Former Head of IRIB Attacks Mousavi and Karroubi, 1400 Days After House Arrest

The newspaper Quds has reported on a "plan to establish an organization to combat economic corruption under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic." According to the newspaper, Mohsen Alimardani, a representative from Zanjan in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated: "The Parliament has prepared a plan to prevent economic corruption, which will establish an organization under the Supreme Leader and 'with the support of the judiciary.'" The newspaper Etemad, in its Wednesday issue, reported with the headline "Tehran-Washington's Preparations for Political Agreement," noting that senior negotiators from Iran and the U.S. met in Geneva, Switzerland, for two consecutive days. It stated: "The two sides concluded in Geneva that they aim to reach a political agreement by early March and then work on the details until July," and it now appears that with the start of bilateral meetings between Iran and the U.S. in Geneva, efforts to reach a political agreement have effectively begun. The newspaper Javan quoted Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stating: "Some want to lower the flame of the fight against the U.S." The newspaper Teadul reported with the headline "The Black Box of the Black Economy in the Realm of State Economy," quoting economic expert Ali Arab Mazar, who stated: "The intensity of the black economy in Iran is 19.7 percent." Teadul also reported that the Monetary and Banking Research Institute predicts "an increase in inflation from Spring 94." The newspaper Resalat, close to conservatives, highlighted that 1400 days have passed since the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two candidates who protested the 2009 presidential election, quoting Ezzatollah Zarghami, the former head of IRIB, stating: "Mousavi consciously became involved in the sedition." The newspaper Shahrvand reported that the Deputy for Press Affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced the "halt of drafting the Media System Law" due to "significant criticism from media professionals." According to this newspaper, Hossein Entezami stated on Tuesday that due to "the numerous criticisms from media professionals, the drafting of this law has been halted." The newspaper Kasb o Kar also published a report about the meetings to determine workers' wages for 94, stating that officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare announced a "one-week deadline for presenting a wage proposal," but representatives of employers and the Chamber of Commerce expressed ignorance about such a deadline. The newspapers Arman and Farhikhtegan focused on the response from Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's office to the remarks of Mohammad Khamenei. Farhikhtegan wrote: "Mohammad Khamenei, whose statements in an interview with the magazine 'Ramz Oboor' are another piece of the hardliners' puzzle to undermine Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and another page of the extremists' scenario to assassinate the character of the revolution's greats, ultimately faced an official response from the office of Ayatollah, which contains the keyword 'This is where you are going.'" This newspaper reminded that "this Quranic phrase is a reminder of an event that occurred nearly three decades ago," as nearly three decades ago, Ayatollah Khomeini reacted to a question posed by eight members of Parliament, including Mohammad Khamenei, regarding the McFarlane affair with such a phrase, reprimanding those eight members. The newspaper Jahan San'at reported that Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani, stated on Tuesday during a meeting with managers of state banks and financial institutions that "the Special Economic Measures Headquarters was established with the approval of the Leader during the sanctions period" and said: "All decisions of this headquarters are confidential, but I do not know how confidential decisions become public?" The newspapers Etemad, Iran, Jam-e Jam, Khorasan, Quds, Kayhan, Vatan-e Emruz, and Javan published news of the "brutal massacre in Peshawar" on their front pages on Wednesday. The newspaper Etemad dedicated its front photo to this attack, stating: "The Pakistani Taliban killed 140 students and injured 250 others in an attack on a school in Peshawar." The newspaper Shargh, in its front page, titled "The Hidden Hands Behind the Sydney Hostage Situation," noted the "Iranian descent" of "Mohammad Hassan Manteqi Boroujerdi," the perpetrator of the hostage situation in Sydney, stating that on Tuesday, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the police chief, and Marzieh Afkham, the foreign ministry spokesperson, were two Iranian officials who reacted to this terrorist act. Ahmadi Moghadam, while referring to the history of "fraud" by Mohammad Hassan Manteqi Boroujerdi and his escape from Iran, mentioned the "possibility of hidden hands" in this action, which he described as similar to a "play," and Marzieh Afkham referred to Iran's "warnings" to Australia regarding "the background of this individual." The "plan to establish an organization to combat economic corruption under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic" was reported by the newspaper Quds. According to Mohsen Alimardani, a representative from Zanjan in the ninth Parliament, "This organization will only have branches in provincial centers and will operate with a staff of about 500 people across the province to be able to swiftly combat economic corruption." The newspaper Quds noted what it described as a "critical and meaningful postscript" from the Supreme Leader in the margin of the letter from the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani regarding the anti-corruption conference, emphasizing that "the officials of the three branches should make decisive and practical decisions without any considerations and execute