Flood Preparedness Announced in Iran

The newspaper Etemad dedicated a photo in its Monday issue to the meeting of Mohammad Javad Zarif, along with deputy foreign ministers and Iranian ambassadors, with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, evaluating Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks as "praising the negotiating team." According to this newspaper, the Supreme Leader stated: "The nuclear team has passed a good test" and "Faith is the most important strength of Dr. Zarif." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, highlighted another part of the Supreme Leader's remarks on its front page, quoting him as saying: "Foreign policy does not change with the coming and going of governments." According to this newspaper, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that "negotiating with the U.S. about regional issues makes no sense," stating: "Foreigners and their internal followers should not hope for changes in Iran's foreign policy." "Americanism on the eve of Anti-American Day" is the selected headline for the debate between Sadegh Zibakalam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh at Sharif University of Technology. This newspaper reported that "Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, as one of the students following Imam's line," who had repeatedly expressed regret for his revolutionary action during the U.S. embassy takeover, said in this debate: "The attack on the U.S. embassy was not supposed to turn into a long reckoning, and after the support of Imam and the people, the matter prolonged." This newspaper pointed out that Sadegh Zibakalam stated during this debate: "A large part of what we have said about America is lies and historical distortion," describing the university professor's remarks as "ridiculous" and wrote: "Zibakalam, claiming this ridiculous assertion that the military attack in Tabas was a military attack where two planes came, said: Anti-Americanism and death to America were not among the goals of the revolution." The newspaper Shahre Vandan reported on the "announcement of flood preparedness in Iran," stating: "On the brink of a potential flood crisis in some areas of Iran, the Minister of Energy has single-handedly entered the field and warned all provinces." Hamid Chitchian announced a special status for his colleagues, warning that "all provinces, especially the northern and western provinces, must be prepared; as the rains in the coming days have increased the likelihood of flooding." The newspaper Arman reported that on Sunday, during a conference titled "The Quran in the Conduct and Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini," there were disruptions caused by individuals chanting slogans at the beginning of Hassan Khomeini's speech and again during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's exit. The newspaper Etemad, while publishing a report on the resolutions of the Majlis on Sunday, reported four changes in the election law, while Kayhan reported on the "presentation of a comprehensive election law bill to the government." The newspaper Shargh, on its front page, published "Babak Zanjani's account of exchanging checks with Saeed Mortazavi" during the fifth session of his trial, quoting this financial corruption defendant as saying that his actions to purchase several companies of the Social Security Organization were "coordinated with the Central Bank and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." According to this newspaper, Babak Zanjani also stated: "For several days, the lawyer of the oil company has been saying in the media that if Zanjani wants to pay any money, it should not be money derived from the sale of weapons and drugs; however, while if you check online, you will see that Iranian oil is considered among smuggled and black goods. Does the Ministry of Oil bring its money from Imamzadeh that today it seeks not to accept money from weapons or drugs? You should accept whatever they give you." The newspaper Te'adol also reported that Gholamreza Jalali, head of the Passive Defense Organization, described "smartphones as tools for collecting information" during a speech at a conference on Sunday, stating that "government officials who move in governmental centers should not use smartphones." The economic newspaper Ebrar reported that "the dollar has also crossed the 3500 toman mark." According to this newspaper, Tehran market currency traders on Sunday set the price of "the U.S. dollar at 3,506 tomans with a 13 toman increase, and each new design of the full Bahar Azadi coin increased by 3,500 tomans to 936,500 tomans," and each euro in the free market rose by "two tomans to 3,870 tomans, and each pound also dropped by 10 tomans compared to Saturday to 5,370 tomans." "Disruption" during the speeches of Hassan Khomeini and Hashemi Rafsanjani The newspaper Arman reported that on Sunday, during the conference titled "The Quran in the Conduct and Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini," there were disruptions caused by individuals chanting slogans at the beginning of Hassan Khomeini's speech and again during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's exit. According to this newspaper, "After chanting against the leaders of the two executive and legislative branches during the Ashura ceremony" between the leadership and "on the pretext of their role in the JCPOA," on Sunday, at the Quran conference in the conduct and thought of Ayatollah Khomeini, when Hassan Khomeini, along with Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, took the podium, "one of the attendees stood up and continuously shouted slogans, disrupting the ceremony." This newspaper wrote that "this individual was removed from the hall, but Ayatollah Javan only welcomed Ayatollah Hashemi and expressed happiness for the conference's holding, asking Hashemi to speak," but after that, Hashemi Rafsanjani implicitly stated in his remarks that Hassan Khomeini intended to speak but preferred not to after the disruption in the ceremony. The newspaper Arman also reported that "after Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's speech and during his exit from the conference hall, several women present repeated the slogans of that individual in criticism." Reza Reisi, a reporter for the newspaper Arman, wrote: These actions in a ceremony named after the Quran and Ayatollah Khomeini "show that the hardliners and extremists have no limits in pursuing the process of discrediting figures like Hashemi and Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, and the closer we get to the elections, the more these political misbehaviors will manifest." This newspaper, referring to the potential presence of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Khomeini in the Assembly of Experts elections on March 7 of this year, wrote: "The presence of these two will create a significant difference in the election atmosphere and will motivate the supporters of the reformist and moderate camp to enter this election, and on the other hand, will encourage political activists and elites to participate in a cohesive and powerful manner, and it is obvious that the hardliners will not tolerate this point." The newspaper Arman noted that "in the past month, hardliners have become more active not only in media destruction but also in field disruption, showing their presence," and referred to the disruption during Hassan Khomeini's speech as an example of their "field disruption," writing: "Hardliners with such actions further expose their empty bag and distorted approaches to everyone, making the people more resolute in responding to these staged scenarios, and the more they engage in these approaches, the more they will be trapped