From Tomatoes to Knives

The newspaper Shargh reported in its front page on Monday: "The second encounter of the self-appointed with the reformists' meetings occurred this time in Yasuj, just ten days apart; resulting in two injured and one wounded." The newspaper Qanoon, in its front page titled "From Tomatoes to Knives," referenced statements from several students and eyewitnesses of the attack on Azar Mansouri, including Aref Yazdani, secretary of the Culture and Politics Association at Azad University of Yasuj, stating that this attack indicates a tension that has "entered a dangerous phase." The newspaper emphasized that "the events of Sunday at Yasuj University were not an attempt to silence dissenting voices but an effort to eliminate opponents." Gholamali Jafarzadeh Iman Abadi, a member of the 9th Majlis (Parliament) faction of the followers of the Velayat, also wrote in a note in the Iran newspaper emphasizing the "necessity of decisive action against the self-appointed," stating that if "both supporters and opponents want to follow their street-level interpretations, it will lead to chaos." Sadegh Zibakalam also wrote in a note in the Arman newspaper: "What makes the dimensions of the attack on a reformist political activist's speech at Yasuj University serious is that this time the attack on a lawful gathering was carried out with cold weapons," and thus "it was not just about disrupting gatherings and speeches but also added a threat to life." Azar Mansouri, a member of the Central Council of the Union of Islamic Iran Nation Party, regarding the details of the cancellation of her speech at Azad University of Yasuj and the attack by extremists emphasized that "a group of self-appointed individuals dissolved my lawful speech at Azad University of Yasuj, and they did not even allow the Quran to be recited," she told the Etemad newspaper: "This group intended to assault me with cold weapons. If the students had not intervened, it is unclear what would have happened to me." The Ebrar newspaper reported a renewed increase in the dollar price, stating: "On Sunday, the dollar price suddenly rose to 3700 tomans." The Qanoon newspaper reported under the title "Symphony Without Women" that "on Friday, during an international program related to the World Club Wrestling competitions at Azadi Stadium, the performance of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra was canceled by an unspecified group, and that was solely due to the presence of female musicians in the orchestra." This newspaper emphasized that "the changes in standards over the past two years and the alteration in the implementation of laws indicate that efforts are being made to increase skepticism in this sector towards the government," noting that "while the highest number of concerts held in the past decade was in 2011 and 2012, the highest number of concert cancellations undoubtedly belongs to the last two years." The Etemad newspaper has a report on the visit of Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on international affairs, to Damascus and his meeting with Bashar al-Assad. This newspaper raised the question of whether "the trip to Damascus carried a new message," stating: "Iran has become a hub for regional consultations regarding Syria. Just ten days have passed since the controversial Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran and his two-hour meeting with the Supreme Leader, and now the Supreme Leader's advisor on international affairs heads to Damascus for a dual meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." According to this newspaper, after his meeting with Bashar al-Assad, Ali Akbar Velayati stated: "The successive victories of the Syrian army and popular forces in northern and western Syria, particularly in Aleppo, on one hand, and Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran and the very important and historic meeting with the Supreme Leader, which was a turning point in Iran-Russia relations and one of the main focuses of this meeting was Syria, are the reasons for my trip to Damascus." Ali Akbar Velayati emphasized that "anyone who takes up arms against the legitimate Syrian government is a terrorist," stating that "if we do not go after ISIS, ISIS will come after us in Iran." The Iran newspaper dedicated its front page to the presence of "370 Italian investors in Tehran," stating: "On Sunday, an unprecedented conference was held at Milad Tower. More than 370 Italian investors and producers came to negotiate transparently about their joint collaborations with Iran. Over the past day and today, 700 discussions between Iranian and Italian companies took place. A country that had a trade exchange of about 7 billion euros with Iran in 2011 saw this figure drop to 1.5 billion dollars due to sanctions." The Jahane Sanat newspaper published a report about the "AIDS bus providing counseling services to people in Tehran's squares," stating that the "I also give an HIV test" awareness campaign aims to increase awareness regarding HIV, help identify new HIV-positive individuals, provide free testing by trained experts, inform about treatment, introduce behavioral disease counseling centers, introduce active positive clubs in the field of HIV, reduce stigma and discrimination against infected individuals, and attract support for infected individuals with specialized and trained personnel in counseling and HIV testing, starting from November 9 in various areas of western Tehran with the AIDS bus. The Iran newspaper reported on the ongoing trial of Babak Zanjani, quoting the Tehran prosecutor's representative stating: "Babak Zanjani is the king of forgery." Mehdi Behlouli, a teacher and guild tailor, wrote in a note in the Jahane Sanat newspaper: "In the past month in Iran, four students in four provinces committed suicide, and unfortunately all four lost their lives. All four were boys and hanged themselves: the first, a 12-year-old in Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan on November 6; the second, a 10-year-old in Tehran on November 9; the third, a 14-year-old on November 17 in Rostamkala, Mazandaran; and the last, a 16-year-old on November 28 in Zirakuh, South Khorasan." This newspaper attempted to examine the reasons and causes of student suicides, especially in recent months. The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on the funeral of seven members of the IRGC and Basij killed in Aleppo, Syria, stating that among the deceased were three individuals named "Salman Barjasteh, Morad Abdollahi, and Omar Mazahi" who were Sunni. The transition of pressure groups "from tomatoes to knives" was reported by the Shargh newspaper in its front page on Monday, stating: "The second encounter of the self-appointed with the reformists' meetings occurred this time in Yasuj, just ten days apart; resulting in two injured and one wounded." Marjan Tavakoli in the Shargh newspaper's report, referring to the incident ten days ago in Varamin, where hardliners, led by a representative from the Stability Front, attacked the speaker of the reformists' meeting, Mousavi Lari, and knocked