Hot Discussions on the 96 Elections

The newspaper 'Qanoon' dedicated a photo in its Wednesday issue to the meeting between Ebrahim Raisi and Rustam Minnikhanov, describing it as a 'Russian roulette'—a type of life-or-death gamble. It stated, 'Raisi's meeting with Putin's plenipotentiary may lead him to lose many votes due to negative publicity or open doors to success for him.' The report noted that on April 31, 'Ebrahim Raisi hosted a high-ranking delegation from Russia led by Putin's plenipotentiary at the Astan Quds Razavi less than a week after registering for the presidential elections.' This meeting raised significant sensitivities regarding foreign interference in Iran's presidential elections, leading to a critical atmosphere against this conservative candidate, with Alireza Rahimi, a member of the National Security Commission of the 10th Parliament, calling on the Foreign Ministry to explain the meeting. 'Qanoon' recalled past meetings of conservative figures with foreign officials during previous elections, mentioning that conservatives had negotiated with Nick Brown, a senior official in the British Foreign Office before the 1997 presidential elections, an exposure that led to a political scandal affecting Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri's defeat. The article noted that Mohammad Javad Larijani, then head of the Parliament Research Center and a supporter of Nategh Nouri, assured the British figure that Nategh Nouri's victory could serve British and Western interests while trying to portray Mohammad Khatami, the leftist candidate at the time, as radical. Now, 'Raisi's meeting with a Russian figure evokes the same event, although this meeting was official and public, unlike Larijani's secret meeting with Brown.' Ramadanali Sabhani Far, head of the Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Committee, emphasized that 'Rustam Minnikhanov is Putin's special representative for religious affairs and the President of Tatarstan,' and regarding the political and electoral implications of this meeting, he stated, 'It is unlikely that a country, especially a small province, would want to interfere in Iran's internal elections.' However, 'Qanoon' noted that 'even if the explanations given and the content of the meeting are considered reasons for normalizing this meeting, the criticism remains valid for Raisi's electoral team: why did they give such a significant blunder to their rivals right before the elections? Why did they create suspicions of foreign interference in the elections? Couldn’t the meeting have been postponed to before registration or after the elections?' The newspaper 'Etemad' featured a headline on its Wednesday issue titled 'Astronomical Promises,' stating that 'the announcement of creating 5 to 6 million jobs, a 26% economic growth, and a 250,000 Toman subsidy' by Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Ebrahim Raisi turned into a media debate. The newspaper emphasized that 'from the early days of registration and even before, it was clear that the 96 elections would have the hottest discussions centered around the economy and employment.' These days, 'Hassan Rouhani, as a candidate who has held the executive reins of the country for the past four years, defends his record, stating he will say everything that needs to be said,' while 'his main rivals have entered the field with full force, targeting the government's economic record and launching their attack with the unemployment issue.' 'Etemad' noted that Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, two candidates from the conservative faction, 'one promises to create six million jobs while the other promises a 250,000 Toman subsidy to the unemployed; promises that have been countered with logic and reasoning by the closest figures to Hassan Rouhani.' The newspaper referred to the reaction of Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the 10th Parliament, who stated, 'If someone claims I will spend this amount of money, it is not a correct statement, and in my opinion, such topics are raised for deception.' He added, 'People do not want handouts; they want the groundwork for production; every educated young person can be a producer and entrepreneur,' emphasizing that 'the dignity of our nation is higher than living on handouts.' The newspaper 'Aftab Yazd' wrote about the 'astronomical promises' of the two conservative candidates, stating they 'are competing to outdo each other with bizarre promises, reminiscent of the populist and dreamy promises of the ninth and tenth governments. Hence, both Raisi and Qalibaf are banking on Ahmadinejad's legacy; the legacy of subsidies.' The newspaper quoted Mohammad Ali Najafi, an electoral advisor to Hassan Rouhani, stating, 'Mr. Qalibaf claims he will increase the country's revenue by 2.5 times; this claim resembles those of the previous government and its president, only its appearance has changed. To achieve this revenue, an annual economic growth of 25% is required, while our average annual growth over the past four decades has only been 3%,' adding that those advising him 'have no basic understanding of economics.' The newspaper 'Shargh' also titled its piece 'Imaginary 500 Trillion Promises,' stating, 'Without considering the public's awareness and merely based on gathering votes, now among the six presidential candidates, Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf have promised to increase cash subsidies up to three times. A rough calculation of what these two presidential candidates claim, considering the current 45,500 Toman subsidy, leads to a figure of 136,500 Toman cash subsidy for each individual. This amount, considering the country's population of 75 million, reaches 10,237,500 billion Toman monthly and 122,850 billion Toman annually. This figure over four years of each presidency would amount to 491,400 billion Toman, nearly double the total national budget.' The newspaper stated that even 'assuming the implementation of this, since the source of cash subsidies is from seven energy carriers (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil, liquefied gas, natural gas, and electricity), one should expect a multiple increase in energy prices, which would have detrimental effects on inflation, livelihood, unemployment, smuggling, etc., which is not hidden from anyone who has experienced the initial phases of targeted subsidies.' The newspaper 'Javan,' close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, emphasized that 'candidates are all seeking 'work.' The eleventh government, which has focused almost all its four years on the JCPOA, has managed to create 700,000 jobs, while if a government were in place that focused on internal resources and human capital instead of waiting four years for foreign investments and economic activation by foreigners, could it not produce more than one million jobs?' This newspaper noted that 'recently, some media have written extensively about the fanciful nature of creating 5 or 6 million jobs in the next four years,' recalling that 'according to the claims of the Minister of Labor of the eleventh government, over 1,900,000 jobs have been created during its tenure, and even according to the President's claim, with the creation of 700,000 jobs, Iran ranks among the top six countries in the world in job creation.' 'Kayhan' dedicated its front page to the statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic ahead of the presidential elections, quoting him as saying, 'Candidates should promise the people that for the country's progress, they should not look outside.' The newspaper 'Jahan San'at' examined the approaches of the three main presidential candidates in foreign policy, describing it as a confrontation of 'strictness against interaction,' quoting Alireza Rahimi, a reformist member of the 10th Parliament, stating, 'Qalibaf's hardline approach to foreign policy is conceivable; either Mr. Qalibaf or Raisi will have a completely different approach than Mr. Rouhani. The difference and advantage of Mr. Rouhani is that he is a diplomatic sheikh and was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council before his presidency, being involved in this matter and among the decision-makers. In conditions where the other candidates' backgrounds show less involvement in international matters and fundamental decision-making.' The newspaper simultaneously quoted Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a conservative member of Parliament, stating, 'This is a false impression being conveyed to society that the arrival of Raisi and Qalibaf will lead to the collapse of the JCPOA or a hardening of positions and the breakdown of relations. No, our foreign policy has a framework, and work will continue within this framework; this is a completely promotional and electoral impression being conveyed to the people.' 'Jahan San'at' wrote about the importance of the candidates' programs and ideas in foreign policy, stating, 'The foreign policy ideas of the presidential candidates in the current conditions of the country are of special importance as one of the key issues is how Iran interacts with other countries, the issue of sanctions, and regional relations; therefore, foreign policy can form one of the most important sections of the presidential candidates' programs for 96.'