Instead of Focusing on Hijab, Address the Issue of Suicides

The newspaper 'Qanoon' reports on the beginning of the contest between reformists and moderate conservatives at the end of the electoral honeymoon in its front page on Tuesday. The paper refers to what it describes as 'Ali Larijani's closeness to reformists and his turning away from the Stability Front' during the parliamentary elections, stating: 'The honeymoon between reformists and traditional conservatives did not last long. The votes of the people of Tehran for all members of the Hope list, led by Mohammad Reza Aref, transformed Aref's potential candidacy for the presidency of the parliament from an 'option' to a 'right' for reformists and moderates. A right that some prominent reformist figures still insist upon.' The newspaper mentions that Mohammad Reza Tajik, a reformist figure, warned Hassan Rouhani with the 'Law of Survival' that his survival in the second round of the presidential election depends on bringing Mohammad Reza Aref to his rightful position, the presidency of the parliament. It also points out the insistence of reformists on Aref's presidency in the tenth parliament, stating: 'This insistence may have led the radical supporters of Ahmadinejad to try to get closer to Larijani,' and now 'those who used to accuse Larijani of the worst allegations claim they support Larijani's presidency in the parliament, as Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi claims that he and his like-minded individuals support Larijani's presidency.' The newspaper emphasizes that 'the insistence on Mohammad Reza Aref's presidency in the parliament only results in the unification of conservatives from traditional to radical in one front,' warning that 'the normalization project is in danger' and writes that 'if reformists had referred to the statements made long ago by Saeed Hajarian and realized that normalizing the situation during Ahmadinejad's era should be the most important goal of reformists, they would not have insisted on Aref's presidency to this extent.' The newspaper 'Shahr' in its front page published Mohammad Reza Tabesh's account of '5 to 5 negotiations between reformists and conservatives' and wrote: 'One day before the second conference of the Hope faction, the five-member interaction committee assigned by this faction continues its efforts to reach a result in talks with representatives of the conservative faction.' This newspaper quotes the representative of Ardakan as saying: 'After the results of the first round of elections were determined in meetings held as interaction sessions on Saturdays at Dr. Aref's office, we decided, and Mr. Aref confirmed, to form a five-member committee for interaction between the Hope and conservatives factions. I was tasked by the group to inform Mr. Larijani about this, and in one or two days after that meeting, I conveyed this discussion to Mr. Larijani; however, we have not received a response yet.' The newspaper 'Aftab Yazd' criticized 'the dual behavior of some elected members of the tenth parliament' and described it as 'the opposite of Aref, voting for Larijani.' Ashraf Boroujerdi, a figure close to the reformist faction, also told this newspaper: 'We must wait and see how the elected individuals with dual behavior will act in the future so that reformists can interact with them accordingly. If these individuals want to violate their commitments, they have in fact committed an unethical act, and reformists will take the necessary action against them, considering national interests.' The newspaper 'Jomhouri Eslami' reported in its Tuesday issue that following Faezah Hashemi's meeting with Fariba Kamalabadi, a imprisoned leader of the Baha'i community in Iran during her five-day leave, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said: 'Faezah has made a serious mistake and must correct and compensate for it.' According to this newspaper, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also referred to the Baha'i faith as a 'deviant sect' and stated: 'Baha'ism is a colonial and deviant sect that has always been known for this deviation, and we have always disassociated ourselves from this sect.' The newspaper 'Javan,' close to the Revolutionary Guards, also dedicated its front page to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Faezah Hashemi, writing: 'Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is currently busy with his expert travels, acknowledged in not-so-strong terms that his daughter's clear deviation in supporting meetings with Baha'is was a serious mistake that must be compensated.' This newspaper simultaneously published parts of Faezah Hashemi's interview with Euronews, quoting her as saying: 'My issue regarding Baha'is is a human rights issue. It is not right for us to discriminate as a religion.' She added that 'I have not done anything wrong, I am not regretful, and those who attack for this reason do not have religious concerns.' The Revolutionary Guards' affiliated newspaper described Faezah Hashemi's meeting with Fariba Kamalabadi as 'deviation' and wrote: 'Faezah Hashemi's new deviation has crossed the boundaries of the beliefs and political