Health Minister: The Return of Vision for Victims of Fake Medicine is Unlikely

The newspaper Shargh, in its front page on Wednesday, referred to the election of 83-year-old Mohammad Yazdi as the new head of the Assembly of Experts, succeeding Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, stating that with this election, "an old critic of Hashemi has taken the throne of presidency." The newspaper also noted that the presidency of the Assembly of Experts had been held for years by Ali Meshkini, the head of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, emphasizing that after Meshkini's death in 2007, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and then Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, the Secretary-General of the Society of Clerics of Tehran, had assumed the presidency. However, Yazdi's victory on Tuesday in the internal elections of the Assembly of Experts represents a "return of the presidency from the Society of Combatant Clergy to the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary." Yazdi's victory over Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the race for the presidency of the Assembly of Experts was welcomed by newspapers close to various conservative factions. Newspapers such as Kayhan, Resalat, Javan, Siyasat-e Rooz, Jam-e Jam, Hemayat, Khorasan, and Quds dedicated their front-page headlines and photos to Yazdi's election with a "decisive majority." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, highlighted Yazdi's election in its front page, stating that in the "seventeenth session" and "with a majority of votes," the Assembly of Experts elected a "companion of the Imam and the Revolution" as its president, emphasizing that "Hashemi remains a reserve for the Revolution" and his dignity "must be preserved, but this vigilance and insight must start from him." Abdullah Ganjii, in the editorial of Javan, referred to the Assembly of Experts as a "leader-seeking" assembly and wrote that "the position of this assembly is such that there is no competition among the trusted jurists of the nation," but "with a rational and quick calculation, one could ask whether it is possible for those who took the presidency from Hashemi in the middle of the Assembly to elect him again?" The newspaper Siyasat-e Rooz also criticized Hashemi Rafsanjani's positions, stating that he could play a more important and fundamental role, apart from the presidency of the assembly, as an experienced and seasoned figure who has much experience, continuing his political life as a revolutionary theorist. The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz, close to the Stability Front, unlike other conservative newspapers, dedicated its front page to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with the headline "Not a Meaningful Assembly of Experts," stating that despite heavy political-media efforts, Hashemi Rafsanjani was unable to achieve the presidency of the Assembly of Experts with 24 votes against Yazdi's 47 votes. The newspaper Shahrvand reported on the situation of victims of the use of invalid drugs at the Razi Eye Clinic, quoting the Health Minister as saying that "the return of vision for the victims of fake medicine is unlikely." The newspaper also reported the rescue of "17 German tourists" by Red Crescent rescuers, stating that the tourists got trapped in a blizzard and thick fog while hiking in the heights of Damavand and took refuge in a valley. Several hours of anxiety and fear were enough for these 9 women and 8 men to be rescued from death in a coordinated and exhausting operation by the Red Crescent rescuers of Amol. Ali Motahari, in an interview with the newspaper Etemad, provided more details about the attack on himself in Shiraz, stating that "those who attacked me on Tuesday came with the intent to kill" and "I was lucky to survive." The newspaper Arman reported on warnings from education officials regarding a "return to illiteracy." An old critic of Hashemi on the throne of the Assembly of Experts. The newspaper Shargh, in its front page on Wednesday, referred to the election of 83-year-old Mohammad Yazdi as the new head of the Assembly of Experts, succeeding Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, stating that with this election, "an old critic of Hashemi has taken the throne of presidency." Marjan Tohidi, in a report for Shargh about the election of the new head of the Assembly of Experts, wrote that on Tuesday, the 19th of Esfand, "the image of the late Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, adorned with white flowers and a black ribbon, was taken down from the highest red chair of the former parliament, and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi took his place." The newspaper Shargh noted that "no one predicted Ayatollah Yazdi's ascension to the highest chair until the last moments of the Assembly's presidential election, and all addresses pointed to other candidates in this regard," stating that "the talk was of a competition between two Hashemis for this chair; Hashemi Shahroodi