them." Following this "postscript," the members of Parliament have taken action and "with the drafting of a plan, they seek to decisively confront economic corruption." This newspaper described the "plan to establish an organization to combat economic corruption under the supervision of the Supreme Leader" as one of the ninth Parliament's actions to implement Ali Khamenei's directive, quoting Mohsen Alimardani as saying: "With the existence of economic corruption cases, public trust is damaged, and with the existing economic problems, resources from the public treasury are being misused. However, with this organization, economic corruption will be identified and prevented in the shortest time possible, because if discovered late, the amount of embezzlement increases and becomes unattainable." The Zanjan representative in the ninth Parliament also stated: "This organization can respond quickly, where the most capable, honest, and trustworthy judges will work," and to draft the plan for such an organization, "for about five months, individuals from related organizations such as the judiciary, police, intelligence, IRGC, inspection organization, etc. have met every Tuesday to present a well-prepared and expert plan, and we hope that the members of Parliament will vote on this plan with attention and decisiveness." The newspaper Quds also quoted Mohsen Alimardani stating that for combating economic corruption, "prevention is of special importance and must be scientifically structured; for example, we believe that the implementation of e-government helps eliminate corruption. Also, emphasizing honest individuals and appointing these individuals while preventing arbitrary actions in this area is another way to prevent economic corruption," while also stating that "structural reforms and preventing the expansion of government and transferring the economy to the people will reduce corruption, and monitoring has shown that the eleventh government pays more attention to economic corruption." The newspaper also reported that Siamak Marzban, the representative of Jewish people in the ninth Parliament, emphasized the necessity of the three branches' attention in addressing economic corruption, stating: "It may be necessary for the judiciary to adopt a more expedited and unconventional process for examining corruption cases." The "Supreme Audit Court" affiliated with the judiciary and the "Court of Accounts" affiliated with the Islamic Consultative Assembly are among the active oversight bodies in Iran regarding violations and economic corruption, and since 1380, following a directive from Ali Khamenei, a headquarters titled "Headquarters for Combating Economic Corruption" has also been established. The "plan to establish an organization to combat economic corruption under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic" has been proposed by some representatives of the ninth Parliament, while in addition to the inspection organization, the Court of Accounts, and the headquarters for combating economic corruption, the approval and implementation of "investigations" are also among the oversight tools of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to combat financial corruption. The newspaper Etemad reported in its Wednesday issue with the headline "Tehran-Washington's Preparations for Political Agreement," stating: "Three weeks after the meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran and the 1+5 in Vienna, senior negotiators from Iran and the U.S. met in Geneva, Switzerland, for two consecutive days." According to the newspaper, "The new round of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 5+1 began with a bilateral meeting between Iran and the U.S., while among European countries, France was chosen for this round, with its negotiating team having a bilateral meeting with the Iranian nuclear team on Tuesday evening to review the disputed issues and the progress made, and some sources close to the negotiations have indicated that there is a possibility of more bilateral meetings on Wednesday between Iran and the six countries." Etemad noted that "the nuclear negotiations were extended for seven months in November in Vienna, and it seems that in the first renewed meeting between Iran and the U.S. and European countries, the parties are reviewing how to continue the negotiations." It stated: "This round of talks is focused on assessing the ideas and proposals presented in the last round of negotiations in Vienna, and for the first time, the discussions between Iran and the 1+5 group are taking place at the deputy level without the presence of Catherine Ashton and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the heads of the negotiating delegations of Iran and the 1+5 group." The newspaper reported that Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign minister and head of the Iranian negotiating team in Geneva, stated on Tuesday after the conclusion of the bilateral talks with American officials: "We are still in the early stages, and we talked for six and a half hours. We discussed almost all the issues at hand, especially sanctions, in detail at both the deputy and expert levels. The bilateral talks with the other 1+5 countries will continue on Tuesday evening, and we will have a meeting with all members of the 1+5 group on Wednesday." Abbas Araghchi also mentioned: "Because the discussions have become very detailed and intricate, there are solutions in some cases, while in others, we still need to work harder and discuss further," and despite the fact that "the atmosphere of the meetings is very good, there is still a gap in reaching a solution." Etemad recalled that "the two sides in Geneva concluded that they aim to reach a political agreement by early March and then work on the details until July," and it now appears that with the start of bilateral meetings between Iran and the U.S. in Geneva, efforts to reach a political agreement have effectively begun.