by themselves." Four changes in the election law four months before voting The newspaper Etemad, while publishing a report on the resolutions of the Majlis on Sunday, reported four changes in the election law, while Kayhan reported on the "presentation of a comprehensive election law bill to the government." The newspaper Etemad referred to the Majlis's resolution on Sunday as "an opportunity for defense for disqualified candidates," stating that according to the Majlis's resolution, "the provincial supervisory board is obliged to hear the explanations and statements of candidates whose qualifications have been rejected or are rejected or not confirmed until the end of the deadline specified in this article." This newspaper wrote: "Based on the new resolution of the Majlis, disqualified candidates have rights. The supervisory boards must listen to their reasons so that the conditions are not as before," and although so far only the hearing of disqualified candidates has been considered, "this may be the beginning of what the Expediency Council" had previously emphasized that "in the electoral process, there should be written and satisfactory accountability regarding the annulment of elections and disqualification of candidates upon their request." According to the newspaper Etemad, "the plan for the activity of parties, which was recently approved in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Guardian Council had raised objections to it, was reviewed in the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday, and according to the resolution of Sunday, "effective members of parties that have been dissolved and were effective members at the time of dissolution and their party was dissolved by court ruling due to committing a crime will be banned from establishing a party and membership in a party for five years from the establishment of the party." According to another part of the resolution of the Majlis on Sunday, "spies, as determined by intelligence and security institutions, do not have the right to establish a party," and also "all members of the intelligence and security apparatus of the former regime, the dissolved SAVAK, Freemasons, those who reached the ministry or became members of the National Assembly or Senate between August 19, 1953, and February 11, 1979, effective members of the former regime and the Rastakhiz Party, and members of illegal armed and anti-revolutionary groups, as determined by competent authorities, and those convicted of crimes against the internal and external security of the country are also prohibited from forming a party." This newspaper also reported that the Islamic Consultative Assembly has approved an article regarding "buying and selling votes," which states that "any action for direct or indirect buying and selling of votes, distributing items and equipment that have a profit aspect for the recipient, and also cash and non-cash donations to individuals, public and religious places, and charities after registration in the elections is considered a crime." According to the fourth change in the election law, based on the resolution of the Majlis on Sunday, "the criterion for calculating the age of individuals for registration in elections is based on the date of birth recorded in the official birth certificate, and subsequent changes by relevant agencies, except for judicial courts, are not considered valid." Simultaneously, Kayhan reported that on Sunday, Mohammad Hossein Qayoumi, head of the Election Headquarters of the Ministry of Interior, in a press conference stated that "we have prepared and submitted the comprehensive election law bill to the government," saying: "This bill is currently under review in a committee in the government" which "will be sent to the Majlis once finalized." According to this newspaper, the head of the Election Headquarters referred to the need for some changes in election laws, stating that "the Majlis has recently approved electronic elections, which will become law and be communicated for implementation after the Guardian Council's approval." Kayhan quoted Mohammad Hossein Maqimi as saying that "in the upcoming elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts, which will be held simultaneously, a joint executive committee will conduct them," and also stated: "In the ninth Majlis elections, electronic voting was conducted experimentally in 14 electoral districts, including 1,400 polling stations, using 2,500 devices, which fortunately was approved by the Guardian Council, and in the upcoming elections, we plan to expand electronic voting to one-third of all polling stations." The political deputy of the Minister of Interior and head of the Election Headquarters also stated: "The use of transparent ballot boxes in the upcoming elections has been approved by the Guardian Council, and these boxes are currently under construction," while "the financial transparency bill for candidates has been prepared by the Ministry of Interior and sent to the government, and the political committee of the government is reviewing this bill and it is in its final stages." This newspaper also reported on the probable number of candidates in the upcoming elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly, quoting Mohammad Hossein Maqimi as saying: "It is estimated that about 5,000 individuals will register in the upcoming elections for the Islamic Consultative Assembly." The account of Babak Zanjani regarding "communication with Mortazavi and coordination with Ahmadinejad" The newspaper Shargh, on its front page, published "Babak Zanjani's account of exchanging checks with Saeed Mortazavi" during the fifth session of his trial, quoting this financial corruption defendant as saying that his actions to purchase several companies of the Social Security Organization were "coordinated with the Central Bank and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." According to this newspaper, Babak Zanjani, during the fifth session of his trial at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, regarding the agreement with Saeed Mortazavi, the then head of the Social Security Organization, for the purchase of several companies of this organization, stated: Before I was sanctioned, "I paid four billion euros to Social Security and helped them; in return, it was agreed that I would acquire companies. When I was sanctioned, it was ten days after giving the money to Social Security. I called the minister from the UAE and said I have four billion euros in Social Security. Since I had no more than 15 days, I asked the minister to coordinate with Social Security and transfer two billion from the four billion euros to wherever the Ministry of Oil wants and give me two billion euros worth of companies." Shargh quoted Babak Zanjani as saying: "The reason I didn't tell the HK company was that they were also sanctioned that day, and no one was accepting their money. I came back from the UAE. My 15-day deadline was not over yet. I went to Mortazavi and said I am at your mercy; transfer two billion from the four billion euros to wherever the Central Bank wants. Mortazavi said come see me. I went to his office, and he filmed it and broadcast it in the parliament. The next day, Mortazavi was arrested; however, he was released the day after. Now, in the meantime, my 15-day deadline was running out. After the arrest, we could no longer find Mortazavi. No matter how much we called, he didn't answer." According to this newspaper, Babak Zanjani also referred to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's role in this matter, stating: "In the end, the oil minister spoke with Ahmadinejad, and they found Mortazavi. Mortazavi held a meeting and said give me the checks so I can do the work.