Formation of Lines for Dollar Purchases

The newspaper Aftab Yazd in its front page on Thursday titled "This Damn Line" wrote: "The increase in currency rates in recent days, although mainly emotional and artificial, has created a situation where the demand for purchasing dollars in the free market has significantly increased," leading to the formation of a "line" once again for buying dollars. The newspaper emphasized that "the formation of lines in front of exchange offices for buying dollars on Wednesday revived memories of the years 90 and 91," stating: "Some believe this situation is somewhat similar to the situation in 91 when the currency suddenly jumped in price, putting a lot of pressure on producers and having destructive effects on the entire market. However, others, including high-ranking economic officials, believe that the currency market situation is not concerning, and the government does not want the national currency to decrease in value." Aftab Yazd also noted, "There is a possibility that the experiences of past years regarding the increase in currency prices will be repeated. Of course, international tensions should not be overlooked, and this may lead to restrictions on currency supply, affecting the country's currency flow." The newspaper simultaneously quoted Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank, stating: "The peak impact of Donald Trump's words in banking matters creates emotional effects that may arise in the currency market, but these effects will not be long-term." The newspaper Tejarat in its front page regarding the "Behind the Scenes of Currency Price Increases" quoted Mohammad Reza Sabzalipour, head of the World Trade Center of Iran, stating: "One of the main factors that has caused the currency rate to increase is the government's provocation, and the government deliberately wants the currency rate to rise, similar to what we witnessed during Ahmadinejad's administrations." This economic expert stated: "The shortage of financial resources, budget deficit, and on the other hand, increasing foreign income, considering that the 97 budget will also go to parliament in the next two months," are effective in the increase of the dollar and other currencies because "the exchange rate is very important for the government, and the higher the currency rate, the greater the difference in the currency rate." Ahmad Hatami Yazdi, a former banking manager, told Tejarat that the increase in currency rates is due to several factors, with "the upcoming Arbaeen pilgrimage and the reduction of the government's currency resources being the most important factors for the increase in currency rates in recent days." The newspaper Tejarat pointed out that "currency is like the lifeblood for the Iranian economy," stating that "governments have always alternately prescribed solutions for it; solutions that mostly served the economic interests of the governments, but at times the currency rate has become like untamed wild horses, slipping out of the governments' control." The newspaper Hamdeli noted that "currently the price difference between the two currencies in the free market (4050 tomans) and the exchange rate (3411 tomans) reaches about 640 tomans," stating that this price difference "indicates an increase in the gap between the two main rates," and thus "the unification of currency rates is a dream that is more distant than ever." This newspaper wrote: "In the past two days, the situation changed significantly; exchange offices did not announce the dollar price, sales were halted, and they only bought currency. After the announcement of the exchange rate, transactions resumed, but the result was an increase in the dollar price," although "these fluctuations in the dollar market are likely attributed to international developments and Donald Trump's repeated threats to withdraw from the JCPOA. However, some experts believe that the government leaves the dollar price high to compensate for the budget deficit through the profits from the dollar's rise." While Hassan Rouhani criticized the economic activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday, calling it a "government with guns," the newspaper Iran quoted him on its front page stating: "The IRGC is beloved by the people of Iran and the region." According to this newspaper, Hassan Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday: "There is no disagreement among our factions to confront the plots of enemies, and we are all united," and "the JCPOA has been agreed upon by all officials and main authorities of the country, and most importantly, the Leader of the Revolution has commented on it." The newspaper Etemad also referred to the "Attorney General's Criticism of the Judiciary" in its front page, stating: "The Attorney General, in a time when criticisms of the judiciary's performance have risen once again, has also appeared as a critic." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, on the anniversary of the establishment of the General Inspection Organization, spoke about economic corruption in the country: "If we had acted in the judiciary as we should have, we would not have witnessed this volume of corruption." The newspaper Shargh, however, focused on another part of Mohammad Jafar Montazeri's remarks, with the headline "The Attorney General's Response to Ali Motahari," stating that the Attorney General harshly attacked Ali Motahari for his criticisms of the judiciary, saying: "Mr. Representative, who uses the dependency rent of this and that and seeks to obtain a point against the judiciary to challenge it, if one saw this person entering all arenas, one would not feel sorry for him. This gentleman has no right to enter judicial matters. His story is like someone who recites a eulogy and faints towards women. Why do you not support ordinary people? They go and support the sedition movement and the like and introduce themselves as advocates of freedom." According to this newspaper, the Attorney General also stated: "That a representative finds a platform every day and constantly attacks the judiciary, who does it benefit? If you have a dispute tomorrow, to whom will you refer? Let the judiciary have its authority within the framework of the law. A powerful judiciary, like a powerful defense force, is effective. You can benefit from creating security. State your objections logically and legally." Shargh reminded that Ali Motahari, on Tuesday in a note titled "Speaking After Summoning," wrote to the head of the judiciary: "The discussion is not merely about summoning but more about what happens after summoning, and the President's intention was presumably the same. The discussion is that when, for example, a journalist is improperly detained by the media prosecution, for a period of time even their family does not know where they are being held, while according to the Constitution, they should be informed of the charges