Is Jalili Replacing Mashaei?

The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page on Tuesday to "decoding the case of Bank Day," a subsidiary of the Martyrs Foundation, reporting that Nasser Saraj, head of the General Inspection Organization, stated on Monday during a ceremony for the introduction and farewell of the head of the Court of Audit regarding the corruption case of the Martyrs Foundation in the previous government: "We are not mind readers to be sure whether there has been a violation in this matter or not, but a report has been prepared regarding the Bank Day case and sent to higher authorities." The newspaper noted that Nasser Saraj did not relate the General Inspection Organization's investigation into Bank Day's violations to the inquiries of the relevant representatives, stating: "The investigation into the report concerning Bank Day's managers is still ongoing." Mehdi Ghadimi, in his report for Shargh, emphasized that "the violations of Bank Day were a significant part of the detailed report of the ninth parliament's investigation into the Martyrs Foundation," publishing a list of ten cases of illegal loans granted by this bank to individuals and legal entities; loans ranging from 10 to 60 billion tomans that, in addition to violating the permitted credit ceiling, were accompanied by "forgery of seals and signatures," "without obtaining the necessary guarantees and without repayment," and "collusion leading to losses for shareholders and bank customers." According to this newspaper, "members of the ninth parliament's investigative committee regarding the Martyrs Foundation elaborated on cases from two subsidiaries of this bank, namely 'Day Insurance' and the subsidiary company 'Dastavard Day.'" Additionally, in another section of the violations of this group, the issue of Bank Day's currency exchange office was raised, which also contains surprising points. Among them is that, according to one of the investigative committee members, one of the largest frauds in Iran's history occurred within this group, where "through several problematic and suspicious contracts, substantial amounts from the assets of this institution, which belong to the families of martyrs, were embezzled by specific individuals." The Shargh newspaper emphasized that other sections of the Martyrs Foundation, such as "the Kowsar Cultural-Tourism Complex Organization" and the significant section related to "Kowsar Economic Organization," are also parts of the investigative committee's report that are still awaiting reading in the parliament and referral to the judiciary. The newspaper also noted that "suspicions of smuggling rare and expensive animals" are among the issues attributed to the "Kowsar Cultural and Tourism Complex Organization" and the "Kordan Residential Complex in Karaj," which are subsidiaries of the Martyrs Foundation. The Mardomsalari newspaper reported on the disagreements among the right-wing (principlists) regarding the upcoming presidential election, referring to the "dispute among principlists over their final candidate" for the upcoming elections. This newspaper described the principlists as "unpredictable" and stated that they "usually deny what they initially express," and these days, "the principlists are discussing support for Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming elections," but "multiple voices from the clergy community are being heard, with some beating the drum of support for Rouhani while others are openly opposing the current president." The Hamdeli newspaper wrote: "Ahmadinejad's think tank has concluded that Jalili has managed to keep himself politically afloat by criticizing the government and the nuclear negotiations. On the other hand, he has managed to maintain his connection with the supporter base to a large extent. Some clerics in Qom will also support him. With this analysis, the organizational directive for Ahmadinejad's supporter team is not to engage in early competition with Jalili." This newspaper even speculated that Saeed Jalili might replace Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and wrote: Ahmadinejad's supporters only share common ground with Jalili's supporters, and "for this reason, according to a directive to media activists and Ahmadinejad's supporter organizations, they have been asked not to criticize Saeed Jalili and even to create a spirit of camaraderie." The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported with the headline "In the Hope of Conquering Paradise" that the principlists have begun their plans for the city council elections. This newspaper emphasized that "aside from a few principlists seeking a single term for Hassan Rouhani's presidency," it wrote: "For the rest of them, from Mohammad Reza Bahonar, head of the Front of Followers of the Line of Imam and Leader, who has predicted based on 'experience' that Rouhani's presidency will be two terms, to Morteza Nabavi, a member of the Supreme Council for Resolving Disputes and a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Engineers Society, who has advised