Etemad: CIA Documents Prepare Ground for Extending 2001 Authorization

The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page on Saturday to the publication of documents obtained during the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, describing parts of these documents that indicate connections between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic Republic of Iran as 'documenting with bin Laden's memories.' The newspaper wrote: 'What has angered and provoked reactions from Iranian officials are sections of these documents that contain claims about the Islamic Republic's connection with Al-Qaeda. A 19-page report that the CIA claims, according to these documents, shows Iran has had material and spiritual connections with this terrorist group.' Aftab Yazd referred to the reaction of Iran's Foreign Minister, stating that Mohammad Javad Zarif responded to this American action on his Twitter, writing: 'A vile record of the influence of oil dollars; CIA fake news and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies with selective Al-Qaeda documents about Iran cannot erase the role of America's allies in 9/11.' The newspaper Etemad also reported with the headline 'Irregular Documents' that: 'A thorough study and assessment of data from over 470,000 new files requires several years, however, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which is one of the main pillars of fighting the Islamic Republic of Iran, has taken the lead in examining the relationship between Osama bin Laden and Iran and has made claims about this relationship.' Among other things, this foundation wrote in the Long War Journal that: 'The relationship between Iran and Al-Qaeda occupies 19 pages in the newly found files, and the author of these materials claims in parts of it that Iran offered money, weapons, or training in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon to some Saudi brothers in Al-Qaeda in exchange for targeting American interests in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region.' According to this newspaper, 'Based on documents that the authors of this foundation claim to have accessed, Iran has easily issued visas for some Al-Qaeda members and has sheltered a number of them. In parts of these documents, it is claimed that Al-Qaeda has violated the terms of an agreement it had with Iran, and ultimately Iran gradually began to confront members of this terrorist network, arresting some of their active figures within the country.' Furthermore, 'The claims about the relationship between Iran and Al-Qaeda state that the two sides encountered serious disagreements at one point. At one time, the leader of Al-Qaeda wrote a letter to the leader of Iran requesting the release of some of his family members who were imprisoned in Iran.' The newspaper Etemad simultaneously noted in an article that the publication of documents related to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda is an 'attempt to extend the 2001 authorization to Iran' and wrote: 'In the U.S. Constitution, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the President, but the duty of declaring war, overseeing the war, and managing (financially) it is entrusted to the legislative branch.' However, 'In 2001, the U.S. Congress passed an authorization that allows the U.S. government to use military force against those responsible for the 9/11 terrorist operations and also those who harbor or assist them.' This newspaper emphasized that in the U.S., 'Groups aware of the existing obstacles to obtaining a new authorization for military action against Iran are trying to lay the groundwork for extending the '2001 authorization' to Iran to pave the way for a military confrontation by the Trump administration with Iran.' Additionally, the documents about bin Laden were published at a time when 'there is a heated debate in the U.S. political scene regarding the extension or renewal of the 2001 authorization.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, assessed the publication of documents related to bin Laden as an 'American project to connect Al-Qaeda to Iran' and wrote: 'The CIA recently claimed, based on a video file allegedly extracted from Osama bin Laden's personal laptop, that members of the bin Laden family have connections with Iran.' This newspaper also stated: 'The claim of some members of this group being imprisoned in Iran is not new and indeed reflects Iran's determination to fight this terrorist group.' The newspaper Bahar, in its Saturday editorial titled 'Who Deserves a Proper Budget Line?' wrote: 'On Thursday, a statement attributed to Nasser Makarem Shirazi was published in the media, which had a wide reflection in cyberspace. This cleric, addressing the government in a meeting with members of the Qom City Council, said: 'A proper budget line should be considered for Qom; none of the other cities should complain because Qom is different from other cities.' The editorial writer of this newspaper emphasized that Nasser Makarem Shirazi's statement 'provoked widespread negative reactions' and wrote: 'Society expects religious authorities to have a national and cross-sectional perspective, and they cannot tolerate such statements.' On the other hand, 'Many people from cities that are significantly behind in development indicators compared to Qom raise the question, if a 'proper budget line' is to be received, why shouldn't they be prioritized?' Sistan and Baluchestan, Ilam, Kurdistan, and Khuzestan are among the provinces that the editorial writer of Bahar reminded that many people in their cities are deprived of 'even the minimums of a below-average life.' This newspaper addressed Nasser Makarem Shirazi, stating: 'Your Excellency, the deprived and marginalized people of cities and villages who have not had their voices heard in the media or in political speeches all these years certainly deserve to receive a 'proper budget line' more than a specific city.' The newspaper Jama-e-Farda dedicated pages of its Saturday issue to examining and criticizing the 'Comprehensive Media System' and wrote: 'Iranian journalists who hoped that the eleventh government and subsequently the people's elected representative on May 29, 2017, would only reopen their professional association after years, are now facing an organization that, if established, will permanently bind their hands and strip them of their rights and identity as