Ghalibaf: I Will Not Apologize for Plasco

The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated a photo to the presence of Tehran's mayor in the city council and quoted Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf as saying, "I will not apologize for Plasco." The newspaper reported: "Finally, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, faced the members of the city council on Sunday and, after the preliminary remarks of the members, presented the performance and report of the municipality regarding the Plasco building incident until 11:30, but he spent most of his time explaining the laws to prove that other agencies were responsible for the occurrence of this incident and that they were the ones who should have prevented it." The mayor bluntly stated that "according to the law, expenses must be incurred for crisis prevention. Exceptionally, in Tehran, crisis management is the responsibility of the mayor, and I, as the crisis manager, say that our crisis management is in crisis, and if an apology is to be made, it should be for these inefficiencies, not for the Plasco incident." According to this newspaper, Mehdi Chamran, the head of the Tehran city council, defended Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and responded to the criticism of some council members by saying: "Some members criticize why the head of the fire department was not present on the day of the incident. On the same day of the Plasco incident, there were 254 other missions, of which 104 were fire-related registered in the fire department system; we cannot be a spirit in several bodies." Aftab Yazd also wrote about the outcome of such a session: after the explanations of the mayor of Tehran, "the members of the city council raised their questions and suggestions, and finally, with Ghalibaf's remarks, the 326th session of the city council concluded." The newspaper Etemad also reported with the headline "The Secret of Plasco Remained Hidden," referring to the report and statements of the mayor of Tehran as "Ghalibaf's Repetitive Responses" and wrote: "Sunday was an important day in the history of the fourth council; a day when the mayor came to present a report and explanations regarding the Plasco fire incident, marking a 99-hour session; a session that could be considered the most candid session of the council's critical members with the mayor of Tehran." This newspaper wrote: "What Ghalibaf presented in this session was addressing the laws and responsibilities of the agencies responsible for safety. Nevertheless, the mayor of Tehran, in his overall 2.5-hour speech, did not accept any responsibility regarding the Plasco incident. He even explicitly stated: Where we should apologize and seek forgiveness from the people is for these inefficiencies in crisis management, not for Plasco, as such incidents may certainly recur." According to Etemad, on Sunday, "the majority of the critics of the mayor of Tehran demanded an apology and even his resignation. This was not well received by the mayor's defenders, leading them to express remarks in defense of their mayor that sometimes brought the session to the brink of tension. These reactions and remarks from the critics ultimately angered the mayor of Tehran so much that in the second part of his remarks, which was essentially the conclusion of yesterday's lengthy session, he referred to some incidents from past years in the country and implicitly called the previous national managers incompetent, officially declaring that he would not yield to what he referred to as the political maneuvering of the council members, let alone apologize." Etemad wrote that Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf told the members of the Tehran city council: "Friends should know that I will not yield to unprofessional remarks, political behavior, and giving in to anti-revolutionary enemies sitting across the border who want to weaken this system, and I will stand firm until the end." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, published this part of Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf's remarks in the city council on its front page, quoting him as saying: "I apologize to the nation but will not give in to the anti-revolutionaries." This newspaper emphasized that "Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf explicitly apologized to the people for the shortcomings but at the same time stated that he would never yield to political maneuverings and enemies and would not give in to anti-revolutionaries." It wrote: "This session had many side issues, including that some reformist members of the city council also acknowledged Ghalibaf's jihadist management in addressing the Plasco crisis. However, others believed that Plasco could have been managed better." The Javan newspaper did not publish any of the criticisms or ambiguous questions raised by the members of the city council regarding the Plasco incident in its report, instead featuring sentences from council members praising Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and criticizing the eleventh government. The newspaper Hamdeli reported on its front page about "the resolution of the disqualification issue of Rouhani," stating that "although in recent months there were discussions about the possibility of disqualifying Dr. Hassan Rouhani, initially, the public did not take it seriously and considered it more as threats and sensationalism from the opposing government faction, but Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a reformist representative of the Hope faction, says that "there was an intention in some sections of certain institutions," but "it was resolved with the will of the high-ranking officials of the system." Mohammad Reza Tabesh stated: "Recently, there has been a severe psychological war against Mr. Rouhani aimed at dissuading the president from candidacy, while we do not know how much his resistance and endurance will last; in any case, Mr. Rouhani may not withstand this onslaught and abandon the presidency, although we demand his continued presence." Although "it has never been the case that an incumbent president faces disqualification in the run-up to the next election, if some members of the Guardian Council had such an intention and motivation, this issue has been resolved under the guidance of high-ranking officials of the system." The