Decoding Iran's $87 Million Missing Oil Rig

The newspaper Etemad published a report on the uncertain fate of the oil rig 'Dina', quoting Hamid Moayed Sadr, a representative of the ninth parliament, stating: 'The reality regarding the mentioned oil rig case is that a rig was purchased, but it has never arrived in Iran.' The newspaper noted: 'The term missing rig can be seen as a jab at the entire affair. There was nothing lost.' It suggested that the phrase 'the rig that never came' might be a more captivating way to describe the story. Etemad, in its front page on July 7, reported on the intense nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the possibility of 'crossing the deadline.' The newspaper Teadale reported on the 'most breathless days of nuclear negotiations,' quoting Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stating: 'Currently, extension is not on our agenda, and our intention is to reach a conclusion by the set date. We do not plan to extend for several months as in previous rounds, but a few days may be needed to continue the work.' The newspaper Shargh referenced 'three conditions from Fabius for an agreement,' reporting that Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, arrived in Vienna with a strong stance; upon his arrival, he told reporters that for a solid agreement with Iran, the country must accept three conditions. The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, headlined 'West's Passage from Lausanne,' stating: 'By Saturday evening, John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif met twice, but it remains unclear how much the parties have managed to resolve the 'very difficult issues' at hand.' The newspaper Kayhan, which is critical of the Geneva agreement and Lausanne understanding, headlined its July 7 issue with a reference to the remarks of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, stating: 'Iran is not to be surrendered; we must reach an agreement.' The newspaper Qanoon reported on its front page on Sunday about 'Kamran Daneshjoo's entry into the club of land grabbers,' referencing details of this former government official's case regarding land use changes in Lavasan, stating: 'After two of Ahmadinejad's deputies, our eyes are on the favored minister of the tenth government, whose case of violations has been sent to court by the Iranian Land Affairs Organization.' Amir Mohibian, a media figure among conservatives, emphasized in an interview with the newspaper Aftab Yazd that 'Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not pass the system's filter.' The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated its front page on July 7 to a report on new statistics regarding women's unemployment, quoting the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare stating: 'Out of every hundred male graduates, 13 are unemployed, and out of every 100 female graduates, 31 are unemployed.' The newspapers' views on the nuclear negotiations; 'Crossing the Deadline' Etemad reported on its front page on July 7 about the intense nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the possibility of 'crossing the deadline.' Sara Masoumi, in her report for Etemad, noted that 'the foreign ministers of Iran and 1+5 have arrived at the Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna, and nuclear talks at the leadership level in the eighth round of negotiations between Iran and 1+5 have begun with a renewed meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry,' stating: 'Both ministers arrived in the Austrian capital just three days before the deadline of June 30, hoping to finalize their unfinished work from July and November 2014.' However, 'despite the focus on the historic Coburg, the tone of John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif's remarks upon their arrival and the beginning of the nuclear talks was not particularly optimistic or as hopeful as expected.' Etemad emphasized that 'on Saturday in Coburg, all news sources reported the possibility of a two to three-day extension of negotiations,' stating: 'Iran and 1+5 agreed in November 2014 in Vienna to reach a general framework in March and to advance in such a way by June that the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan (JCPOA) would be achieved. The two sides also failed to meet the set deadline in March, and the initial understanding was reached on the second day of April.' The newspaper noted that 'perhaps this time, the political and technical pieces of this puzzle will fit together in such a way that a comprehensive agreement will be reached in the early days of July. Some diplomats believe that the main deadline is actually July 9, when the U.S. negotiating team must submit the text of the JCPOA agreed upon between Iran and 1+5 to Congress.' The newspaper Teadale also reported on the 'most breathless days of nuclear negotiations,' stating: 'The last round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 group is being pursued more seriously with the arrival of Mohammad Javad Zarif and his American counterpart John Kerry in Vienna,' and 'with increased meetings and negotiations between the Iranian negotiating team and Western countries, news and speculations about the negotiation process continue, and Iranian and Western officials express optimism about the outcome of these negotiations despite the challenges ahead.' According to Teadale, Abbas Araqchi announced that 'currently, extension is not on our agenda, and our intention is to reach a conclusion by the set date. We do not plan to extend for several months as in previous rounds, but a few days may be needed to continue the work.' The newspaper Shargh also reported on the 'return of the French obstacle' to the nuclear negotiations, stating: 'The foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. arrived in Vienna on Friday and Saturday, with John Kerry arriving on Friday night and Mohammad Javad Zarif arriving on Saturday afternoon. Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, arrived on Saturday evening and had his first negotiation with Zarif that evening. Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, is set to head to Vienna today. The foreign ministers of Germany and the UK will also join the negotiators on Sunday, but the timing of the arrival of the foreign ministers of Russia and China remains unclear.' Zeynab Ismaili, in her report for Shargh, referenced 'Fabius's three conditions for an agreement,' stating: 'Laurent Fabius arrived in Vienna with a strong stance; upon his arrival, he told reporters that for a solid agreement with Iran, the country must accept three conditions.' Shargh quoted the French Foreign Minister stating: 'Limiting the long-term capacity for research and development, strict inspections of Iranian facilities including military sites, and finally the automatic return of sanctions in case of Iran's breach of commitments' are the three conditions that the French Foreign Minister described as 'necessary conditions' for reaching a comprehensive agreement. The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also headlined 'West's Passage from Lausanne,' stating: 'By Saturday evening, John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif met twice, but it remains unclear how much the parties have managed to resolve the 'very difficult issues' at hand.' This newspaper referred to 'the manner of lifting sanctions and the scope of inspections' as 'two difficult issues' that 'remain unresolved' and stated: 'While other 1+5 ministers are expected to arrive in Vienna by Sunday, Abbas Araqchi, the Deputy Foreign Minister and the second member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, told 'Al-Alam' that 'the change in position of some 1+5 countries has made the solutions reached in Lausanne no longer applicable to the negotiations.' The newspaper Javan quoted Abbas Araqchi stating: 'We reached good solutions in many areas in Lausanne, and now those solutions are being implemented, but in some areas we did not reach a solution in Lausanne, and some solutions we reached there are no longer applicable, especially since after Lausanne some 1+5 countries made statements and raised issues, and changes in their positions have made things considerably more difficult.' The newspaper Kayhan, which is critical of the Geneva agreement and Lausanne understanding, headlined its July 7 issue with a reference to the remarks of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, stating: 'Iran is not to be surrendered; we must reach an agreement.' 'Kamran Daneshjoo's Entry into the Club of Land Grabbers' The newspaper Qanoon reported on its front page on Sunday about 'Kamran Daneshjoo's entry into the club of land grabbers,' referencing details of this former government official's case regarding land use changes in Lavasan, stating: 'After two of Ahmadinejad's deputies, our eyes are on the favored minister of the tenth government, whose case of violations has been sent to court by the Iranian Land Affairs Organization.' This newspaper noted that 'Kamran Daneshjoo is accused of land grabbing and will soon have to answer for his accusations before the judiciary,' stating: 'Although there is no information on the issuance of an indictment and the date of the trial, given the complaint from the Iranian Land Affairs Organization and the existing documents in this case, we should soon witness the handling of the accusations against the tenth government's minister in the provincial criminal court, unless the accusations extend beyond the issue of land grabbing, in which case if the accusations are handled in the revolutionary court, it means that the scope of the violations under review will exceed the changes in land use by Kamran Daneshjoo.' The newspaper Qanoon, citing the statements of the head of the Iranian Land Affairs Organization about sending 'the case of illegal permits for land use changes by Kamran Daneshjoo, the former Minister of Science, to the judiciary,' quoted Qobad Afshar stating: 'Kamran Daneshjoo issued illegal permits during his tenure as the governor of Tehran.' Vahideh Karimi, a reporter for Qanoon, noted that 'Kamran Daneshjoo served as the governor of Tehran during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first government and was the head of the controversial election headquarters of the Ministry of Interior during the 2009 elections.' The newspaper Qanoon also recalled the statements of Qobad Afshar, the head of the Iranian Land Affairs Organization, in the winter of 2014, stating: 'The complaint against Kamran Daneshjoo regarding a land grabbing case in Lavasan during the ninth government has been filed.' Abbas Tadin, a legal expert and university professor, regarding the accusations against Kamran Daneshjoo concerning 'land use changes' during his management in Tehran's governorship, told Qanoon: 'The law clearly states that if someone commits a crime during their public service, the court competent to handle the crimes of these individuals during their tenure must handle the case at that time.' This legal expert stated that 'in this case, the criminal court is competent to handle it' and that not having a previous job or position at present 'will not prevent the trial, and the punishment and fines or imprisonment remain in place.' While the newspaper Qanoon explicitly accused Kamran Daneshjoo of 'land grabbing,' the newspaper Resalat referred to him as a member of the electoral coalition 'Yekta' and quoted him stating: 'Yekta is concerned with the leadership, not the Iranian school.' 'Out of Every 100 Female University Graduates, 31 Are Unemployed' The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated its front page on July 7 to a report on new statistics regarding women's unemployment, quoting the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare stating: 'Out of every hundred male graduates, 13 are unemployed, and out of every 100 female graduates, 31 are unemployed.' According to this newspaper, Kourosh Parand, the Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, emphasized that 'one of the challenges facing the country is the increasing number of unemployed graduates,' referring to new statistics about the unemployment of university graduates and stating: 'With this trend, it is predicted that in the coming years, the unemployed population with higher education will exceed 40 percent,' while 'the unemployment rate for male graduates is 12.9 percent and for women is 31.3 percent.' The Deputy Minister of Labor referred to the inactive population and the significant number of students, stating: 'The current unemployment rate for university graduates is 18.9 percent,' and 'this statistic shows that out of 100 university graduates, 19 are unemployed,' and 'in other words, out of every 100 male graduates, 13 are unemployed, and out of every 100 female graduates, 31 are unemployed.' According to Kourosh Parand, 'the highest unemployment rates among graduates are in computer science and agriculture, respectively with 27.2 and 27 percent.' The newspaper Jahan San'at reminded that 'according to the latest statistics provided by the Statistical Center of Iran, the current number of unemployed graduates in the country is at least 1.2 million.' This newspaper, referencing the damages caused over the past decade regarding employment and unemployment among graduates, noted the 'lengthening of the period of entry into the job market and also the discouragement from finding suitable jobs' as reasons that have caused 'the educated population of the country to move towards inactivity and staying at home.'