Elevator Fall at Sharif University; Six Professors Injured

According to the Iran newspaper, six professors sustained injuries including fractures to their backs, legs, and arms due to the fall of an elevator in the central cafeteria of Sharif University on Tuesday. All six individuals underwent surgery. Mohammadreza Hormizinejad, the public relations manager of Sharif University of Technology, stated, "We are investigating the cause of the elevator accident at the central cafeteria of this university. Experts from the fire department and the elevator repair company are set to meet to examine the issue and determine the cause of the accident." Hormizinejad also mentioned that three of the injured professors underwent surgery yesterday morning, and their treatment process was successful. The surgeries for two other injured professors were performed yesterday afternoon. One of the injured professors had been taken to the operating room on Tuesday morning, and the procedure lasted until yesterday afternoon. Hormizinejad added, "The injuries of the faculty members included fractures to their backs, legs, and arms." In a related note, the Iran newspaper reported on the front page about "Rouhani's oil contract with the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command," stating that "the first new oil contract worth $2.2 billion" was signed with an Iranian company named "Persia Oil Company," which is affiliated with the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command. The newspaper pointed out that Tuesday marked the end of months of tension over the model of Iran's new oil contracts, noting that the government had to amend the new oil contract model three times and that "all branches of the system carefully reviewed it, and ultimately, after approval by the Parliament's Law Compliance Board, the government was allowed to implement it." It now appears that the signing of the first new oil contract with a domestic company, specifically with the oil and gas company under the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command, has paved the way for signing new contracts. Reza Zandi, a reporter for the Sharq newspaper, emphasized that "the Ministry of Oil and the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command have embarked on a significant endeavor," quoting Mohammad Mokhber, the head of the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command, who stated during the signing ceremony of the first contract of the new generation of Iran's oil contracts that his organization's goal in entering the oil and gas sector is to become an international entity in this field. He said, "This discussion has occupied the country for a year. We should not be concerned about foreign companies coming here; they should be worried about us going to their countries. We aim to become an international organization in the oil and gas industry." According to the newspaper, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, the Minister of Oil, stated during the contract signing ceremony that "everything signed relates to increasing recovery rates," and for the implementation of these projects, "naturally, part of the funding will be provided by the Executive Headquarters, part will be borrowed, and the rest will need to be sourced from foreign resources," adding that "for the first time, an Iranian company claims it is not seeking money but aims to enhance management capacity and acquire technology." The "Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command" is one of the institutions under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. This institution was established in 1989 by the decree of Ayatollah Khomeini to determine the fate and type of use of "all funds and properties of unknown ownership, inheritance without heirs, and properties that are subject to the execution of Article 49 of the Constitution and other laws under the authority of the Supreme Leader." However, under Ali Khamenei's leadership, the economic sector was also added, which includes a subset of economic and industrial institutions. The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, did not welcome the contract between the Ministry of Oil and the "Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command," emphasizing that "signing contracts with domestic companies paves the way for the presence of foreign companies in Iran." Ali Kardar, the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, told this newspaper, "This is not the case; since working with Iranian companies is easier, contracts were signed with them more quickly," and now "we are looking to request information from foreign companies, and the advertisement will be published next week." The Javan newspaper quoted managers of the "Persia Company" affiliated with this "Headquarters," stating, "Give us the Azadegan oil field," and then quoted the head of the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command as saying, "On Tuesday night, when we spoke with Mr. Bijan Zangeneh, the Minister of Oil, he said you can form a consortium on Azadegan as well; I must say we will not be recognized in the world with small fields, but with the development of large fields, our name will be heard worldwide," and even "when we started, we were not a number, but the first field entrusted to us was delivered in the best condition in terms of time, cost, and quality." The Iran newspaper, close to the government, dedicated its front page to the signing of this contract, stating, "With the new model of the contract and for the first time in the post-JCPOA era, a $2.2 billion oil contract was signed with a domestic company, with the National Oil Company and the Persia Oil and Gas Development Company affiliated with the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command