Criticism of the Media Performance of Tehran's Crisis Management Headquarters

The newspaper Etemad criticized the media performance of Tehran's Crisis Management Headquarters during the recent earthquake in the capital, stating: "An organization that is supposed to manage crises does not have a cohesive and effective media communication channel to connect with the public. The news website of this organization is updated sporadically and cannot serve as a source for receiving news. It does not have Twitter or Instagram at all." The newspaper noted that "according to the structure of the Crisis Management Headquarters, the director of Channel 5 of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is the head of the information working group of this headquarters, meaning all eggs are in the IRIB basket." However, "when people fled to the streets in fear of collapse, there was no television, and the only tool that was useful was smartphones." Etemad reported that during the recent earthquakes in Tehran, "IRIB, as the only communication channel of the Crisis Management Organization with the public, merely captioned that Tehran shook" and published discussions about the potential effects of the earthquake, but "what should have been focused on and was not, was guiding people on safety measures and actions they should take after the earthquake and in preparation for the next potential earthquake," including "nowhere in IRIB's reports was it mentioned that people should take essential items before leaving their homes. No one mentioned what should be done regarding the elderly, disabled, and those with limited mobility." The newspaper emphasized that "the responsibility of the Crisis Management Organization is not only to think about housing people after a crisis. One of the most important issues that must be considered in crises is the mental state of the people and maintaining their calm." However, Ahmad Sadeghi, head of Tehran's Disaster Prevention and Management Organization, stated: "We are only coordinators" and "the country's crisis management law was written in 2008, at a time when social media and networks were not as prevalent as today." The newspaper Bahar, in its Wednesday issue, reported on the early emergence of "inflationary consequences of fuel price increases," stating: "Although forecasts indicated that if energy carrier prices increased next year, the inflation rate would become double-digit, it occurred three months earlier, and the Central Bank announced an increase in inflation to 10% in December." The newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad also raised the question of whether inflation would remain single-digit in 1997, stating: "Central Bank statistics indicate that the point-to-point and average inflation rate became double-digit in the last month of autumn, and an examination of this report shows that the two groups of food and housing were the main factors affecting the inflation rate change." According to these studies, in the months of Aban and Azar, the monthly inflation rate of these two groups was higher than the path taken in the first seven months, and as a result, due to the high impact of these two groups on the overall index, the inflation rate returned to double digits." The newspaper reported that "with the publication of these statistics, three scenarios for the inflation rate until the end of the year can be imagined, with the most optimistic scenario returning the average inflation to single-digit territory and the highest scenario predicting an average inflation rate of 10.7%." Kayhan dedicated its front page to this issue, stating: "Inflation became double-digit before gasoline prices increased." This newspaper wrote: "The government claims a 1% increase in inflation following a 50% increase in gasoline prices in the 1997 budget, but some economic experts consider the government's recent decision to have the potential to return inflation to 49% as in the 1990s." The newspaper Jama-e-Farda highlighted the Central Bank's announcement regarding "the increase in the inflation rate to 10% at the end of December this year" and wrote: "Recent events in the country's economy indicate that the news of the increase in energy carrier prices is already showing its effects before it is approved and implemented." While the government's proposal to increase energy carrier prices has just been put forth, "the aftershocks of this decision have manifested as an increase in inflation, and it seems that the psychological burden of the actualization project of energy carrier prices has led to the inflation rate becoming double-digit and has dealt the first blow to the country's economy." Mohammad Gholi Yousofi, an economic expert, told this newspaper: "The government is currently facing a budget deficit and has no choice but to try to increase the exchange rate, raise duties, cut subsidies, and obtain revenues through various means such as issuing bonds and borrowing from the public. These are the government's austerity policies to tighten the belts of the people, while the government officials are loosening their belts." This economic expert stated that "the problem of the economy in Iran is deeper than to say that the government has reduced inflation and that inflation is increasing due to one decision. Accordingly, the announced figures are just numbers, but the reality of the Iranian economy is something else." He told Jama-e-Farda: "Intermediary activities are accelerating economic growth, and the government intends to show that it has increased economic growth. What the government did was price suppression, not inflation control. Price suppression occurred through preventing increases in government prices and increasing the share of imports in the country." Meanwhile, the newspaper Shahroud reported that the government spokesman stated: "We will not let people live under the burden of inflation." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, who simultaneously serves as the government spokesman and head of the Planning and Budget Organization, stated: "The government will not allow people to live under the burden of inflation. Wasn't inflation 40% when the government came to power? Wasn't it reduced to single digits? Inflation means that the purchasing power of families decreases, or lowering the exchange rate leads to a decrease in the value of the rial, yes, some want this, but the government is not a trader; rest assured that in 1997, the government considers itself obliged to control inflation." The newspaper Shahroud also reported in another article titled "Expensive Food for Workers" that "the inflation rate of food in Iran does not match the minimum wage." This newspaper wrote: "The rising price of eggs has recently become the subject of jokes among Iranians, but this is not the first time that the bizarre inflation of food in Iran has been a source of sarcastic criticism from the people. Food in Iran is very expensive, and its inflation rate does not match the minimum wage. Now, in a situation where the minimum wage in Iran is about 930,000 tomans per month, with the current price of eggs and tomatoes, with this salary, a family of four can only eat omelets for three meals a day." The newspaper Jama-e-Farda reported that Pirouz Hanachi, the technical and urban affairs deputy of the Tehran mayor, went to the city council on Tuesday to present a report on abandoned pits in the capital, completing unfinished projects, and the status of urban construction