emphasized that a year after Babak Zanjani's arrest, "Eshaq Jahangiri says that during this time we have not achieved anything. No money has been found, and no behind-the-scenes activities have been revealed," thus "Babak Zanjani, who was supposed to be the flagbearer of the government's exit from state control and a tool for circumventing sanctions, has become a story beyond sanctions. If the money from oil sales is blocked in foreign banks and cannot find a way to enter the borders, the money from oil sales by Zanjani is unknown where it has been stored, in whose hands it remains, and for what purpose it has been spent. Both the money has gone, the oil, and the credibility of the private sector." The Shargh newspaper also quoted Eshaq Jahangiri saying: "They want to mislead the government in the name of corruption to divert attention from where it should be focused," but "we will not be fooled, and the hands behind economic corruption must be revealed." The Te'dad newspaper reported in its headline that Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani, on Saturday "revealed the connection between Babak Zanjani and Mahmoud Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank," stating that Babak Zanjani "had hours of meetings with the head of the Central Bank in a private room, and even if the head was present in an official meeting, he would leave and meet with Babak Zanjani in a side room." According to this newspaper, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of the Islamic Republic, stated during his speech at the 43rd meeting of the representatives of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce that "2.7 billion dollars were in the possession of this individual [Babak Zanjani], which was either from oil revenues or cash. If this money does not return to the country, the blame will remain on the country." The first vice president of Hassan Rouhani also stated that Babak Zanjani has been in custody for a year, but only "has limited assets and no assets or money have been returned yet, and our current effort is to focus on returning this money to the country instead of paying attention to the margins." Eshaq Jahangiri, referring to the fact that "some say this money has been spent," stated, "But it must be said that spending such money is not easy; if we consider that 20 million dollars of it was spent on luxury, where did the rest of the money go? We must find this enormous amount of money." According to the Te'dad newspaper, the first vice president of the Islamic Republic, questioning how Babak Zanjani "managed to infiltrate the government system," stated: "The capable private sector of Iran can never hold hours of private meetings with the head of the Central Bank; reports indicate that this individual had hours of meetings with the head of the Central Bank in a private room, and even if the head was present in an official meeting, he would leave and meet with Babak Zanjani in a side room." Eshaq Jahangiri criticized that "some mislead the government in the name of corruption," stating: "The government knows well where corruption has occurred and in the future, we will reveal the hidden hands of corruption, including the hidden aspects of the Babak Zanjani case." According to the newspaper, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani emphasized that "the hidden hands must be revealed," stating: "Currently, we do not have any personal desires, and we have come with all our strength and existence to serve the people; we will definitely return 2.7 billion dollars," and currently, "one of the most important priorities of the government is to uncover state rent-seeking and law evasion." This senior government official also referred to the currency market in the previous government, stating: "At one time, they said to take Iran's money and sell it in Dubai's exchange offices, and within 18 months, 22 billion dollars of this country went abroad, but now petrochemical companies must coordinate to offer 5 million dollars in the market." Mehdi Dehghan, a reporter for the Te'dad newspaper, also referred to Mahmoud Bahmani's reaction, the former head of the Central Bank, to Eshaq Jahangiri's statements, stating that Mahmoud Bahmani reacted to the recent remarks of the first vice president by saying: "I have repeatedly stated that oil sales have nothing to do with the Central Bank, and the Central Bank had no dealings or connections with Babak Zanjani." Mahmoud Bahmani, who was the head of the Central Bank during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, also stated: "Jahangiri's statements are completely false, and it is surprising that the vice president would make such lies." The former head of the Central Bank also mentioned that "my office in the Central Bank was open to everyone and private sector activists, but I had no dealings or connections with Babak Zanjani," and "it is unclear what objectives Mr. Jahangiri is pursuing by making these statements to mislead public opinion." The "appreciation" of the Kayhan newspaper for the Tehran prosecutor's office for the "suspension of the Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper." The Etemad newspaper reported that the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper was suspended due to publishing an article about the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper by the Tehran prosecutor's office. Concurrently, Kayhan, which had previously called for security and judicial authorities to take action against the Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper, praised the Tehran prosecutor's office for the suspension of this newspaper in its Sunday issue. The Etemad newspaper, in its Sunday issue, published the news of the suspension of the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper, stating: "The Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper was suspended after publishing 19 issues yesterday by the special media prosecutor's office." The Etemad newspaper noted that the publication of the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper, managed by Ahmad Sotari and edited by Mohammad Gouchani, began on December 15. Mohammad Gouchani had previously published the Asman newspaper in February 2014, but this newspaper was suspended after six issues, and Abbas Bozorgmehr, its manager, was arrested and later released. Etemad reminded that Ahmad Sotari, the manager of the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper, which was suspended on Saturday, January 27, emphasized when launching this newspaper that "moderation, balance, and avoidance of falling into the traps of left and right will always be our guiding principle." The newspaper also reported that simultaneously with the news of the suspension of the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper, the Press and Information Department of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced that "it is planned to discuss the Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper in the next meeting of the Press Supervisory Board." Meanwhile, the Kayhan newspaper, which had previously called for security and judicial authorities to take action against the Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper in its issue on Thursday, January 25, described the suspension of this newspaper as "a commendable action by the Tehran prosecutor's office," stating: "The Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper was suspended for supporting those who insulted the Prophet of Islam." Kayhan also introduced the journalists of the Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper as "a team of chain media" and wrote: "The suspension order for this newly established newspaper was issued after it unreasonably dedicated its front page to supporting the insulting publication Charlie Hebdo with the phrase 'I am Charlie.'" This newspaper in its Sunday issue again described the publication of a photo of George Clooney and the phrase 'I am Charlie' during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards in the front page of issue 16 of the "Mardom-e Emrooz" newspaper as "an unreasonable and insulting action" and accused this newspaper of non-defensive performance in "protecting the borders of disbelief." Kayhan, which is published under the supervision of the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, also attributed various accusations to Mohammad Gouchani, including accusing him of involvement in the protests following the 2009 elections.