Graffiti Against the Government in Tehran

The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, has also labeled the charges against the arrested journalists as 'cultural infiltration' and welcomed these arrests, stating: 'The cultural infiltration project in the press has been exposed.' This newspaper has named three journalists arrested on Monday and Tuesday as 'Ehsan Mazandarani, the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper, Eisa Saharkhiz, a media activist, and Afrin Chitsaz, a columnist for Iran newspaper.' The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the Judiciary's prison organization, has also reported: 'The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has arrested several members of an infiltrating network collaborating with hostile Western governments who were active in the virtual space and the press of the country this week.' Nearly two days after the arrest of Ehsan Mazandarani, an advisor to the Board of Trustees of Azad University and the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper, there is still no news about him, and his lawyer, Vahid Aboumaali, has told this newspaper: 'In-person and phone inquiries from the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office have yielded no results, and we are still unaware of the location of the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper.' The newspaper Arman has reported on its front page about a 'phase change' for the 'destruction' of the eleventh government and the beginning of 'graffiti against the government in Tehran.' Simin Kazemi, a physician and sociologist, in a note in the newspaper Bahar, referred to Iran as a country 'at risk of female fetus elimination' and wrote: 'The sex ratio of the population at birth, which is accessible on the website of the Iranian Civil Registration Organization, shows that in some areas of Iran, the sex ratio has changed and deviated from the natural state.' The newspaper Etemad has reported on the efforts of the Tax Affairs Organization to abolish the tax exemption for 'foundations and institutions,' stating that the amendment to the direct tax law 'foresees the abolition of tax exemptions for foundations and institutions of the Islamic Revolution' that were granted exemptions by previous and current leaders of the Islamic Republic. The newspaper Shahrvand, referring to the sealing of the newly opened 'Halal KFC fast food' in Tehran, has examined the 'challenges of quasi-American sandwich sellers in Tehran,' writing that simultaneously with the approval of the JCPOA and the beginning of the sanctions relief process, 'the Iranian KFC quietly opened its first restaurant branch in western Tehran, but three days after its opening, this branch was sealed.' This newspaper noted that the controversies surrounding the Iranian 'KFC' are endless, stating: 'Now, three years have passed since the controversial opening of the first branch of the American KFC in Karaj, a restaurant that started with the participation of the private sector and a famous football player, but just one day after its opening, it faced a governmental reaction, and news of the falsity and sealing of this representation was published by news agencies.' The economic newspaper Ebrar has quoted Mohammad Reza Farahani Pour, one of the advisors of the comprehensive housing plan, stating: 'The poverty line for housing in Tehran province is priced at one and a half million tomans per person this year (average for one year) and 133 thousand tomans for one month, so if a person cannot provide 133 thousand tomans monthly for housing costs in Tehran, they are considered poorly housed.' The newspaper Iran, close to the government, published the remarks of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, quoting him as saying: 'America's goals regarding Iran have not changed.' However, the newspaper Kayhan published another part of Ali Khamenei's remarks on its front page, quoting the Supreme Leader as saying: 'Death to America is derived from the Constitution of the Islamic Republic.' Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, one of the students involved in the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran, told Bahar that the reopening of the American embassy 'would not last our lifetime.' Mehrdad Lahouti, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in an interview with Bahar, stated: 'The passport law will be amended in favor of women.' The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated its front page photo to the Azadi Tower and criticized the 'indifference of the City Council and Tehran Municipality regarding the maintenance of the capital's symbol,' stating that this indifference 'has put the Azadi Tower at risk of destruction.' The newspaper close to the IRGC: The charge against the arrested journalists is 'cultural infiltration.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, has labeled the charges against the arrested journalists as 'cultural infiltration' and welcomed these arrests, stating: 'The cultural infiltration project in the press has been exposed.' This newspaper has named three journalists arrested on Monday and Tuesday as 'Ehsan Mazandarani, the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper, Eisa Saharkhiz, a media activist, and Afrin Chitsaz, a columnist for Iran newspaper.' This newspaper close to the IRGC has linked the arrest of journalists directly to the statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the commander of the Revolutionary Guards about 'infiltration' following the implementation of the JCPOA, stating: 'It has not been long since the warning of the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] and the subsequent explicit warning of the Commander of the IRGC regarding the cultural infiltration of the enemy that the news of the arrest of some press agents of the American infiltration network has been published.' The newspaper Javan recalled that the Supreme Leader recently warned about the 'serious danger of enemy infiltration into the country' during a meeting with members of the World Assembly of Ahl al-Bayt, stating: 'Their intention was to find a way to infiltrate the country through this agreement; we have closed this path. We will decisively close this path. We will not allow American economic infiltration in the country, nor political infiltration, nor cultural infiltration. With all our power, which, thank God, is now considerable, we will confront this infiltration.' This newspaper also referred to the remarks of the Commander of the IRGC before the recent wave of journalist arrests, quoting Mohammad Jafari as saying: 'Americans want the implementation of the JCPOA more than we do because they are looking for what comes after the JCPOA' and 'If this belief is created in the minds of the people that an agreement was made on the nuclear issue, then agreements can be made on other issues as well, this is a danger and a sedition.' The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the Judiciary's prison organization, also emphasized that 'the IRGC arrested members of the infiltrating network,' stating: 'The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC arrested several members of an infiltrating network collaborating with hostile Western governments who were active in the virtual space and the press of the country this week.' Ehsan Mazandarani's lawyer, after two days of his arrest: 'I have no news of my client.' Nearly two days after the arrest of Ehsan Mazandarani, an advisor to the Board of