principles of the system to such an extent that even her usual supporters could not pass by it without objection.' The newspaper 'Kayhan' also called for judicial action against Faezah Hashemi, writing: 'Some religious and political figures have also asked the judicial system to respond decisively to Faezah Hashemi's meeting with a criminal figure linked to a political current supported by the enemies of this land.' This newspaper simultaneously published a fatwa from Ayatollah Khamenei, stating that the leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized in response to an inquiry regarding relations with Baha'is that 'all followers of the misguided sect of Baha'ism are condemned to impurity, and in case of contact with them, it is obligatory to observe purity issues concerning them.' However, 'the behavior of managers, teachers, and educators with Baha'i students must be based on legal and Islamic ethical regulations.' According to Kayhan, the leader of the Islamic Republic also stated in response to another question in this regard: 'All believers must confront the tricks and corruptions of the misguided sect of Baha'ism and prevent deviation and the joining of others to it.' Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, a lawyer, wrote in a note titled 'The Sadness of Society and the Suicide Crisis' in the newspaper 'Aftab Yazd': 'Recent suicides and the announcement of an annual statistic of 4,020 suicides in the country can be a warning bell for the health of Iranian society.' The writer emphasized that 'although the health of Iranian society has suffered serious damages, it can be seriously harmed by this issue,' referring to multiple instances of suicides in public view in the capital and even in cities and villages, stating that these suicides 'have plunged Iranian society into grief and sorrow' and pointed out the lack of comments from responsible officials on this matter, writing: 'This social issue must be examined as a social harm, and solutions must be found for its treatment.' Aftab Yazd also quoted the governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad as saying: 'Instead of zooming in on hijab, think about suicides.' The newspaper 'Jahan San'at' in its Tuesday issue emphasized that 'the Statistical Center rejected Rouhani's employment report,' stating: 'In the third year of the Hope and Prudence government, whose main slogan was to solve the unemployment problem and provide periodic reports on the government's performance in combating unemployment, the Statistical Center of Iran says that between 2005 and 2014, only 1% was added to the economic participation rate, and only 66,700 people have been able to enter the job market annually.' This newspaper reminded that Hassan Rouhani had previously spoken of 'creating about 1.2 million jobs in the past two years,' but on Sunday, Hamid Haj Esmaeili, the deputy of the Statistical Center of Iran, said: 'From 2005 to 2015, 882,708 people were added to the active population of the country, of which 667,782 managed to find jobs, and 214,926 could not and were added to the unemployed population of the country.' The deputy of the Statistical Center of Iran also stated: 'The government has not provided the address for the million-job creation it has in mind, and it has not been announced how hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created and in which sectors.' Kayhan also emphasized in its front page that 'unemployment and economic recession are the result of elite management' and 'elite management and complete dependence on the West have resulted in nothing but severe economic recession and the unemployment of thousands of workers and producers.' Finally, one day after some Tehran newspapers reported on their front pages, citing the statements of the police spokesperson about the possible arrest of 'Masoud Kashimiri' or 'Mohammad Reza Kalahi' as the main suspects in the bombing of the Prime Minister's office and the office of the Islamic Republic Party, the newspaper 'Arman' on its front page quoted Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi as saying: 'The arrested suspect is a woman.' The newspaper 'Iran,' close to the government, dedicated its front page to Shahram Nazeri and reported on the 'cancellation of his licensed concert' in Nishapur, writing: 'Simultaneously with the National Day of Ferdowsi and the commemoration, the repetitive saga of concert cancellations has reached Shahram Nazeri.' The newspaper 'Iran' also reported on 'Minoo Khalighi's invitation to the prosecutor's office,' stating: 'The case of Minoo Khalighi, the third elected representative from Isfahan in the tenth parliamentary elections, continues to take on new dimensions. On Sunday, the Tehran prosecutor announced her invitation to the prosecutor's office for explanations regarding the dissemination of photos attributed to Khalighi in cyberspace.' The newspaper 'Etemad' also dedicated its front page to the Tehran prosecutor's statements regarding the crackdown on 'modeling projects in Iran,' writing: '170 individuals managing fashion pages, designers, photographers, and makeup artists were identified in the Spider operation.'