Iran's Oil Message to America

The newspaper Aftab Yazd, in a report on "Iran's Oil Message to America," assessed the statements made by Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia, Deputy for International Affairs at the Ministry of Oil, as a "green light from the Islamic Republic of Iran for American oil companies to invest." The newspaper Shargh reported on a "mistake in the last round of subsidy payments" and the erroneous removal of several subsidy recipients, stating: "Recently, government officials made promises to remove subsidies for the wealthy, but evidence shows that not only have the threats to remove subsidies for the wealthy not been implemented, but in a strange move, subsidies for low-income and middle-class individuals are being removed." The newspaper Ebrahimi also highlighted government plans regarding "cash subsidies" and "food baskets," stating: "Instead of the wealthy, subsidies for low-income groups have been cut." The newspaper Shahrevand reported, citing Mohammad Reza Farahani, Deputy for Cultural and Student Affairs at the Ministry of Health, about the "increase in depression among students." "Telecommunications made the minister's voice heard" is the headline of Shahrevand, which refers to Mahmoud Vaezi's criticism of the telecommunications company, stating to its managers: "Provide services to the people, then distribute profits." The front page photo of this newspaper is dedicated to the "Spinas Hotel No. 2," which was supposed to be built in 8 floors above ground but has now reached 16 floors, leading to "construction violations of the Spinas Hotel being questioned by some members of the city council from Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran." The headline of Shahrevand also reads "They are the drought refugees," reporting on "the impact of wetland dryness on bird migration." The newspaper Jahan San'at reported that according to the International Monetary Fund, "Iran has the highest inflation in the Middle East." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, dedicated its front page to the "critical conditions of employment and domestic production overshadowed by excessive imports," stating: "Last year, we witnessed over $70 billion worth of foreign goods in the country's markets, with which we could have created about 2 million jobs in that year; in fact, foreign goods not only destroyed part of domestic units and factories due to the spread of unemployment but also targeted Iran's national security." This newspaper also reported on the cessation of the radio section of Voice of America, stating: "Voice of America has gone silent." The newspaper Kayhan dedicated its front page to the statements of Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor on international affairs to the Supreme Leader, quoting him as saying: "The nuclear red lines have not changed at all" and "Those who negotiate and are involved in the nuclear negotiation process have no choice but to adhere to the red lines." The newspaper Iran reported on "Hassan Rouhani's order to address the Tabriz stadium incident," stating: "On Sunday, Mahmoud Goudarzi presented a report on the Tabriz stadium incident during a football match to the cabinet, and the President instructed the Minister of Sports and Youth to address the issue seriously and thoroughly, and if any misconduct or fault is proven, serious managerial action should be taken." This newspaper also published a report titled "The car market in a price decline," stating: "Low public interest has caused the prices of domestic cars to drop from 100 thousand to over 6 million and foreign cars from 2 to 10 million tomans." "The endless story of the attack on Motahari" is the headline of the newspaper Etemad, which wrote: "The story of Shiraz continues. Perhaps on the day Ali Motahari decided to go to Shiraz for a speech, he did not anticipate any of the events of these days. 70 days after that day, however, the aftershocks are still felt not only in Shiraz but also in the surrounding cities, and last Wednesday, Hojjatollah Rezaei, the governor of Jahrum, received his dismissal order due to the assistance he provided to Ali Motahari during the incident, thus replacing a governor who claims to be reformist with one close to the previous government." The front page photo of the newspaper Shargh is dedicated to the poster of the film "Nahid," and Amir Ganjavi, a reporter for this newspaper, reported from the Cannes Festival that "the screening of the film 'Nahid' by Ida Panahandeh as Iran's official representative in the 'Un Certain Regard' section was one of the significant events on the fourth and fifth days of the Cannes Festival." The newspaper reported that the film Nahid was screened on Saturday, May 26, in two sessions at the "Debussy" hall, where "the satisfaction of the audience could be seen on their faces." The newspaper Resalat published a photo of Ahmad Tavakoli, a principlist representative of the ninth parliament and director of the 'Alif' website, after the court session held on Sunday, which was held on charges of "propaganda against the regime," quoting him as saying: "I did not commit any wrongdoing; I will be acquitted." The newspaper Ettela'at dedicated its front page photo to the "inauguration of the largest suspension bridge in the Middle East in Meshkinshahr," stating: "The Meshkinshahr suspension bridge, as the largest suspension bridge in the Middle East, is built at a height of 80 meters above the Khiyavchay River, has a width of 2 meters, and a length of 365 meters corresponding to the number of days in a year, built at a cost of '40 billion tomans.'" The oil message from Iran to America; the green light from the Deputy Minister of Oil to oil companies. The newspaper Aftab Yazd, in a report on "Iran's Oil Message to America," assessed the statements made by Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia, Deputy for International Affairs at the Ministry of Oil, as a "green light from the Islamic Republic of Iran for American oil companies to invest." According to this newspaper, Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia, Deputy for International Affairs at the Ministry of Oil, stated on Sunday that "from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there are no restrictions on American oil investment in the country" and "the criteria for participation and investment of American companies in Iran's oil and gas industry are based on commercial indices, allocation, and packages dedicated to the private sector in Iran." Aftab Yazd recalled that earlier, Abbas Shaeri-Moghadam, Deputy Minister of Oil and CEO of the National Petrochemical Company, had announced the readiness of several European-American companies to invest in new petrochemical projects, stating: "Negotiations with companies from Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy for participation in petrochemical industries have begun." According to this newspaper, Abbas Shaeri-Moghadam stated that American companies have not directly negotiated with Iran for participation in petrochemical projects, but "some European companies that have American partners have had negotiations for cooperation and even in response to our question about how they could negotiate and express readiness with an American partner, they emphasized that our American partners