Fluctuations in Currency and Stock Market

The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported on fluctuations in Iran's financial markets, the decline of the Tehran Stock Exchange index, and the increase in the price of the dollar. According to this newspaper, on Sunday, 'in line with the heavy drop in the stock index, the currency market faced an increase in prices, such that the price of the US dollar rose from 3,325 tomans to 3,390 tomans,' and 'the price of this currency increased by 60 tomans compared to the previous day and by 84 tomans compared to a week ago.' The Etemad newspaper reported on a 'gathering of nuclear critics at the University of Tehran,' stating that while Saeed Jalili was mentioned as one of the speakers, the former negotiator with the 1+5 was absent, and the gathering was held with empty seats in the Sheikh Ansari Hall, starting half an hour late with speeches from Mehrdad Bazrpash and Saeed Zibakalam. Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist figure, emphasized in an interview with the Aftab Yazd newspaper that 'we should not fuel the anti-Arab sentiment.' Regarding what the Aftab Yazd newspaper described as a 'heart-wrenching incident for two Iranian teenage pilgrims,' he said: 'Such bitter events always exist; we remember that in the early days of the revolution, provocations occurred at the Iran-Iraq borders, leading to severe reactions, and now 'this atmosphere is not in favor of the region, as an anti-Iranian sentiment is forming in Arab countries and an anti-Arab sentiment in Iran.' The Shargh newspaper, in its Tuesday issue, published a report on 'Saudi Arabia's 3 trillion toman income from Iranian pilgrims,' stating that 'the Saudi government earns more than 3 trillion tomans annually from Iranian pilgrims to the House of God,' with 'more than 70 percent' of this income coming from the Umrah pilgrimage of Iranian pilgrims. The Etemad newspaper reported that Ahmad Amirabadi, a representative from Qom, stated that the families of the two Iranian teenagers, who had previously been reported to have faced 'assault' at Jeddah airport, told a meeting with representatives from the parliament, judiciary, and government that the incident at Jeddah airport 'was not an assault, but harassment.' The Kayhan newspaper, published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, headlined the 'entry of Yemeni revolutionaries into Saudi territory,' reporting that 'at least 18 Saudi army personnel were killed in this attack.' The Jomhouri Islami newspaper also reported similarly, stating that 'the Yemeni tribal forces of Takhia have taken control of the al-Manara military base of the Saudi army at the borders of the two countries, killing 18 Saudi soldiers.' Statements by Hassan Rouhani during the 'commemoration of Khadijeh Saqafi,' the wife of Ayatollah Khomeini, have attracted attention from several newspapers. The Shahrevand newspaper quoted the President as saying: 'I regret that the prohibition of vice has only been limited to the streets.' According to the Shahrevand newspaper, Rouhani emphasized that 'unemployment and water scarcity are the biggest vices in Iranian society,' stating: 'Today, the biggest vice in our country is unemployment,' and 'the greatest virtue in society is development; the biggest vice is water scarcity, and why have vices and virtues been so diminished, and who has reduced this obligation to a few Islamic branches that are, of course, respected by us.' The Iran newspaper also quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying: 'It is the government's duty to create equal social opportunities for women.' According to this newspaper, the President stated that 'neither men nor women have inherent superiority over each other in social matters, and that the view of some that the command to virtue and prohibition of vice has been reduced to mere reminders in the streets is very regrettable.' Fluctuations in currency and stock market; the dollar price rises to 3,390 tomans. The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported on fluctuations in Iran's financial markets, the decline of the Tehran Stock Exchange index, and the increase in the price of the dollar. According to this newspaper, on Sunday, 'in line with the heavy drop in the stock index, the currency market faced an increase in prices, such that the price of the US dollar rose from 3,325 tomans to 3,390 tomans,' and 'the price of this currency increased by 60 tomans compared to the previous day and by 84 tomans compared to a week ago.' Farhikhtegan noted that 'the price of the Canadian dollar increased by 20 tomans, the Euro by 30 tomans, and the British pound by 30 tomans,' stating: 'There is a strong sense of rumor in the currency market, as brokers seek to drive the currency price