Trustees of Azad University and the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper, there is still no news about him, and his lawyer, Vahid Aboumaali, has told this newspaper: 'In-person and phone inquiries from the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office have yielded no results, and we are still unaware of the location of the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper.' Ehsan Mazandarani's lawyer also stated: 'I still do not know whether my client has been informed of the charges or not; we hope that inquiries in the coming hours will yield results so that we can obtain accurate information about the reasons and details of his arrest.' The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported: 'On Tuesday, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, also warned about the security of the environment and creating fear and terror in society' and 'inquiries and correspondence from Azad University regarding the charges, reasons, and location of the arrest of the editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan have not yielded results so far,' and on the other hand, Ehsan Mazandarani's family is calling for 'strict adherence to the law' and 'information' about the process of his arrest. Graffiti against the government in Tehran. The newspaper Arman has reported on its front page about a 'phase change' for the 'destruction' of the eleventh government and the beginning of 'graffiti against the government in Tehran.' This newspaper wrote: 'The alarmists reveal their anxiety every day in some way; one day with gatherings in front of the parliament and setting up tents there, and another day with gatherings in Isfahan,' and now that 'their hands have not reached anything for the approval and confirmation of the JCPOA, they are writing slogans on walls and doors,' to the extent that 'recently some unknown individuals have been writing slogans against the government's foreign policy in the streets of Tehran.' According to this newspaper, 'one of these written slogans is the slogan 'American diplomacy = the audacity of Al Saud,' and the slogan writers have tried to 'imply that the warlike behavior of Al Saud is the result of the foreign policy of the eleventh government, which focuses on relations with America.' The newspaper Arman emphasized that 'the noteworthy point is that usually graffiti is quickly removed from the walls, but this slogan, which has been inscribed on this wall in recent weeks, has remained untouched,' writing: 'These anxious slogan writers are sensitive even to the removal of slogans from the wall, so much so that on September 11, Farda wrote: 'Death to America slogans were removed from the walls of the former American embassy,' and after that, 'Death to America slogans were rewritten with a new font,' and even the Student Basij Organization issued a statement in defense of writing such slogans. This newspaper posed the question: 'Regardless of the unseemliness of slogans that question the government's performance, do they not think that using others' properties without their permission is a sin and they should be accountable?' 'Iran at risk of female fetus elimination.' Simin Kazemi, a physician and sociologist, in a note in the newspaper Bahar, referred to Iran as a country 'at risk of female fetus elimination' and wrote: 'The sex ratio of the population at birth, which is accessible on the website of the Iranian Civil Registration Organization, shows that in some areas of Iran, the sex ratio has changed and deviated from the natural state.' The author of the note in Bahar pointed out that 'the natural sex ratio of the population at birth is usually between 102 to 107 boys for every 100 girls, and on average, 105 boys for every 100 girls.' In China, where this ratio has been disrupted, the birth sex ratio is 117 to 100. In Iran, the birth sex ratio in 2004 was about 104.6, and in 2014 it reached 106. Although Iran is still within the normal range and does not seem to be a cause for concern, when looking at the breakdown of the sex ratio by provinces, we see that some provinces have had an unnatural increase in the birth sex ratio from 2004 to now. According to the newspaper Bahar, this unnatural change is particularly observed in Kermanshah province, where 'this ratio has reached 110 boys for every 100 girls,' or Lorestan, where it is 108 boys for every 100 girls. These two provinces both had a natural birth sex ratio in 2004. Additionally, in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, this ratio has increased from 103 to 107, and in Sistan and Baluchestan from 102 to 107, and it is noteworthy that 'this change in the sex ratio of the population is more evident in urban areas of these provinces than in their rural areas.' Simin Kazemi emphasized that 'the disruption of the balance of the sex ratio of the population over a decade is concerning and could indicate the possibility of eliminating female fetuses and female abortions in these areas,' writing that 'the elimination of female fetuses occurs due to the convergence of three factors: one is the preference for male gender. The second factor is the change in the ideal family size. In Iran, having many children is no longer desirable and feasible, and some parents prefer to have fewer children. Along with this preference, there is also a preference for male gender. That is, parents can no longer afford to have multiple pregnancies hoping for a boy and tolerate a large number of girls as they could in past years due to economic, social, and cultural reasons.' The third factor for the elimination of female fetuses in Iran, according to the author of the note in Bahar, is 'the expansion of tools for determining the gender of the fetus,' as 'currently, with the expansion of technologies for determining the gender of the fetus, families can understand the gender of the fetus from the first weeks, and the earlier this determination is made in the initial months, the more options families have for eliminating the fetus.' Furthermore, 'in Iran, without any medical necessity or the treating physician requesting the determination of gender, the gender of the fetus is reported in ultrasounds,' and one of the consequences of knowing the gender of the fetus in cases where there is no medical necessity 'can be the act of abortion due to gender, which needs to be addressed by the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education to impose restrictions on the determination of the gender of the fetus.' The newspaper Bahar pointed out that 'the phenomenon of gender selection and preference for male over female is an issue that several countries in the world are facing, with China, India, and Central Asian countries, as well as South and East Asian countries, grappling with this problem the most.' The dimensions of the phenomenon of gender selection and male preference are such that annually, one and a half million female fetuses are sacrificed worldwide, and for this reason, 'the importance of the issue of gender selection as a global issue is such that several UN offices, including the UN Women and the Population Reference Bureau, are following up on this issue and monitoring various countries.' The author of the newspaper noted that 'according to various reports, Iran is still not among the countries where this phenomenon has reached a crisis according to the UN,' writing: 'However, looking at the sex ratio of the population indicates that we too could be among the countries at risk in the coming years.'