Kameshani Under the Blades of Bulldozers

The newspaper Shahrvand has reported under the headline "Kameshani Under the Blades of Bulldozers and Illegal Excavators" that "the archaeological site of the first Neolithic village on the Caspian Sea is being destroyed." According to this newspaper, "the construction of a road leading to Sari, Neka, and Behshahr has divided the only Neolithic village in northern Iran in half, while archaeologists have declared the remaining colony of caves and archaeological sites in northern Iran to be at risk of complete destruction due to mining and unregulated construction. The most important and largest colony of ancient caves in northern Iran is located on both sides of the Behshahr-Mazandaran road, where the road passes through and mining from thousands of years of layers has left nothing but a pile of soil behind." The Shahrvand newspaper emphasized that "the Hotoo and Kamarband caves, located just a hundred meters apart and referred to as the main origin of prehistoric thinking humans, are in a worrying condition," stating: "Although the intact parts of the Hotoo cave are being reviewed by archaeologists, it is said that the Kamarband cave, dating back over 75,000 years BC, has been completely destroyed." This newspaper pointed out that "the ancient caves of northern Iran are gasping for breath amid widespread destruction and threats," writing: "The project to destroy the ancient caves of northern Iran, which began before the revolution due to extensive construction and mining activities, does not end with the Hotoo and Kamarband caves. Near these caves, one of the least disturbed archaeological sites and ancient caves in northern Iran in the village of Rostam-Kala is also at risk of destruction due to mining activities." The newspaper Sharq has highlighted the statements of the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps regarding the content of a meeting in early August between several senior commanders of this force and Hassan Rouhani, reporting that Mohammad Ali Jafari stated in a television program that in this meeting, "there was critical discussion, but overall he welcomed it because the goal was sincere and carried out out of sincerity" and "he also responded positively. So far, it has been going well." According to this newspaper, "In early August of this year, five senior commanders of the IRGC, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, Gholam Hossein Ghaibparvar, the commander of the Basij Organization, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, and Ismail Qotbi, the commander of the Tharallah Headquarters in Tehran, met with Hassan Rouhani." Sharq reported on the reason for this meeting, quoting Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying: "The goal was to create unity and cohesion and to prevent a rift that was felt to be emerging among the revolutionary forces, and we also met with some other personalities. Among them, we met with the President and raised our concerns, and he welcomed it." The newspaper wrote that the IRGC commander also rejected the possibility of the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, stating: "Once there was a discussion in the Supreme National Security Council, but there was no consensus on this, as the consensus of opinions was that the tranquility of society is dependent on the continuation of the current situation, and if the house arrest is lifted, one of the reasons that consensus cannot be reached in security meetings is that the grounds for insecurity and creating discord and breaking unity in society will be prepared again. Overall, it seems that the continuation of the current situation ensures political calm in society," adding that "in contrast to the house arrest, no one says it should be lifted, but rather they say it should be lifted and a trial should take place. If a trial occurs, it will create more problems for them. It is certainly to their detriment." Ghodratollah Ali Khani, a former member of parliament and a cleric close to the reformist faction, emphasized in an interview with the newspaper Arman that "some claim that Mr. Rouhani has taken a different path because he no longer needs the votes of reformists, which is not very pleasing to reformists. I also believe that Mr. Rouhani intends to live in this country after his presidency and play an effective role in the political landscape of Iran. Mr. Rouhani does not want to end up like the reformist president (Mohammad Khatami)." This former member of parliament also stated: "Hassan Rouhani has had some shifts before and after the elections, but the cabinet has not shifted to the right; however, some friends have complaints about the selection of cabinet members. For example, it is still unclear why Mr. Majid Ansari was removed from the cabinet." The Arman newspaper, referring to Hassan Rouhani's meeting with Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Khomeini during the formation of the twelfth government, quoted Ghodratollah Ali Khani as saying: "It appears that consultations have not been very effective, and Mr. Rouhani ultimately made personal decisions in selecting cabinet members," just as during the formation of the eleventh government, a "dinner with five people" attended by Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Khomeini, Mohammad Khatami, and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri was held with Hassan Rouhani, but "this ceremony had no specific outcome" and "in this meeting, Mr. Rouhani told the elders that the issue of selecting cabinet members was settled and the government had made its decision." Ghodratollah Ali Khani also stated: "I want to say clearly and openly that reformists are nominally present in the tenth parliament, but in practice, reformists have no representative in parliament. Therefore, the reform movement has been deceived. Reformists have lost trust in the weak performance of the Hope faction. The situation is such that members of the Hope faction vote for Mr. Kodekhdaei but are not willing to support Mr. Bi-Taraf." At the same time, Mohammad Reza Tajik criticized the "pseudo-reformists" in an interview with the newspaper Etemad, stating: "Strategically tying the reformist hair to the hair of the government of moderation is a betrayal. Reformism is an authentic and comprehensive historical movement of ours that cannot be reduced to a government or regime. These days, some who have a distorted view and only see the bent figure of reform in the realm of politics and power, and are unable to see its robust social and cultural stature, have come to believe that they must lean on others' canes and stand tall. They do not see or do not want to see that this politically shortened stature has many times its