principlists not to introduce a candidate against Rouhani in the upcoming elections, it has been firmly established that competing with the eleventh government president holds no significance." Farhikhtegan also noted that the focus on the fifth round of city and village council elections "is not limited to traditional principlists, and the possibility of disqualification and inability to compete with Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming presidential election has also prompted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his associates to shift their electoral activities towards the council elections." The Siyasat-e-Rooz newspaper, referring to what it called "mutual services between Ahmadinejad and Rouhani," wrote: "Ahmadinejad's current propaganda may not benefit anyone, but it does provide bread for the eleventh government, as in a situation where the government is more empty-handed than ever in showcasing its 'achievements' and all its promises have amounted to 'almost nothing,' who better than Ahmadinejad to scare the disillusioned from the hope government into choosing between bad and worse?" The Etemad newspaper highlighted "critical support for Hassan Rouhani" as part of the reformists' program for the upcoming year, stating that reformists do not intend to create a rival for Rouhani in the 2021 presidential election but will express their concerns and critiques in various forums and convey them to the government through their available channels, while considering "passing over Rouhani as a diversionary slogan and a psychological war by the rival faction." The Jahane San'at newspaper reported on the "dilapidation of 58,000 hospital beds in the country," describing it as a "serious and recurring problem." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Aghajani, Deputy Minister of Health, stated on Monday during an international hospital management conference: "Currently, 67% of the country's hospitals, which amounts to over 58,000 beds, are dilapidated, and 16,000 beds are over 50 years old. To address this issue, we decided two years ago to renovate hospitals and improve the quality of hoteling as part of the health transformation plan." Jahane San'at also referenced the repeated statements from responsible officials regarding this issue, writing: "Every now and then, deputy ministers and the minister of health speak about the dilapidated hospital beds. The dilapidation, shortage, and lack of dedicated hospital beds or ICU beds are serious and fundamental problems in the treatment and health sector in Iran." The Shahrvand and Aftab Yazd newspapers dedicated their front pages to the "destruction of the home of Queen Touran." The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported that the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation demolished the valuable building in Tehran "overnight." The Shahrvand newspaper also reported with the headline "Destruction of Queen Touran's House," stating that the house of Qamar al-Muluk Amir Soleimani, known as "Queen Touran," the third wife of Reza Shah, was demolished overnight despite being nationally registered. Elnaz Mohammadi reported in this newspaper that the luxurious house of Queen Touran, located on Pasian Street in Zafaraniyeh, is 5,000 square meters and had been owned by the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation until just a month ago, when it was transferred to a private owner who decided to demolish the house and rebuild it. This action, despite the opposition from the Cultural Heritage Organization and the emergency registration of this house, ultimately occurred "two nights ago and caused a lot of noise." The Ebtekar newspaper reported with the headline "Tehran's Heart is in Pain," stating: "As the managing director of Tehran's Behesht Zahra Organization announced two days ago, cardiac arrest remains the primary cause of death among Tehran residents." The Iran newspaper reported on experts' warnings about "land subsidence in the ancient region of the country" due to the existence of "illegal wells beneath the Takht-e Jamshid." The Javan newspaper, in its front-page report on Tuesday, described the Ministry of Education's "educational guidance plan" as "guiding students to non-governmental schools," stating: "The rooster's comb of support for non-governmental schools in the educational guidance plan becomes evident when students who excel and do not want to go to vocational schools are told: If you have money, go to a non-governmental school." The Khorasan newspaper quoted Abbas Jafari Dolat Abadi, Tehran's prosecutor, stating: "The subject of the Bank Mellat case involves the transfer of 800 billion tomans." According to this newspaper, a few days after the arrest of Ali Rastgar, the former CEO of Bank Mellat, the Tehran prosecutor also reported that four other defendants in the Bank Mellat case had been arrested, but several "defendants are still abroad" and "a report has been requested from the Minister of Economy and the head of the Central Bank regarding the actions of the defendants."