his turban off, wrote about the attack on Azar Mansouri, a reformist figure at Azad University of Yasuj: "This time, a university meeting was canceled due to an assault by worried students, resulting in three injuries, one of whom is hospitalized." The Qanoon newspaper, in its front page titled "From Tomatoes to Knives," referenced statements from several students and eyewitnesses of the attack on Azar Mansouri, including Aref Yazdani, secretary of the Culture and Politics Association at Azad University of Yasuj, stating that this attack indicates a tension that has "entered a dangerous phase." This newspaper noted that the beginning of this new wave of attacks was the assault on Ali Motahari in Shiraz and threats and slogans against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at Amir Kabir University in Tehran, stating that in March 2015, during Ali Motahari's visit to Shiraz for a speech at the university, the attacks "began right from the airport" and "the taxi carrying Motahari followed the route to the police station, and the assailants even pursued him to the police station, where this time it was not just shoes, tomatoes, and slogans. Bricks welcomed them," and the assailants "were so emboldened that they continued their attacks even inside the police station" to the point that Ali Motahari later stated that "they attacked him with the intent to kill." The Qanoon newspaper also referred to the attack last week on the speech of Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, the Minister of Interior during the reform period, in Varamin, and then quoted Aref Yazdani, secretary of the Culture and Politics Association at Azad University of Yasuj, regarding how the extremists attacked Azar Mansouri: "On Wednesday, the permit for this program was issued. The city commander, Mr. Mohammad Kazem Nazari, emphasized that this program should be held. The head of the security department of Azad University was also present in the meeting," on Sunday morning, "we brought Ms. Azar Mansouri to the hotel for breakfast when we were informed that the members of the association were not allowed to enter the hall. After entering the hall, suddenly they started attacking from three sides of the hall, and we escorted her to a room and they even wanted to break the door of the room." This newspaper quoted Aref Yazdani stating: "Even when Azar Mansouri got into the car, they attacked her car, and in this scuffle, three students were injured, two males and one female. According to this female student, one of the students punched her in the face and is currently hospitalized," and also "another student was stabbed, and apparently, when a woman attacked Ms. Mansouri with a knife, this student placed himself as a shield." The Qanoon newspaper emphasized that "the events at Yasuj University have now sounded a serious alarm," stating: "A speaker at a ceremony in a university or a specific hall or institution has nothing but words. The speaker goes to the venue empty-handed, with only a few sheets of paper and the words that shape their thoughts, and why should these words, even if they are wrong, be so frightening that they are attacked with bricks, shoes, and now knives?" This newspaper asked judicial and governmental officials, "Is it not time to design a specific program for this trend? And should not those responsible for these disturbances be dealt with in a way that they do not dare to continue?" The newspaper emphasized that "what is currently happening has now passed the stage of silencing dissenting voices. The events of Sunday at Yasuj University were not an attempt to silence dissenting voices but an effort to eliminate opponents." This newspaper wrote: "Decisive action against the self-appointed and full support for the permits issued by the provincial security council is the duty of the Ministry of Interior, and now this ministry must once and for all take practical action in the face of such criticisms." Gholamali Jafarzadeh Iman Abadi, a member of the 9th Majlis faction of the followers of the Velayat, also wrote in a note in the Iran newspaper emphasizing the "necessity of decisive action against the self-appointed," stating: "In recent days, unfortunately, we have witnessed the disruption of speeches and legal gatherings of political groups. Undoubtedly, if lawlessness and illegal actions continue, in addition to injecting violence into society, they will undermine the mental health and security of society. These actions, especially on the eve of elections, can jeopardize the psychological security of the elections and already spread an atmosphere of force, fear, and intimidation in society." The writer of the Iran newspaper noted that if "both supporters and opponents want to follow their street-level interpretations, it will lead to chaos," stating: "That after the clashes in Varamin, we are now witnessing a different type of clash in Yasuj indicates that without proper management and necessary action regarding these events, tomorrow in another place a more severe and worse incident will occur." This representative also wrote: "In days when most neighboring countries of Iran are shaken by insecurity and terrorist movements, and despite these insecurities, Iran remains calm under the shadow of its wise leadership, why should some try to disrupt this calm?" and "if this decisiveness does not manifest, do not doubt that soon we will hear news from other parts of the country that is unworthy of our country and Islamic system that has leadership." Sadegh Zibakalam also wrote in a note in the Arman newspaper: "What makes the dimensions of the attack on a reformist political activist's speech at Yasuj University serious is that this time the attack on a lawful gathering was carried out with cold weapons," and thus "it was not just about disrupting gatherings and speeches but also added a threat to life." The writer of the Arman newspaper emphasized that "it seems that the attackers did not intend merely to disrupt the speech of a reformist political activist, Ms. Azar Mansouri, but their broader intention was to send a message to all academic, intellectual, and reformist figures," stating that "the main culprits are those who issue orders for these actions or support these actions," and now "individuals must be held accountable who incite emotions and feelings from various platforms and convey that based on duty, such actions should be performed." Sadegh Zibakalam pointed out that "another issue is the atmosphere that theorizes these actions and evaluates them as a positive action," stating: "Attackers on lawful gatherings must be prosecuted so that the main perpetrators are identified and fundamentally dealt with the norm violators," because "a society that wants to uphold freedom of thought within the framework of the law cannot witness such actions. These actions are against the law and freedom of thought; if serious action is not taken against such behaviors, these actions will become a burden on all gatherings, and one day we will witness that any means will be used to disrupt gatherings that even have legal permits."