within 24 hours, and then the indictment should be issued and sent to court, they remain in solitary confinement for a long time against the law in the hope that under psychological and physical pressure, they will confess to their charges, rather than first having substantial evidence and documents before they are detained." According to this newspaper, the day after the publication of this note, Ali Motahari received a response from the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, stating: "How long should judges and the judiciary endure the interventions of people like Mr. Motahari in judicial cases?" And on Thursday, continuing these reactions, the Attorney General responded to Ali Motahari. Shargh also published Ali Motahari's response to the Attorney General, quoting the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly stating: "The authority of the judiciary is preserved through its reform, not through impatience in the face of criticisms," and "those whom you consider affiliated with the counter-revolution and opposition, due to the type of perception of people like you, who view all critics and opponents as either subversive or seditionists or linked to Amadnews, unless proven otherwise, and for the preservation of the system, any means can be used, these individuals are subjected to double oppression compared to ordinary people, and it is necessary for us, as representatives of the parliament, to provide more support for them." Ali Motahari wrote in his letter to Mohammad Jafar Montazeri: "If you come down from that ivory tower and families of detainees repeatedly come to you to explain how their children were detained at their workplace or home, how they were humiliated, and their dignity was tarnished, or speak about their deprivation of legal counsel, and that under the pretext of security-related charges, they must only introduce a lawyer acceptable to the judiciary, and on the other hand, there is no list of such lawyers." The newspaper Etemad in its editorial titled "Verbal Violence, Until When?" wrote: "It is strange, strange! It is incomprehensible that a country is challenged to this extent by a global superpower" and on the other hand "facing complex regional issues and at the same time, at high political and social levels within the country, speaking with sharp tones against each other." This newspaper emphasized that "sharp words and angry speech or with the aim of humiliation are deadlier than sword wounds," criticizing the verbal clashes of senior government officials and wrote: "This kind of verbal assault creates wounds that cannot be easily healed. This language not only affects the upper levels but perhaps also infects the middle levels of managers and stakeholders, and worse, it reaches the lower levels and the public sphere as well." The editorial of Etemad emphasized that "at high levels, the verbal exchanges between the heads of the executive and judicial branches are unacceptable," stating: "Such verbal violence easily spreads and is accepted in society as a behavioral and verbal model. It is natural that if they speak to each other in such a manner at high levels, it is expected that people in the streets and homes will also follow suit. But the significant difference in the latter level is that verbal violence quickly turns into physical and bodily violence," and of course, "a society where reconciliation is considered a negative value can never learn how to resolve its issues through dialogue, logic, and law; conflict becomes the dominant method of resolving disputes." The newspaper Qanoon in a report titled "Parliament Awaits Rouhani's Response" wrote: "Representatives are seeking to bring the President to the Parliament to answer for the mistakes of the Tenth Government." This newspaper wrote: "The Parliament is once again questioning the President. A 32-year-old taboo that was broken during the Tenth Government and the Eighth Parliament's questioning of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, however, 152 representatives have signed a statement regarding the plan to question the President about financial and credit institutions. A plan that, if it comes to fruition, will be carried out for the second time in the 38-year history of the Islamic Consultative Assembly." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on its front page that "Street Vendors in the City, a Political Declaration," stating that social experts in the "Another City" meeting criticized Iran's policies in dealing with homelessness, stating that "the emergency plans to collect the homeless are a cover-up for ineffective policies." This newspaper recalled that in recent weeks, the "plan to collect working children and street vendors," which began at the request of the Tehran governorate, was halted after "a new wave of protests regarding the treatment of the homeless in Iran arose, and despite the insistence of the implementing agencies to continue this plan, it was finally stopped under pressure and follow-up from civil organizations." According to the newspaper Shahre Vahdat, Mohammad Khani, who recently published the book "Homelessness and Social Policy" on the occasion of World Homeless Day, stated: "Street vending in the city is also a political statement, and the reason for the effort to collect working children and street vendors becomes clear here. What could be a clearer sign of policy inefficiency than homelessness? This multitude of street vendors, beggars, and homeless people in the city reflects the ineffectiveness of implemented programs, which is why emergency plans are proposed to collect them so that this inefficiency does not become visible." Mohammad Khani pointed out that "in Iran, we currently have a cheapening of labor," stating: "More than 40% of workers are uninsured, and more than 90% of workers who suffer work accidents are uninsured, and annually 2,000 of these workers lose their lives. When a construction worker who is also uninsured dies, it does not require Agamben or other philosophers to analyze the situation of his family. It is clear what conditions will arise for his family and children. I emphasize that extensive research has been conducted, and their results indicate the necessity and need for social support packages." According to the newspaper Shahre Vahdat, at the "Another City" meeting held at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tehran University, Akbar Rajabi-Mashhoud, CEO of the Dawn of the Unseen Society, also criticized the treatment of working children and the homeless, stating: "The institutions that should be a refuge for the homeless have today become a source of fear and exclusion. A few days ago, we had a program, and the officials of the Welfare Organization were also present; the children fled when they saw the officials, children who have experienced encounters with these institutions are afraid of the words welfare and police.