depth in the social, cultural, and historical underground of our society." This reformist figure pointed out the unfulfilled promises of Hassan Rouhani regarding "lifting house arrests, economic opening, and utilizing women and youth in the cabinet," saying: "I am surprised by professional and complex political actors who have no image or estimation of events before they occur; those seemingly smart and timely politicians who are always historically delayed and are on historical holidays, and when they return from holidays, their surprised and astonished faces are truly remarkable. I have no doubt that if there is a breach of promise, if there is a breach of commitment, and if these breaches have very negative repercussions and destructive consequences, this group of reformists is also complicit in it." The Etemad newspaper quoted Mohammad Reza Tajik as emphasizing that "the strategy of reformists in dealing with and interacting with the government should be a reformist supportive or critical support strategy," but currently, "the Achilles' heel of reformism is the false and deceitful reformists" who are "like termites, eroding and hollowing out the reformist movement and discourse from within; those who, in the name and by the hands of the reformist movement, have taken their place behind the display of power and politics or the reformist movement, but with their distorted and ugly image and the discursive and executive garment they wear, repel and dissuade any buyer from stopping behind the display." Mohammad Reza Tajik also stated: "Today, in the broad body of reformism, some have granted the role of legs and chest to the youth while reserving the head role solely for themselves. From this perspective, the youth are the main actors of the first act (to power) of the power play, and when the second act (in power) begins, many of them will fall off the stage, and the game of the generals will begin." The newspaper Iran reported, quoting the Minister of Interior, that "despite announcing an unemployment rate of 12 percent nationwide on average, we see that in some cities, the unemployment rate has reached 60 percent" and "among our educated people, the unemployment rate is much higher than what is announced on average." This newspaper quoted Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli as saying: "Currently, we are facing various social harms, including addiction, marginalization, and divorce, and among areas with high unemployment, these harms are more acute." The Minister of Interior noted that four meetings about "social harms" have been held with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating: "The fifth meeting was supposed to be held in early May, but due to the election atmosphere and the workload of all officials and agencies in various fields regarding the elections, as well as the density of the President's programs during the elections, we requested that this meeting be held after the elections, which was agreed upon. We are trying for the Supreme Leader to kindly hold the meeting in October." According to the Iran newspaper, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli described solving social harms as requiring the social participation of the people, stating: "People must know that they should come to work in the framework of social organizations, NGOs, parties, and groups, or individually, to be able to resolve social harms. Undoubtedly, the most active element in mobilizing the people is the media." The Etemad newspaper reported under the headline "Trip to Muscat and Doha with the slogan of regional convergence," about Mohammad Javad Zarif's trip to Oman and Qatar, stating that the Foreign Minister "after international consultations in New York, turned to the first priority of the Foreign Ministry." Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding Mohammad Javad Zarif's trip to Muscat and his agenda during this trip, stated: "Iran's relations with Oman are logical, balanced, and stable. The two countries have always been in close contact regarding regional cooperation, bilateral relations, and how to further develop cooperation between them, and we hope that in the future, these relations will continue on a broader scale. Nowadays, not only the regional situation but also the international conditions necessitate Iran to develop its relations with neighboring and surrounding countries." The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told Etemad: "The twelfth government has prioritized improving relations with neighbors, and given the recent events that have occurred or are occurring in the region, the necessity of sitting down and consulting between Iran and neighboring countries is very high. In the coming weeks, we will have serious consultations with many neighbors at various levels. Regarding the trip to Doha, this is the first time that the Iranian Foreign Minister has traveled to this country after the crisis that occurred in relations between Qatar and some countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bilateral relations and regional issues such as Syria and the tensions in the relationship between Qatar and some countries in the region could be subjects of discussions for the Iranian Foreign Minister in Doha." The Etemad newspaper noted that "Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the eleventh and twelfth governments, has identified improving relations with neighbors as one of the two priorities that the Foreign Ministry under his supervision will focus on in the next four years," stating: "The course of events in the past four years has progressed in such a way that Iran has at least regressed in its relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and bilateral relations with Bahrain have remained in the same state of fear and hope and stagnation. In this context, Saudi Arabia has also succeeded in superficial alliances among Arab countries in facing Tehran, which has led to the current situation in the region being referred to as a Saudi front and another front called Iran." Bahram Qasemi, in an interview with Etemad, emphasized that Mohammad Javad Zarif's trip to Oman and Qatar is not against any other country and "regarding relations with Saudi Arabia, we have repeatedly stated that we are never interested in creating or escalating tensions in the region and welcome any positive action that can transform relations between Iran and other countries in the region; however, unfortunately, the Saudi government, due to its misunderstandings, has not been able to reach a realistic and wise decision regarding its relations with its neighbors. We will respond to any friendly call with a friendly response, and the history of the region attests to this principled policy of Iran."