Increase in Metro and Taxi Fares

The newspaper Tejarat reported on its front page that, according to the indices announced by the Statistical Center of Iran, the unemployment rate in 2015 increased by "four tenths percent" to 11 percent compared to 2014, but simultaneously stated: "A fourteen percent increase in economic indices is not very noticeable." The newspaper Javan pointed out that on Sunday, the Tehran City Council "voted for a 25 percent increase in metro fares and a 15 percent increase in taxi and bus fares," evaluating this increase as causing "metro fares to outpace inflation and the minimum wage." The Javan newspaper, emphasizing that "26 percent of urban households are unemployed," supported the fare increases in its social page, stating: "The City Council adjusted the increase in bus and metro fares," but "the government protested instead of supporting public transport." The newspaper Jahan San'at also reported that with the approval of the Tehran City Council, "the two-way metro ticket that was previously purchased for 1,000 tomans will now be bought for 1,250 tomans. This means an average increase of 7,500 tomans in monthly expenses for citizens," assuming that "individuals use the metro once a day and do not use any other means of transport." Gholam Hossein Aram, the technical and engineering deputy of the Tehran governorate, referring to the previous resolution of the City Council regarding fare increases, told Jahan San'at: "If we realize that this resolution contradicts the government's public policies and has increased more than the inflation rate, it will be referred to the dispute resolution board of the Ministry of Interior." "Beginning with Protest" is the headline of the front page of the newspaper Shargh, describing the criticism of representatives from Bonab, Ardabil, and Qorveh regarding the conduct of elections in the first session of the new year of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. On Saturday, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in addition to Kamel al-Din Pir-Mo'azen's criticism of the incident regarding the election of Mino Khaleqi to the Assembly and Hamed Ghader-Merzi's criticism of his disqualification, witnessed an unprecedented speech by Reza Bagheri, the representative of Bonab, about "the interference of certain institutions and the open buying and selling of votes in his electoral district." According to the Shargh newspaper, Reza Bagheri-Bonabi stated: "The elections in Bonab were a disgrace, and the people were wronged on the 7th of Esfand and could not defend their legitimate rights" and "the people of Bonab witnessed how the money of figures like Babak Zanjani influenced the election results through some candidates, necessitating that monitoring bodies track the financial resources of candidates and inform the relevant authorities and the honorable people of Bonab." The newspaper Etemad, in its front page on Tuesday, referred to Abbas Araghchi and Ali Akbar Salehi as "defenders of the JCPOA" and reported: "Araghchi on television and Salehi at the Atomic Energy Organization reacted against the continuous news fabrication." This newspaper published Abbas Araghchi's explanations about the implementation of the JCPOA in a television program, quoting this Iranian Foreign Ministry official as saying: "On the same day, January 17, all our blocked funds were released," but "the other side did not commit to finding us an oil customer." Sara Masoumi, in a report for Etemad, criticized the approach of state television regarding nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA, stating: "In the past three years, state television has repeatedly asked different members of the nuclear negotiating team about the details of the agreement," while the Iranian nuclear file was "hidden" during the ninth and tenth governments, and few people questioned it. The reporter of Etemad pointed out the "perception of the people as untrustworthy" during the previous government, stating: "Six resolutions were issued against this file, but the people were not informed about the reasons for these resolutions and their legal and political consequences. Oil, banking, financial, and insurance sanctions were imposed on the Iranian economy, but state television saw silence as prudent and did not mention the apparent and hidden dimensions of what was happening in nuclear negotiations before the eleventh government," and even the nuclear negotiators of the previous government "were not invited to any television programs, and no debates were held among supporters and opponents of the ongoing negotiations." Javid Ghorban-Oghli, former director general of the Foreign Ministry, also emphasized in the editorial of Etemad the "necessity of managing the post-JCPOA environment," writing: "We must accept that the JCPOA is now an important international document. Based on this document, obligations have been placed on us and also on the opposing parties. The assessment of what we have and what we have