journalists amidst a crowd of oversight bodies.' This newspaper noted that according to this bill, 'after the formation of the media system organization, only individuals who have a journalism license or media management permit will be allowed to practice journalism.' It wrote: 'The shock of the country's media space from the drafting of this bill and its completion in the twelfth government is increasing with the hearing of some names in articles 19 and 22 of this bill, where the provincial director of culture and Islamic guidance, the head of the provincial judiciary, the provincial director of the state broadcasting organization, an inspector from the organization, a representative of responsible managers of the province, representatives of the Attorney General, and a retired judge, a representative from the press supervision board, and a representative from the Supreme Council of the organization are designated to approve the qualifications of members and confirm elections, while this government was supposed to entrust the work to specialists and act in a specialized manner.' Jama-e-Farda, referring to the history of drafting the 'Media System Draft' during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and 'the events after 88,' wrote: 'The authors of this draft made every effort to control the press through governmental tools and institutions, however, it is strange that the president who won the electoral competition in 92 with the slogan of freedom and support for the press and reopening the professional association has put this very draft on his agenda and has imposed it on journalists like a chicken of mourning and wedding.' The newspaper Shargh reported with the headline 'Oil Rig in Flames Due to Chinese Fuel Parts' that the occurrence of explosions and other incidents in Iran's oil industry is related to the use of Chinese products. This newspaper wrote about 'the incident of the fire of Rig 95 Fath stationed on well 147 of the Rag Sefid field' citing 'one of the specialists in the field who wished to remain unnamed,' stating: 'In this incident, the pressure relief valve on Rig 95 failed to operate, which caused the fire to erupt, and the crux of the matter is that the Chinese Podang Company, which sold this part to the National Drilling Company, claimed that this equipment was for the main American company (Cameron), but in practice, this was not the case.' The newspaper Shargh quoted its news source addressing officials, stating: 'If the employer provides technical approval and does not realize that they are buying counterfeit goods, that is a flaw, and if they understood and pretended not to know, that is much worse.' This informed source emphasized that 'the National Drilling Company should provide documentation of the purchase of this pressure relief valve (BOP) to clarify which company this part belongs to,' telling Shargh: 'Drilling officials know that if this part was American, they could sue this company and claim damages, but it seems they do not intend to announce this and will try to relate the fault less to this issue and attribute the cause of the incident to downhole accidents, but even if this assumption is true, the pressure relief valve should prevent it. This valve blocks the way to prevent an eruption.' The informed source of Shargh, referring to 'the death of one of the individuals who went to close the valve on Rig 95 Fath,' said: 'He went up the rig to close the switch, but the well erupted, and unfortunately, the individual lost his life.' The newspaper Ebtekar reported on 'the transfer of financial protests to the press exhibition,' stating: 'Victims of financial institutions have resorted to the media during the week of the press exhibition, and by attending this exhibition, which is the gathering place for most state and private media, they attempted to make their voices heard by officials.' According to this newspaper, 'Depositors and victims expressed their protests by chanting slogans against Seif, the head of the central bank, and calling the state broadcasting organization a liar for trying to hide the truths of depositors, and sometimes in their slogans, they encouraged the media to support them and in other slogans accused state media of treason and negligence towards the victims.' The newspaper Bahar also dedicated its front page for the second time in a week to publish photos of the protest of victims of financial institutions at the press exhibition. This newspaper, referring to what it called 'the end of the autumn-dried press exhibition amid widespread public protests,' wrote: 'The censorship and strictness that exist in media activities is one of the reasons that prevent media from reflecting the demands and needs of the people as they deserve, but in addition, 'instead of stating that people no longer read newspapers and complaints from society on this issue, we should also be a bit critical of ourselves and think that perhaps we have gone wrong somewhere along this path.' Mostafa Moin, former Minister of Science, in an interview with Etemad about the timing of the possible realization of Hassan Rouhani's promises said: 'Rouhani has time.' Ezzatollah Zarghami, former head of the state broadcasting organization, who once held the position of deputy in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance during the 1990s, emphasized in an interview with Shargh that his military background and membership in the Revolutionary Guards did not play a role in his executive management, stressing that 'I had the necessary authority in every job, and this has nothing to do with being military.' He also spoke about the controversial presence of a group of filmmakers during his tenure as deputy in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (in the first half of the 1990s) at the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, saying: 'In the decade of Fajr, we said for the first time that we want to go to the Imam's (Ayatollah Khomeini) grave with artists. Many artists said that they had never even been to the Imam's grave once! Eventually, the conditions were provided, and when it was decided to gather in front of the Laleh Hotel, the late Mr. Salimi told me that two buses would suffice, but when I arrived at the meeting place, I saw six buses waiting! I asked Mr. Salimi why so many buses! Then I saw that everyone you could think of from the Iranian cinema community had come.'