being the parties to the contract." This newspaper also quoted Bijan Zangeneh, the Minister of Oil, saying, "Sometimes someone asks why you gave this work to this company while no one is taking anyone's place; as we have more than 60 reservoirs in the southern oil-rich areas that all need new plans, and our offshore fields and gas fields in the central regions also require project implementation. At the same time, we have discovered new fields and have not worked on them, and in total, we need $100 billion in investment in this sector." The Hemayat newspaper, affiliated with the prison organization, reported that Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, announced on Tuesday the "arrest of five individuals in the Bank Mellat case and the payment of about 1 trillion tomans in this case contrary to regulations," stating, "700 billion tomans in this regard have been seized and returned to the bank's fund, but part of the funds is abroad, and extensive efforts are underway to recover it." According to this newspaper, the Tehran prosecutor also mentioned the status of investigations into the violations in the Cultural Fund's reserve, stating that "one more person has been arrested in connection with the Cultural Fund's reserve case." The Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper, close to the Front of Steadfastness, described the Tehran prosecutor's statements regarding the Bank Mellat case and its detained CEO, Ali Rostegar Sarakhe, as "new details of the special case" while simultaneously accusing Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of President Hassan Rouhani, of involvement in these violations. This newspaper wrote that previously, Alireza Zakani, a principlist representative of the ninth parliament, mentioned that banks whose officials have changed are providing foreign branches with foreign currency facilities. They bring the foreign currency facilities into the country, and individuals associated with Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of the president, receive the facilities." Vatan-e-Emruz referred to Alireza Zakani mentioning names such as "Malamir" and "Danielzadeh," stating, "These individuals are bank debtors, and Bank Mellat, under pressure from Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of the president, provided them with 400 million dirhams at a zero percent interest rate, and currency exchanges converted this money, and the withdrawn funds were deposited in Bank Mellat with a 24 percent interest rate." Kayhan, in its front page, referred to the fact that "the government spokesman denied Gabriel's anti-Iranian statements," writing, "Mr. Nobakht, who is providing the government with incorrect information?" This newspaper quoted Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, stating that "the German economy minister said his remarks were distorted and emphasized that he understands the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Kayhan stressed that "Nobakht's position indicates that incorrect information is reaching the government, and it seems that there are hands at work to provide some officials with incorrect and incomplete information," adding that although "meetings between Sigmar Gabriel with Ali Larijani and Mohammad Javad Zarif were canceled, past experiences have shown that such positions are not sufficient," and "the least expectation from the respected government was to cancel his trip to Iran in protest against the German economy minister's audacity." The Etemad newspaper dedicated a page in its October 5 issue, World Teachers' Day, stating, "Valuing teachers is an international demand and a national necessity." This newspaper quoted Mohammad Reza Nik Nejad, an activist in the Iranian teachers' union, stating, "Commemorating teachers seems to be a necessity, and this commemoration should go beyond mere slogans and focus on the material and spiritual lives of teachers," but "a teacher struggling with the most basic needs lacks the capacity and motivation to guide students toward educational goals." Etemad emphasized that "today, global issues such as air pollution, rising temperatures on Earth, melting polar ice, global diseases like AIDS and cancer, violent regional and trans-regional wars, the emergence of extremists like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and countless other issues highlight the role of education more than ever, and undoubtedly, teachers in this chaotic market of pollution, disease, blood, and violence can lead all people of the world toward peace and comfort like prophets." Nour Ali Abbaspour, a member of the faculty at the Teacher Training University, also reminded in a note in this newspaper that the title of World Teachers' Day this year, announced by UNESCO, is "the importance of recognizing the status of teachers and improving their dignity and status" so that people and rulers think more about the position of education and the social and economic status of educational workers. The Hamdeli newspaper dedicated its front page to Ali Motahari and the letter of this tenth parliament representative to Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, "regarding his remarks about the Iran-Korea game," stating, "The duty of the clergy is to fight against superstitions, not to ride the wave." The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in its front page quoted Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, warning "government officials with dual citizenship and green cards" to "choose one between responsibility and dual citizenship." This newspaper simultaneously reported that "the plan for investigation into dual citizenship, green cards, and residency of officials and senior managers was rejected in the National Security Commission of the Parliament."