projects, but "ultimately, the most important issue that Pirouz Hanachi pointed out was the 70% share of the Khatam al-Anbia headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the construction contracts of the Tehran municipality." According to this newspaper, "most of the municipality's projects were carried out during Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's management in collaboration with this headquarters. Five years ago, the Tehran municipality signed a memorandum of understanding with the Khatam al-Anbia headquarters to implement urban projects worth 20 trillion tomans in four years," and despite the fact that "this memorandum faced numerous criticisms from some members of the Tehran city council at the time, ultimately, this issue did not lead to any results, and the Khatam al-Anbia headquarters remained the largest contractor of the Tehran municipality." The urban affairs deputy of the Tehran mayor also stated that the Khatam al-Anbia headquarters has "claims from the municipality that it has not been able to easily meet, and "part of it has been paid in a non-cash manner." Jama-e-Farda wrote that "these non-cash payments were the most popular way to settle the municipality's debts during Qalibaf's time, and the municipality paid many of its debts to this headquarters through land swaps and other means." The newspaper Shargh, with the headline "Limited Access to the President," reported on "criticism from representatives regarding Mahmoud Vaezi's performance in Rouhani's office" and wrote: "It seems that Vaezi has a special influence over Rouhani; an influence that has increased his power. From diplomatic meetings to answering letters on behalf of the President and reducing Rouhani's communications." This newspaper noted that some representatives have complained about some of Vaezi's behaviors since his appointment as head of the President's office; as they had also complained about some interventions in the elections of the second year of the tenth parliament," quoting Qasem Mirzaei Nikoo, a member of the tenth parliament, as saying: "The committee for lifting the house arrest requested a meeting with the President; that is, we, as the house arrest committee, wrote more than five letters to Mr. Hossein Ali Amiri, the parliamentary deputy, and corresponded. Because we met with all the heads of the three branches, namely Mr. Amoli Larijani and Ali Larijani, as well as Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the Minister of Intelligence, and various friends, but the President did not grant us an audience." This parliament member also stated: "Regarding the budget, we prepared a text with seven clauses for Mr. Rouhani in the Transparency Fraction, asking the President to instruct that these matters be included in the budget; again, Mr. Mahmoud Vaezi ordered on this letter, and the order of the head of the office on a letter addressed to the President can be the beginning of a precedent; a precedent that can lead to the excessive power of the head of the office and this increase in power will have many political repercussions and side effects." The newspaper Shargh also reported on "Morteza Jahangiri's economic activities while in detention," stating: "In recent days, contradictory news has been published about Morteza Jahangiri, the brother of Es'hagh Jahangiri, the first vice president, regarding his release; initially, there was news of his release and then a denial of this news," but finally, "an informed source" stated: "Morteza Jahangiri has not been released; rather, he is allowed to go to his office under guard to carry out some matters related to his economic activities and then return to his place of detention." Shargh quoted this informed source, whose name and position were not mentioned, as saying: "Given Morteza Jahangiri's high economic responsibilities and the suspension of many matters due to his detention, it was decided that he would go to his workplace under guard and sign the documents that needed his signature, including minutes and checks, and carry out some other tasks," and after completing his work, he would be returned from his office located on Fereshteh Street by security officers to his place of detention. The newspaper Qanoon featured a photo and headline titled "Farewell to the Old Soldier of the Homeland," reporting on the funeral ceremony of Hossein Shah-Hosseini and stating that on Tuesday, "his companions in the National Front of Iran, members of the Freedom Movement, and followers of Dariush and Parvaneh Farrokhzad, students of Shariati, and loyalists to the ideals of Mossadegh lined up to carry the old man's body towards his eternal resting place." Masoud Bastani, in his report on the funeral of Hossein Shah-Hosseini, referred to this political activist as "the old soldier of the homeland" and wrote: "Shah-Hosseini said, 'I am a soldier of the National Front' and until his last day, he was a loyal member of the organization that remained from Mossadegh. He is not the last soldier of this land, but perhaps the last old soldier who suffered and breathed resistance in the years of the coup and patiently stood for the freedom-seeking and patriotism of the Iranian land moment by moment." The newspaper Khorasan, in its front page titled "Warning About the Exclusion of 160 Drug Items from Insurance," wrote: "Recently, news has been published indicating that 160 drug items are set to be excluded from the insurance list. A news that was welcomed by the Food and Drug Organization, but the Health and Treatment Commission has not yet announced its definitive opinion on this matter." Morteza Khatami, a member of the Health Commission of the Parliament, told this newspaper: "The Supreme Insurance Council has excluded commonly used drugs that are obtained without a prescription from insurance coverage, which has led to differing opinions. Some say this action is correct, while others believe that with the exclusion of these drugs, some doctors may prescribe alternative medications, which will incur higher costs for insurance organizations; therefore, this issue is set to be reviewed in the Drug Committee." The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated its front page to the renowned Iranian writer Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, stating that during the closing ceremony of the Ahmad Mahmoud Award, he criticized cultural officials for preventing the publication of Ahmad Mahmoud's works, protesting against the forgery and illegal sale of literary works, and addressing them: "You are the calendar, and we are the history." According to this newspaper, Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, who spoke on December 25, coinciding with the anniversary of Ahmad Mahmoud's birth, at the ceremony introducing the winners of the first Ahmad Mahmoud Award at the Shahnameh Hall of the Artists' House, recalled that the birth of the novel "Neighbors" was an event, stating: "I regret that this book is still banned, but it is free for thieves. On this occasion, I tell the cultural officials of the country, gentlemen, if a book is banned, at least be faithful to your promise and prevent its forgery and distribution. If you don't do this, then you have enmity with some writers. This enmity is entirely personal and comes from you. In a country where even when you read a poem by Rudaki, you are filled with joy for a week, but in this country, you have become cultural officials, and the works of Ahmad Mahmoud are still banned."