and Hashemi Rafsanjani. Both of them were candidates for the internal elections of the Assembly on Tuesday. Ayatollah Mohammad Momen also joined them," but this was not the end of the story, and "Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi also entered the competition. The competition among four candidates for the presidency of the Assembly of Experts in its seventeenth session." The newspaper referred to the process of determining the new head of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday as "the most competitive presidential election of the Assembly since its establishment in 1982" and wrote that "Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi was recently announced by Mohammadi-Kermani as one of the probable candidates for the presidency of the Assembly," and as the voting day arrived, "Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroodi, the most serious candidate mentioned to compete with Hashemi Rafsanjani, withdrew in the first round." Among the three candidates, "Mohammad Yazdi, Mohammad Momen, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani did not manage to secure a majority of votes in the first round, as out of the 73 present in the Assembly, 35 voted for Mohammad Yazdi, 25 for Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and 13 for Mohammad Momen." According to the newspaper Shargh, "thus, Mohammad Yazdi and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani became serious rivals to determine their presidency in the second round," where in the second round, "Mohammad Yazdi managed to secure 47 votes, while Hashemi received 24 votes," and "out of 73 votes, two were considered invalid, with Mohammad Yazdi being the unexpected winner of this competition." The newspaper noted the verbal conflict between Mohammad Yazdi and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani since 2009, stating that "three clerics, namely Mohammad Yazdi, Hamid Rouhani, and Rouhollah Hosseinian, criticized Hashemi Rafsanjani's positions regarding the noisy 2009 elections," but Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a meeting with a group of clerics and speakers, in response to those present who requested permission to respond to the statements of these three clerics, said: "For years, my response to Mr. Yazdi has been a request for healing for him and sending greetings. Unfortunately, he sometimes becomes angry due to physical problems and hastily expresses opinions. There are also individuals who seek fame by insulting others, and the response to such individuals is silence and prayer for their guidance." The newspaper Shargh pointed out that the presidency of the Assembly of Experts had been held for years by Ali Meshkini, the head of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, noting that after Meshkini's death in 2007, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and then in 2010, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, the Secretary-General of the Society of Clerics of Tehran, had assumed the presidency. However, one of the results of Mohammad Yazdi's presidency is the "return of the presidency from the Society of Combatant Clergy to the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary." Yazdi, the head of the "leader-seeking" Assembly, Hashemi Rafsanjani, the "reserve of the Revolution." The newspaper Javan, while dedicating its front page to Mohammad Yazdi, the new head of the Assembly of Experts, wrote that in the "seventeenth session" and "with a majority of votes," the Assembly of Experts elected a "companion of the Imam and the Revolution" as its president. This newspaper referred to the election of the head of the Assembly of Experts as a "third-rate issue" and wrote that "the reformists" attempted to divert public opinion from main issues by highlighting matters such as the overall nuclear agreement or the presidential election of the Assembly of Experts and engaging in second-rate issues. The newspaper Javan wrote: "The head of the Assembly of Experts was introduced on Tuesday while the reformist group had been trying for a month to depict the election of this term's Assembly as a political and factional confrontation and exploit it for party purposes. Especially since the main issues of the country are matters such as reducing inflation, creating jobs, preventing rising prices, and improving the economic and livelihood conditions of society." Abdullah Ganjii, in the editorial of Javan, referred to the Assembly of Experts as a "leader-seeking" assembly and wrote that "the position of this assembly is such that there is no competition among the trusted jurists of the nation. The elections of the Assembly are not a realm of "ordinary elections" and whims, but a trust from the nation to fulfill the conditions and qualities of leadership." The editorial writer of Javan emphasized that "for several months, the game of 'Hashemi is coming - Hashemi is not coming' has been played, but unaware that this approach not only did not serve Ayatollah Hashemi but opened a window for political maneuvering