Major Cities Surrounded by 11 Million Marginalized Residents

The newspaper Te'adal has dedicated its front page and editorial of January 1st to 'speculations about the world in 2015', stating: 'Most existing trends and conditions indicate that 2015 will continue from 2014', 'a year full of crises for politics and full of tensions for political leaders, but at the same time a year of stability and decline in global economic markets.' The newspaper Shargh reported that the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry implicitly confirmed 'Iran and the USA's discussions regarding prisoner exchanges', but stated that these discussions were not at the level of negotiations and were only mentioned during nuclear negotiations and 'in line with the governments' concerns about the status of their citizens.' The newspaper Iran reported on the government's new method for eliminating high-income subsidy recipients, stating that instead of identifying high-income households and removing them from the list of subsidy recipients, the government plans to implement a 'low-income identification scheme' and 'identify those in need of subsidies.' The newspaper Shahrvand published 'new statistics on the marginalization crisis in Iran', reporting that six years ago the number of marginalized people was 9 million, but now it has reached 11 million. The newspaper Arman, in its Thursday edition, emphasized multiple times about 'the corporal punishment of students', stating that 'punishing students is arbitrary.' Shirzad Abdollahi, an education expert, also emphasized the 'condemnation of abusive teachers' in a note in the Arman newspaper, writing: 'School is a specialized institution for educating children', 'the teacher's behavior in any situation, even when faced with rudeness and assault from a student, must be in accordance with educational protocols.' The newspaper Hamshahri reported the death of a three-year-old female leopard on Tuesday evening due to a collision with a passing vehicle in the Cheshmeh Jan Lar area of Golestan Park, stating: 'The road that passes through the heart of Golestan National Park caused the death of the eighth leopard this year.' The newspaper Te'adal reported on 'a new era of relations between Iran and Turkey', stating: 'Finally, the preferential trade agreement between Iran and Turkey has been implemented, which could significantly improve relations between the two countries.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade in Hassan Rouhani's government, announced on Wednesday after meeting with the Turkish Minister of Economy that the preferential agreement between Iran and Turkey would be implemented from today, with a reduction of 265 tariff lines and an increase in bilateral trade exchanges to $30 billion. The newspaper Resalat published statements from the head of the judiciary regarding Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the candidates who protested the 2009 elections, quoting Sadegh Larijani as saying: 'The judiciary is ready to hold a trial for the leaders of the sedition.' According to this newspaper, Sadegh Larijani referred to the house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard as a 'decision by the Supreme National Security Council' and emphasized that 'when the time is right and we have permission, we will proceed with the trial of these individuals, but we feel that the issue is not just a judicial matter; they are trying to create another sedition and want to pursue this sedition through another channel and path, which thankfully the system will not allow.' The newspaper Kayhan also published part of a speech by Hossein Shariatmadari in Kashan against the 2009 protesters, quoting the representative of Ali Khamenei at Kayhan Institute as saying: 'The seditionists were microbes that vaccinated the system.' The newspaper Ebrar reported in its front page that according to Mahdi Davatgari, the representative of Maragheh in the ninth parliament, '18 months after the government's promise, Lake Urmia has not been revived.' The world in 2015; crisis in politics, stability in the economy. The newspaper Te'adal published its front page and editorial on January 1st about 'speculations regarding the world in 2015', stating: 'Most existing trends and conditions indicate that 2015 will continue from 2014.' This newspaper wrote: 'Today, 2015 has begun with all its fears and hopes. 2014 was an unpredictable year full of crises; major crises that few could even anticipate. From the conflict between Russia and the USA to the emergence of ISIS and the return of the military to Egypt, and from the continuation of Iran's nuclear negotiations to the price collapse in oil and gold markets.' The newspaper Te'adal pointed out that 'what stands out among the multitude of statistics left from 2014 is the reverse movement of economy and politics. In this year, despite numerous and various crises targeting the energy center of the world, namely the Middle East, North Africa, and Russia, not only did oil prices not rise, but they experienced a 50% drop. The same applies to gold and other commodity assets', while '2014 demonstrated more than anything else how misleading and incorrect political economic analysis can be.' The newspaper Te'adal emphasized that 'most existing trends and conditions indicate that 2015 will continue from 2014', stating: This continuity means that 2015 will be 'a year full of crises for politics and full of tensions for political leaders, but at the same time a year of stability and decline in global economic