Health Minister's Account of Visiting Mousavi, Rahnavard, and Karroubi

The newspaper Etemad reported sections of an interview with Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the Health Minister, who expressed concern about the health of the political prisoners, stating, "Anyone of advanced age could face any incident at any moment. Therefore, there is concern." The newspaper noted that Hashemi, a member of Hassan Rouhani's cabinet, has been able to meet with three prominent political prisoners in Iran and even perform surgeries on them. Hashemi confirmed that he has been tasked by the president to assess the health status of Zahra Rahnavard, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi, but he also pointed to the role of the head of the judiciary, saying, "If Ayatollah Amoli Larijani had not allowed it, this opportunity would not have arisen for me." The Health Minister mentioned, "Regarding the political prisoners, I must say they did not recognize me today. I have worked with Mr. Mousavi in the past. During his premiership, I was in the Jihad and participated in some government and economic council meetings. He knew me and had been my patient for years; Mr. Karroubi was the same. They asked me to operate on them. Well, did you expect me to say I wouldn’t? Perhaps if someone was thinking about their political future, they would make excuses." Hashemi also stated, "From a medical, pharmaceutical, and nursing perspective, everything the political prisoners requested has been provided for them, and there has been no restriction in choosing a doctor," adding, "Even if I were not a minister, I could have visited them upon their request, and I am constantly updated on their physical, mental, and psychological conditions." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, wrote in its Tuesday issue that the 'Fishgate' incident marks the beginning of the expulsion of liberals from the political scene of the country. Mehdi Poursafaa in Javan referred to 'executive managers' as 'Muslim liberals' and emphasized that they have continued their existence in the management arena even during Ahmadinejad's era. He wrote, 'All signs indicate that the Fishgate incident reflects a public demand at all levels of society, which is primarily directed against the managerial class.' Javan pointed out the 'difficult crossroads for the government and reformists' following the exposure of astronomical salaries of some managers, stating, 'It is possible that Rouhani's government wants to continue the current trend, and the reformists will fully support it. In such circumstances, it is natural that the government will find itself facing public demands to combat public corruption, but 'the second option is that Rouhani's government and the reformists take a seemingly tough stance, albeit artificial, against the elitist managerial class. In this case, it can be confidently said that the decline of the Kargozaran party in the political arena of the country will begin.' The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page, quoting the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani, that 'an organization for the management and organization of social harms' will be established. This newspaper noted that on Sunday, it was approved in a meeting of the Supreme Administrative Council, chaired by the first vice president, that 'an organization for managing and organizing social harms' will be formed under the Ministry of Interior. According to Es'hagh Jahangiri, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic had previously emphasized 'the necessity of forming a nimble and small organization for coordinating, monitoring, supervising, and managing social harms.' The newspaper Arman quoted the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance as saying, 'I ask the Friday prayer leaders and concerned members of society to investigate whether the news is correct or not before commenting. Sometimes a Friday prayer leader in a city that one must search for on the map with a magnifying glass says in his sermons that the Islamic title of the Ministry of Culture should be removed.' Ali Jannati, referring to comments and criticisms about 'the issue of bad hijab in society,' said, 'Some people, without addressing the roots of this issue and considering what its roots are, only see the appearance of the streets and then say, what is the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance doing? We also ask what all these cultural institutions in society are doing. We have about 50,000 scholars in Qom and thousands of other scholars across the country who are studying in religious seminaries, so why is the situation like this? We have around 800 Friday prayer leaders in the country who invite people to piety every week, or in all mosques, there are those who have the duty to guide the people. So what are they doing?' The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page to Ahmad Tavakoli, a principlist figure, and his account of the establishment of 'Iran's anti-riot police.' Ahmad Tavakoli, reflecting on how 'the underprivileged' became 'vulnerable groups' during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's government, said, 'These words are not a tale; the need for suppression and the necessity of quelling unrest were the essence of the late Dr. Nourbakhsh's remarks, the Minister of Economy in Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's cabinet, who proposed importing anti-riot equipment.' Shargh's report referred to the development and equipping of special forces in various governments, stating that the special forces of the police have 'four major units in Tehran and forces in 31 locations across the country and in four layers in Tehran, first, second, and third-class provinces,' and of course, there is an important subsection called 'Nopu,' which in international terminology refers to special anti-terror forces, but one of the commanders of this force previously stated that 'Nopu' is an abbreviation for 'Special Forces of the Guardians of the Wilayat,' not 'Special Anti-Terror Forces.' This newspaper also recalled that what Ahmad Tavakoli briefly referred to is known in contemporary Iranian history as the urban riots of the early 1990s, which included protests in cities like Mashhad, Arak, Mobarakeh, Chahardangeh Tehran, and others. This wave of protests began after inflation reached about 50 percent, with the most extensive protests occurring in Mashhad and the Talab neighborhood after municipal officials' attempts to demolish unauthorized residential homes built on the outskirts of the city, leading to widespread discontent and clashes in the city, resulting in several deaths during these protests. 'Destruction of 100,000 satellite dishes' was the front-page headline of Etemad and the front-page photo of the newspaper Jahan San'at. Jahan San'at reported, 'About 100,000 satellite-related devices were destroyed yesterday in a ceremony in western Tehran attended by Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij Organization.' Ashraf Gharami Zadegan, the director of the Legal Affairs Office of the Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs, announced the completion of the revision and drafting of the 'Women’s Security Bill' and told the newspaper Shahrvand, 'In a situation where violence against women, both physical and psychological, has increased, measures must be taken to strengthen the family and create affection and kindness among spouses and family members. Part of controlling such violence in the family will be achieved through the approval of the law.' The newspaper Shahrvand also reported the possibility of 'saving Sistan and Baluchestan from dust storms,' stating, 'Iran and Afghanistan are forming a working group to revive Hamoun to combat dust storms.' 'Wounded Lovers' is the title of another report in the newspaper Shahrvand about the plight of 'two environmental guards whose confrontation with poachers changed their lives,' one of these environmental guards, Ali Arameshfar, has been 'writhing in pain from 100 shotgun pellets that hit his leg for two months and 19 days, and it is unclear whether this leg will ever be a leg for him again,' and the second environmental guard, Hadi Jalali, still has '85 pellets' remaining in his body, but 'the pain of the remaining pellets does not bother him as much as being away from nature.' The newspaper Hamdeli reported, referring to the statements of the spokesman of the judiciary regarding 'leniency for those accused of attacking the Saudi embassy,' stating, 'These individuals who acted did not all have the same motive. Some were angry with Saudi Arabia and the Mina incident; although this does not justify it, it can lead to leniency. The Islamic Penal Code includes provisions for leniency, and the judge can determine and consider leniencies. Articles 37 and 38 of the Islamic Penal Code relate to this.' This newspaper simultaneously reported that Abbas Palizdar stated that during the investigation of his complaint against the former Tehran prosecutor, 'Saeed Mortazavi, upon leaving the room, told the judge, I am not Abbas Palizdar to be spoken to in this tone; I have taken a copy of all the documents and evidence of what I have done out of the country, and you cannot do anything.' Abbas Palizdar, a controversial figure and a member of the seventh parliament's investigation committee into the judiciary, who was arrested after several speeches and revelations, also stated that during his detention, he was threatened with 'execution' by the former Tehran prosecutor and emphasized that Saeed Mortazavi told his wife, 'Don't wait for Palizdar; go find a father for your children.'