themselves wanted to engage in these discussions." However, Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia, Deputy for International Affairs at the Ministry of Oil, stated on Sunday: "In the past few months, not just one or two companies, but several American companies have expressed readiness to invest and participate in Iran's oil industry projects if sanctions are lifted." Hassan Moradi, an energy law professor at Tehran University, described the entry of American companies into Iran's oil industry as a "win-win game" and told Aftab Yazd: "We have no problem regarding economic relations with Americans and their companies, as they are the ones who have sanctioned us; we welcomed the proposals from oil companies for constructive cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this is a mutual win-win game; they too should set their framework and bring new technology and innovation to our country." The energy law professor emphasized that "we definitely welcome the entry of both European and American companies into Iran," stating: "There are also companies that have a history of cooperation with us, and there is a basis for further cooperation with them." Regarding whether investment by American companies requires approval from the Islamic Consultative Assembly, he said: "Some contracts that are of a treaty nature or bilateral contracts require the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly; also, if governments want to conclude an agreement, it requires the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, but regarding companies, we do not need approval, and this practice has existed previously." Aftab Yazd quoted Hassan Moradi as saying: "If investments by American companies with private Iranian companies materialize, Iran's economy will grow rapidly" and this action "will lead to economic prosperity and open new horizons for Iran's economy, as well as create more opportunities for work and effort in the industry." This energy law professor stated: "We have high capabilities for foreign investment in minerals, industries, and oil, and therefore if companies operate, they will have high capabilities, and a wide horizon will open for them for investment and mutual cooperation." The newspaper Aftab Yazd, referring to what it described as "the competition of oil investor companies over Iran" in the event of sanctions being lifted, wrote: "With this green light shown by the Deputy for International Affairs of the Ministry of Oil, we will witness Iran's entry into the global economy," and even "Iran's economic growth is predicted to be six percent after the lifting of sanctions until 2017." "Mistake in the last round of subsidy payments" The newspaper Shargh reported on a "mistake in the last round of subsidy payments" and the erroneous removal of several subsidy recipients, stating: "Recently, government officials made promises to remove subsidies for the wealthy, but evidence shows that not only have the threats to remove subsidies for the wealthy not been implemented, but in a strange move, subsidies for low-income and middle-class individuals are being removed." This newspaper noted that criticisms of the removal of subsidies for low-income individuals have also reached the public session of the parliament, quoting Seyyed Saeed Zamaniyan-Dehkordi, a representative from Shahrud, as saying: "The government was supposed to remove subsidies for the wealthy, not to remove subsidies for the poor," but "I do not know on what basis the government has acted to remove subsidies for low-income individuals, but rest assured that the subsidies for low-income individuals are being removed, and the basis for their removal is unclear." The representative from Shahrud even stated that "a few days ago, three low-income families from Shahrud came to me and reported that their subsidies had been removed; the plan was to remove subsidies for the wealthy, but now subsidies for the lower deciles are being removed." According to the newspaper Shargh, the news of the removal of several low-income households in various cities "has emerged while the reactions to it indicate the public's confusion over such an action" and "some individuals whose subsidies have been removed and are considered part of the working class have gone to their city or village governorates to express their protests, but surprisingly, the governorate has claimed ignorance of such a matter." The report indicated that previously, the removal of part of the community considered wealthy by the government had also led to protests, and "just a month ago, some members of the medical community protested over their subsidy removal, which received widespread attention. Even some four-member households only managed to receive subsidies for three members of the family." Shargh wrote that "the interesting part of the matter is that Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, did not accept the removal of five income groups, including doctors, lawyers, luxury car owners, currency exchange owners, and members of the boards of banks and private companies and Iranians residing abroad, and for a while tried to conceal the removal of subsidies until he was ultimately forced to admit to the removal of subsidies, emphasizing that this action is not related to the year 94." Hadi Haqshenas, an economic expert, pointed out that "the maximum amount of money that the government can distribute as subsidies among households this year is 39 trillion tomans; therefore, if the government does not remove the subsidies for the wealthy now, it will face a budget deficit," telling Shargh: "The government must remove the subsidies for the wealthy, and certainly, the government's goal in the subsidy removal section is not the low-income individuals and the supportive and welfare deciles," but regarding the removal of some low-income individuals, there may have been "statistical errors, since the basis for subsidy removal is specifically for the wealthy." This former parliament representative also commented on the government's information sources for identifying the wealthy and rich, stating: "The footprints of the wealthy in the country are clear, but the footprints of the poor are not; in simple terms, the wealthy can be identified by their homes, cars, bank accounts, and number of foreign trips and tax declarations. Because there are many signs and clues for identifying the wealthy, but the poor do not have homes, luxury cars, or foreign trips; sometimes they do not even have jobs, so their traces cannot be tracked, thus the government can identify the wealthy." Mohammad Baqer Sadri, a university lecturer and economist, also commented on the mechanism and basis for removing subsidies and the removal of some low-income individuals from the list of subsidy recipients, telling Shargh: "Our society is still grappling with inflation and the devaluation of the national currency, so any error in removing subsidies for low-income deciles will lead society to numerous problems and confusion." This university lecturer also stated that "the government has hundreds of information sources at its disposal," advising caution from the 11th government and attention to the sensitivities ahead, stating: "Economic errors in recent years have been directed at the middle class, and it seems that this group is now...