to the 'Assembly of Jurists.'" The writer of Javan further stated: "What are the advantages of the presidency of the Assembly of Experts for the reformist movement that they have shown such impatience and trickery? In analysis, we reach 'the breaths of polluted hypocrisy' that in this impatience, the hidden hearts and visible eyes are certainly present." This newspaper also wrote: "With a rational and quick calculation, one could ask whether it is possible for those who took the presidency from Hashemi in the middle of the Assembly to elect him again?" and since "the composition of the Assembly is the same Assembly that did not elect Hashemi, they now hold the same position, and Ayatollah Hashemi should not have entered this election." The editorial writer emphasized that "I firmly believe that the dignity of Ayatollah Hashemi in the Islamic Republic should be preserved, but this vigilance and insight must start from him so that he is not misrepresented in gatherings due to incorrect analyses and information. Hashemi remains a reserve for the Revolution, but the secularists are trying to interpret this reserve differently. It seems that the secularists' greed partially stems from his approach, which is bitter and distressing for the forces loyal to the Revolution." The Health Minister: The return of vision for victims of fake medicine is unlikely. The newspaper Shahrvand, while publishing a report about the situation of victims of the use of invalid drugs at the Razi Eye Clinic, quoted the Health Minister as saying that "the return of vision for the victims of fake medicine is unlikely." This newspaper noted that "a week has passed since the revelation of the eye infection of 15 patients at a specialized eye clinic in Tehran," stating that while these patients "hope for recovery, they are undergoing treatment at two hospitals, Farabi and Labafi-Nejad," and despite previous statements that "there is a possibility of recovery for these patients, now the Health Minister has emphasized that "the return of vision for the victims of this drug is unlikely." According to this newspaper, Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi referred to the injected drug as fake, while "the head of the Food and Drug Organization stated last week that contamination of the drug is unlikely and that the injection of the drug and the clinic environment likely had issues." The newspaper Shahrvand reported that the Health Minister, on the sidelines of the "Martyr's Day" ceremony, delivered this bad news to the victims of the contaminated drug, stating that "as soon as we became aware of the issue, two teams were assigned to examine the affected patients, and Farabi and Labafi-Nejad hospitals were tasked with investigating and treating the condition of these patients." The Health Minister emphasized that "the Food and Drug Organization began investigations, and with the help of security agents, these offenders were identified and handed over to the judiciary," stating that "profit-seeking was the main cause of this incident, and unfortunately, it is the people who suffer, and the trust of the people in the health system is also damaged." This newspaper noted the publication of news that the affected patients had been abandoned in terms of costs and support, quoting Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi as saying: "Hospitals should be asked how the care situation has been, but from the beginning of the incident, it was ordered that no costs be charged to them; however, the treatment clinics are at fault for not following up, although I still doubt that they have been negligent." The Health Minister also stated that "we cannot say that the illness of these individuals will return because the eye is part of the brain, and the penetration of drugs into it is difficult, and when the infectious agent becomes destructive, it can take away vision within 24 hours; therefore, the return of vision to its original state is unlikely," as "the vision of these individuals may be damaged, but samples from these individuals need to be examined, and the condition of the patients needs to be investigated concerning the microbial agent that is destructive." The newspaper Shahrvand reminded that on the 12th of Esfand, one of the news agencies reported, while publishing "news about the blindness of several patients due to the injection of an imported drug," that "the American drug Avastin was the drug injected into 15 patients, causing vision problems in a total of 21 eyes," but the Food and Drug Organization explained that "the drug was made in Switzerland, and a sample of it was sent for laboratory reference testing." This newspaper also pointed out the contradictory statements of responsible officials in this regard, noting that Rasul Dinarvand, the head of the Food and Drug Organization of the Ministry of Health, announced last Wednesday that the drug used "had the approval of the Food and Drug Organization" and "the results of the drug tests will be announced in three days," but now "more than a week has passed since then.