received is a matter related to the past. The question today is how we can preserve this important international document in the best way that guarantees all the interests of the country." Simultaneously, Sadegh Zibakalam, in the editorial of the newspaper Shargh titled "The Spirit of the JCPOA, the Body of the JCPOA," evaluated the new wave of internal attacks on the JCPOA, writing: "Barack Obama's speech at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, stating that Iran has not violated the provisions of the JCPOA but still has expectations regarding Iran's adherence to the 'spirit of the JCPOA,' has faced various reactions in Tehran," especially "opponents of the JCPOA have shown the most reactions to Obama's remarks and have accused the United States of not being committed to either the spirit or the body of the JCPOA." The editorial writer of Shargh emphasized that "Obama is actually correct. The JCPOA has a body or form that consists of a series of dos and don'ts, part of which is the responsibility of Iran and the other part is on the shoulders of the West," stating that the U.S. President "did not expect Iran to stop or even slow down its missile programs but expected that threats to destroy the Israeli regime would not be raised" and also "expected that in the post-JCPOA environment, Iran would take more significant steps to resolve regional problems and show other initiatives; also, to soften the political atmosphere within Iran and perhaps other expectations." The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz, close to the Front of Steadfastness, again attacked the JCPOA and the diplomacy of the eleventh government, calling Abbas Araghchi a "grimace" for his defense of the JCPOA and stating: "Once again, Abbas Araghchi has been tasked with justifying multiple violations of the JCPOA in public." Kayhan also headlined, "Virtual Protest Against Real Violation of the JCPOA," stating: "The American side is evading the real lifting of sanctions while adding new demands, including stopping Iran's support for the resistance front and ending our country's missile power to the conditions of the JCPOA, and meanwhile, the eleventh government has limited itself to verbal and email protests against this breach of commitment." Mohammad Imani, in the editorial of Kayhan titled "The Secret of the Leader's Ultimatum," emphasized that "a strategic line has been explicitly and more clearly emphasized by the Leader of the Revolution in various meetings over the past 8-9 months," referring to Ali Khamenei's remarks in a meeting with members of the Supreme National Security Council, and wrote: "In such circumstances, it is natural that among the interests of preserving a certain political face and the overarching interests of the country, system, and revolution, the latter takes precedence." The editorial writer of Kayhan criticized Hassan Rouhani and the diplomacy of the eleventh government, stating: "The roadmap for 2016 should be extracted from the lessons and experiences of the past couple of years," and the essence of this roadmap is that "the ultimate plan and desire of the enemy should be understood, not to be deceived by threats, temptations, and calculated insinuations, the key to solving problems should not be sought in Lausanne, Geneva, and New York but should be pursued internally, and serious efforts should be made for a resilient economy." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also quoted Foad Izadi, a figure close to conservatives, stating: "The JCPOA has structural problems." Mahmoud Ali-zadeh Tabatabai, a lawyer, in an interview with the newspaper Shargh about "the latest status of the case" of five journalists who were arrested five months ago by the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards, stated: "In this case, the charges against Ehsan Mazandarani and Davood Asadi were propaganda against the regime, insulting the leadership, and conspiracy to act against national security, and in the one session held before the New Year, we made the final defense." Eisa Saharkhiz was also "charged with three additional charges of spreading falsehoods and insulting the head of the judiciary." This lawyer indicated that "I wanted to announce my representation for Saman Safarzadeh, but his family expressed their desire for another lawyer to pursue his case, so I did not take on his case," stating: "His lawyer is now Mr. Mirzazadeh, and defense has been made in his case, and we are waiting for the verdict," but regarding the case of Afarin Chiz, "we have no information at all and do not even know the status of his case." Mahmoud Ali-zadeh Tabatabai also mentioned regarding "Mohammad Ali Taheri" that "the Supreme Court annulled the death sentence, and now he should be released with a light bail" because his five-year sentence ended on February 6, and he should have been released but is still detained under the pretext of addressing private complaints, even though "we have not seen any complaint in the case yet."