Hamdeli newspaper recalled that speculation about Rouhani's disqualification entered a new phase when Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, said on January 5: "There is no guarantee for the approval of any president's qualification in the second term." He added that the Guardian Council does not have any favors for anyone." However, this newspaper also wrote that "although it has not been precedent in the Islamic Republic for an incumbent president to face disqualification in their second election, the disqualification of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani with a unique history in the Islamic Republic, war, and revolution by the Guardian Council showed that having a history in the system or government does not guarantee the qualification of political figures for elections." Simultaneously, the Arman newspaper reported on its front page, quoting Dariush Qanbari, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: "Opponents are trying to dissuade Rouhani." This newspaper pointed out that "some of Rouhani's opponents and rivals have engaged in media campaigns against him. This psychological war has progressed to the point that some opponents of the government have called for Rouhani's withdrawal from candidacy, and some have spoken about the possibility of Rouhani's disqualification," quoting Dariush Qanbari, a reformist political activist, as saying: "People have understood the tactics and tricks of these individuals in previous periods and will not be deceived by this current. These tactics are being used by the opponents of the reformist and moderate current to gain votes, and they are futile." Dariush Qanbari emphasized that "the issues raised about Mr. Rouhani and his brother are mainly influenced by the electoral atmosphere. Most of these discussions are being made in the context of the 96 election. Many of these issues raised are not substantiated, and these individuals are not seeking to uncover the truths but are trying to undermine the people's trust in Rouhani." He stated: "In the lead-up to the elections, these pressures and smear campaigns will intensify to dissuade him from continuing his path, and there is no doubt that the opposing current will use all tools available. However, this current's hand has been revealed to the people." The Shargh newspaper published an interview in its Tuesday issue with "Mohammad Parvazi," a founding member of the Islamic Warriors Board in the late 1980s and early 1990s, titled "Untold Stories of Ansar Hezbollah." Mohammad Parvazi, whose statements as a founding member of Ansar Hezbollah were published in 1998 and led to his arrest and trial in the Special Clerical Court, denied such a role in this interview and stated: "I have never been a member of Ansar." According to Shargh, Mohammad Parvazi denied the content of his published statements regarding the formation of Ansar Hezbollah and said that in 1997, after Mohammad Khatami's victory, he explained the situation of the "Hezbollah" forces to individuals he thought might be introduced as ministers of interior and intelligence in Khatami's government during two meetings in Qom and Tehran. He said: "I tried to explain the Hezbollah current's perspective to those who wanted to take over the executive process of the country. I aimed to inform them of the obstacles they might face. I stated that the children of the front and the war of the 60s and 70s are ideological children divided into five categories, one of which is Hezbollah; that is, the same group I refer to from others. Now, from among that speech and explanation of those five categories, this part is selected, and the main speaker, that is, the person from whom the statements are quoted, is removed and published in my name." In the interview with the Shargh newspaper, Mohammad Parvazi confirmed his connection with Hossein Allah Karam and spoke about his role during the activities of the Islamic Warriors Board between 1989 and 1996 and the formation of Ansar Hezbollah in 1993, stating: "An Ansar Hezbollah has been formed that I do not know who they are. Before that, there was an Islamic Warriors Board. Now there was one person who was both a member of the board and present in Ansar, who is Hossein Allah Karam. The board's information was provided to Ansar through this person, and the information from Ansar was also given to the board and us." In the Shargh newspaper interview, Mohammad Parvazi named Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, Hossein Allah Karam, and a person named "Abdollahi" as the founders of Ansar Hezbollah in the early 1990s and about "Abdollahi Kism," he said: "He is now the head of Ansar Hezbollah! Abdolhamid Mohtasham." Mohammad Parvazi also stated that due to increasing pressures on the "Islamic Warriors Board," this board was weakened and ultimately disappeared in 1995, but simultaneously, another "Islamic Warriors Board" was launched, which still exists today. The Law newspaper has a report about the solutions for the release of Iranian fishermen held captive by Somali pirates, quoting Hashtollah Fallahati, a member of the tenth parliament, as saying: "The lack of an established government in Somalia is not a valid reason for negligence in this matter. The naval forces of the Islamic Republic are a powerful local unit in the region and, if necessary, should engage in operations to protect these individuals." This parliament member also stated: "Some remarks suggesting that because these individuals are Baluch, they are not supported by the Iranian government are unacceptable, and I consider raising this issue to be divisive." Hassan Parnehi, in a report for the Law newspaper, pointed out that the Iranian fishermen are in dire conditions, stating that they are forced to "feed on the grass around their place of captivity to survive," writing: "More than two years have passed since this bitter incident, but it seems there is no determination for serious action that leads to a favorable outcome and the release of these fishermen. However, the families of the fishermen are waiting for their loved ones, and it remains to be seen how many of these individuals will return safely to their homeland. Will the authorities of the Islamic Republic take the necessary steps to achieve this goal, or will they suffice with compensation payments, diplomatic negotiations, and political gestures?"