to their desired figures for greater profit,' and 'the desired figures of brokers, given experts' predictions of decreased foreign exchange income and budget deficits this year, are not far-fetched.' Soghri Abbasnejad in the Farhikhtegan report wrote: 'On Sunday, the largest drop in the overall stock index this year occurred, with the index falling by 1,238 units to 68,783 units. Thus, the resistance of the overall index, which had not left the 70,000 unit channel until last Sunday, was broken.' This newspaper also referred to various reasons cited for the significant drop in the index, stating: 'Some experts believe that one of the most important factors influencing this event is the short-term perspective of most market participants, especially retail investors; when 'almost all shareholders seek daily fluctuations, they slightly destabilize the market,' but this issue is also 'affected by the special attention of market participants to political news.' According to the Farhikhtegan newspaper, 'the uncertainty regarding the timing and conditions of lifting sanctions and the different and sometimes contradictory statements have created ambiguities in the political sphere that can shift the market direction from growth to decline,' and simultaneously, 'the unresolved ambiguities regarding the timing and percentage of interest rate reductions and the implementation of banking system reform plans have made it difficult for real and legal investors to make definitive and stable decisions.' This newspaper also quoted Mohammad Fatant, the head of the Securities and Exchange Organization, stating: 'One of the risks of the capital market that still looms over the investment market is the interest rate, which all market participants and media must strive to resolve, considering the reduction in inflation rate.' The gathering of nuclear critics; criticism of the Lausanne agreement in front of empty seats. The Etemad newspaper reported on the 'gathering of nuclear critics at the University of Tehran,' stating that 'the suffering we endure' was the title of the event organized by the Independent Islamic Students Association, but while Saeed Jalili was mentioned as one of the speakers, the former negotiator with the 1+5 was absent. According to this newspaper, while the event was supposed to start 'at 2 PM, the empty seats in the Sheikh Ansari Hall delayed the start,' and ultimately 'after a number of seats were filled, the event began at 2:30 PM' with speeches from Mehrdad Bazrpash, a representative close to the Steadfast Front. Etemad reported that Mehrdad Bazrpash 'took the podium with a paper from the Lausanne press release and approached that text with a preface full of allusions,' but initially reacted to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's remarks at the commemoration of Khadijeh Saqafi, saying: 'Those who made Imam drink the poison cup caused him grief and troubled him, not the alarmists.' Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had stated at the commemoration that 'the alarmists today are the same ones who troubled him during Imam's lifetime.' The Etemad newspaper wrote that in another part of his speech at the 'gathering of nuclear critics,' Mehrdad Bazrpash continued his attack on Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, saying: 'That Saudi Arabia, which some of these friends defended until yesterday, saying that if Haj Agha goes there, all problems will be solved, now we want them to go there.' According to this newspaper, Mehrdad Bazrpash read and criticized the press release line by line, having underlined each word of the statement, deeming it incomprehensible, and at the end of his speech told the Etemad newspaper that 'we accept the negotiators,' but 'what do we do with the ambiguities' of the Lausanne press release? Ambiguities that, if unresolved, will harm national interests.' This newspaper also reported that 'Saeed Zibakalam,' another speaker at the gathering of nuclear critics, referred to the Lausanne statement as an agreement full of commitments, stating: 'The Lausanne statement mentioned that a new Security Council resolution has been drafted and all previous resolutions will be annulled. However, it is possible that the new resolution will include all the clauses of the previous resolutions, and the difference is that we did not accept the previous resolutions, but we have accepted this resolution.' According to the Etemad newspaper, Saeed Zibakalam also pointed to 'the jeopardy of national security based on these commitments,' asking: 'Why does the leadership express their views about the negotiations clearly after 16 months? Because the Americans have this time included military dimensions in this agreement alongside specialized clauses.' Ahmad Shirzad: We should not fuel anti-Arab sentiment. Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist figure, emphasized in an interview with the Aftab Yazd newspaper that 'we should not fuel anti-Arab sentiment.' This former parliament member stressed that 'in my opinion, we should not fuel this anti-Arab atmosphere,' regarding what the Aftab Yazd newspaper described as a 'heart-wrenching incident for two Iranian teenage pilgrims,' he said: 'Such bitter events always exist; we remember that in the early days of the revolution, provocations occurred at the Iran-Iraq borders, leading to severe reactions, and now 'this atmosphere is not in favor of the region, as an anti-Iranian sentiment is forming in Arab countries and an anti-Arab sentiment in Iran.' Ahmad Shirzad, in an interview with Aftab Yazd journalist Omid Kajian, emphasized that 'it is true that some people acted inappropriately, but it should also be said that Saudi officials tried to respond to this issue and deal firmly with the offenders,' and 'if we want to speak fairly, we should say that if such an incident occurred in our country, what would we do? We would certainly need to pursue the Jeddah airport issue seriously and legally, but fueling this issue and creating a provocative social atmosphere is not in the interest of the Iranian people.' According to the Aftab Yazd newspaper, Ahmad Shirzad also commented on 'the return of some flights for Iranian pilgrims,' stating: 'In terms of flights, the situation is different, and it is clear that Saudi Arabia has political motivations in this regard, and there have been previous reports that political officials do not treat Iranian pilgrims well. I do not deny these matters at all, but we should address these issues patiently and through diplomatic solutions,' adding that 'we can file complaints and claims for damages through the International Air Transport Association or take action through diplomatic channels, and we can also make efforts commensurate with the actions taken.' Ahmad Shirzad pointed out that 'Iranian pilgrims have their own sense and intelligence, and if reports reach them that good treatment is not being provided there, naturally, the demand for pilgrimage will decrease,' stating: 'It is not correct to fuel this issue; at the same time, the offenders at Jeddah airport should be identified and punished, but after all, in Saudi cities, many are guests of God, and many Saudis host the guests of God, so we should not have a negative view of all Saudi people. In the current situation, we should handle these issues with minimal social provocation.' This former parliament member, while emphasizing that 'I cannot approve of the gathering in front of the [Saudi] embassy,' told the Aftab Yazd newspaper: 'This may provoke a reaction from the other side, and we should not sacrifice our spirit of unity in the Islamic world for these matters. However, we must trust that the government is pursuing these incidents; after all, society is very sensitive to assaults on a teenager, and these sensitivities in media spaces, mentioning them can fuel the issue. We should handle this matter much more patiently; this is an important test.' Ahmad Shirzad advised the government that 'it should try to manage this issue' so that 'the conscience of our people is convinced that the government is defending Iranian travelers and pilgrims, and it should not be felt on the other side that an anti-Arab atmosphere has been created. Let us not forget that perhaps the Saudi side would not mind if our provocations were met with reciprocal provocations. I remember that after the Mecca incident, the pilgrimage was suspended for several years, and there was very strong social pressure in our society for pilgrimage, and on the other hand, pressure from society for this decision to be reversed,' and now 'do not doubt that for a while, there will again be a demand for pilgrimage in society.' The families of the two Iranian teenagers regarding the Jeddah airport incident: It was not an assault, but harassment and disrespect. The Etemad newspaper reported, quoting Ahmad Amirabadi, a representative from Qom, that the families of the two Iranian teenagers, who had previously been reported to have faced 'assault' at Jeddah airport, stated in a meeting with representatives from the parliament, judiciary, and government that the incident at Jeddah airport 'was not an assault, but harassment.' According to this newspaper, Ahmad Amirabadi, referring to 'a joint meeting attended by a representative of the judiciary, the Hajj Organization, and the Foreign Ministry at the Foreign Ministry to investigate the Jeddah incident,' stated: 'In this meeting, the families of the two affected teenagers emphasized that no assault occurred, but rather it was more about harassment and disrespect.'