Golden Mop; A Symbol of a Hardline Conservative Organization Awarded to Abbas Araqchi

The 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement' announced its intention to award the 'Golden Mop' to Abbas Araqchi, a senior nuclear negotiator for Iran, due to his 'insistence' on justifying and glossing over the repeated violations of the United States regarding the JCPOA. The official website of 'Justice-Seeking' reported that this award was unveiled on Tuesday, April 26, during a meeting. Mojtaba Reisi, the secretary of the 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement,' stated that this award would be presented to Araqchi following the remarks of the Central Bank Governor regarding the 'futility of the JCPOA.' Valiollah Seif, the Central Bank Governor, had said last week that global powers have yet to fulfill their 'commitments' regarding the nuclear agreement. According to Seif, the Islamic Republic 'has not yet connected to the global economy' and 'Iran should be allowed to use the U.S. financial system.' These statements led to increased attacks and criticisms from hardline conservatives against the foreign policy of Hassan Rouhani's government and the JCPOA agreement. Hassan Rouhani, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Abbas Araqchi are the three government officials who have faced the main criticisms from conservatives in this regard. In this context, the 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement' has also written a letter to Araqchi in addition to presenting the 'Golden Mop.' In its letter, the student organization expressed surprise at Araqchi's 'insistence' on justifying and glossing over the betrayals and repeated violations of the United States against the Iranian nation, despite the 'violations' of many 'red lines of the system in the JCPOA' and 'the persistence of sanctions.' The letter addressed to Araqchi stated: 'Considering that you have repeatedly attempted to justify the humiliating behavior of the Americans with your astonishing and creative statements, this Golden Mop is presented to you as a token of remembrance.' Over the past two years, Abbas Araqchi has been accused by hardline conservatives of 'concealment' and 'distorting' the realities of the nuclear negotiations and the implementation of the JCPOA. The secretary of the 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement' noted that whenever the Supreme Leader emphasized the 'red lines of the system,' Araqchi would say on television that these emphases were nothing new and that they always pay attention to the red lines. According to Reisi, 'it became clear over time that the agreement made under the name of the JCPOA was outside the framework and red lines... until this year, Araqchi admitted that the JCPOA has not been violated, but the Leader's conditions for implementing the JCPOA have been violated.' The secretary of the 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement' stated that this student organization deemed Abbas Araqchi deserving of the 'Golden Mop' for his comments. He added that the student organization also plans to award 'Silver Mop' and 'Bronze Mop' to 'officials who try to justify the behavior and actions of the West and the U.S. against us.' The 'Golden Mop,' 'Silver Mop,' and 'Bronze Mop' are the latest initiative of hardline conservatives in critiquing and denying the JCPOA and attacking Hassan Rouhani's government and Iran's nuclear negotiating team, marking the second award of this peculiar type. Since 2012, the 'Noor Path' headquarters of the Basij Organization has also awarded a prize called 'Wet Gunpowder' to individuals they label as the 'most detestable personality of the year.' This award has been given to figures such as Michelle Obama for presenting the Academy Award to the film 'Argo,' Catherine Ashton, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, and Tania Kronberg, head of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Iran, for a secret meeting with Nasrin Sotoudeh and awarding her the Sakharov Prize, and Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France, for what they called 'insulting the sanctities of millions of Muslims.' The 'Wet Gunpowder' trophy is designed in the shape of a brain containing a hearing aid and glasses, with the 18th verse of Surah Al-Baqarah of the Quran inscribed on it, stating 'They are deaf, dumb, and blind; thus, they do not return.' The continuation of criticisms and attacks on the government and Iran's nuclear negotiating team has increased significantly since the beginning of this year, following Ali Khamenei's speech in Mashhad criticizing the Rouhani government's 'indifference' to implementing the 'resistance economy' plan. News agencies close to the Revolutionary Guards and official websites of the Basij Organization have published numerous reports, articles, and interviews critiquing and denying the JCPOA and attacking the foreign policy of the Rouhani government. The extent of these attacks has increased since reports emerged about the 'delay' of the U.S. in fulfilling some of its commitments under the JCPOA, particularly the fears of European banks about resuming banking transactions with Iran. Last week, Hassan Rouhani responded to the increased attacks on the government by stating, 'Only three months have passed since the JCPOA, but some think that 30 years have passed since the JCPOA agreement.' However, these remarks did not prevent or reduce the attacks, and conservatives were encouraged to respond to these comments and increase their attacks. The 'Basij News Agency,' affiliated with the Basij Organization, has found the seizure of two billion dollars of Iranian assets by the U.S. a new opportunity to attack Hassan Rouhani's government and the JCPOA. This news agency has published dozens of articles, reports, and interviews against the JCPOA and the government in the past week, and this trend continues. The conservative newspaper 'Vatan-e-Emruz' also published a picture of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, on the front page of its Tuesday issue, with the significant headline 'Weak.' Mehdi Koochakzadeh, a conservative representative from the upcoming parliament, also used a picture of Abbas Araqchi with his granddaughter to attack him, stating, 'The martyrs of the shrine also have beautiful children, much more lovable than the children raised with the dollars of the Foreign Ministry.' Such attacks from conservatives against Iran's nuclear negotiating team, the JCPOA, and Hassan Rouhani's government are increasing in the media and social networks, while Ali Khamenei has remained silent on this matter. The Hezbollah faction has also issued numerous statements, notes, and sharp comments against the government and some reformists in the past two weeks, which are considered aligned and coordinated with the broader critical movement of conservatives against the government. Previously, following Mohammad Javad Zarif's negotiations with John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Barack Obama's phone call with Hassan Rouhani in October 2013, a group of Basij students and conservative political and social activists formed a committee called 'Committee for the Protection of Iran's Interests.' This committee has held various meetings such as 'We are Worried,' 'Brave Worriers,' 'Minus Dignity, Plus Sanctions,' 'Red Line,' 'False Address,' gatherings of 'Which Independence? Which Victory?' 'Loss in Lausanne, Representation in Tehran,' 'We Will Not Allow,' a press conference titled 'The Right Path and the Wrong Path,' and the symbolic award 'Correct Address and Wrong Address' in opposition to the foreign policy of the Rouhani government.