markets, and conditions indicate that the oil market will likely be stuck in the $45 to $50 range, the gold market will fluctuate between $1100 and $1200, the dollar will strengthen against the euro and other currencies, and China's growth will decline', and all of this will lead to 'the USA being able to maneuver more in the international arena and the Democratic Party having an upper hand in the US elections.' This newspaper also wrote: 'Two issues we are certain about regarding US policy in 2015 are not pleasant matters. Barack Obama will have to grapple with a Congress that is mostly Republican, and the presidential elections in this country have started 23 months early, and we will witness many politicians like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush making decisions to participate in the elections at the beginning of 2015.' The newspaper Te'adal wrote about 'how 2015 will be for Iran': 'In June, Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 will reach their final point, and the fate of the sanctions will be clarified. Looking at the fundamental factors of the hostile relations between Iran and the USA, we realize that the possibility of a comprehensive and all-encompassing agreement in June is very weak, but at the same time, the possibility of unsuccessful negotiations is also off the table.' The editorial writer of the newspaper Te'adal, however, wrote: 'It seems that reaching a limited or phased mutual agreement is the most likely scenario; a scenario that will lead to the government's prediction of achieving $26 billion in oil revenue being realized and Iran not facing any problems regarding foreign currency revenues. Also, considering the start of economic growth from the second quarter of 2014, 2015 will be a better year for Iran's economy. A year that, despite all the despair of economic activists and people these days, is a hopeful and bright year.' This newspaper, however, emphasized that in 2015 'the two major problems of Iran's economy, namely unemployment and the water crisis, will remain.' The newspaper Etemad also published a report on its front page about 'the face of the world in 2015', referring to 'concerns about falling oil prices and fears of a new cold war', and of course 'hopes for an agreement', stating: 'Extremism is a potential threat to the world in 2015 that may at any moment show its raging flames to the sky.' 'Iran and the USA's discussions regarding prisoner exchanges.' The newspaper Shargh reported that the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry implicitly confirmed 'Iran and the USA's discussions regarding prisoner exchanges', but stated that these discussions were not at the level of negotiations and were only mentioned during nuclear negotiations and 'in line with the governments' concerns about the status of their citizens.' This newspaper reported that on Wednesday, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, announced that 'discussions regarding the freedom of Iranian citizens have been taking place on the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations between the negotiating delegations of Iran and the USA, which is an issue on the agenda of both countries.' Zeynab Ismaili, a reporter for the newspaper Shargh, noted that Marzieh Afkham, in response to this newspaper's question about the possibility of 'exchanging Amir Hekmati for some Iranian prisoners in the USA', stated: 'There has been no negotiation, and it has only been discussed at the level of discussions between the nuclear negotiators of Iran and the USA regarding prisoners.' Marzieh Afkham described this discussion as 'a conversation in line with the governments' concerns about the status of their citizens.' The newspaper Shargh, referring to the 'possible exchange' of prisoners between Iran and the USA, previously reported that Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer of Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an Iranian-American prisoner, had announced that 'the USA has proposed exchanging Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an Iranian-American citizen, for several Iranian prisoners, and this proposal is under review.' Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai also stated: 'In the request, the names of individuals who are sought for exchange with Amir Mirzaei Hekmati have been mentioned, but it is currently not appropriate to name them.' The newspaper Shargh wrote that Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in response to the lawyer's statements, said: 'Such a request has not officially reached us, and as has been announced in the media, American officials have also confirmed that this matter is not true.' This newspaper noted that 'on Tuesday evening, this news was also denied by the spokesperson for the US Foreign Ministry', writing that Mary Harf told Reuters that the US government did not present a proposal for exchanging Mr. Hekmati and that this is not true' and 'on Wednesday morning, Marzieh Afkham also took a similar stance to her counterpart in the US government in front of reporters', but stated that '70 Iranian citizens are imprisoned in US prisons for various crimes, and the charges against about 15 of them are related to sanctions.' The newspaper Shargh quoted the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry as saying: 'Naturally, there are news reports regarding this matter, and sporadic and peripheral requests for his freedom have been made, and we hope a solution can be found to overcome this issue and also to free Iranian citizens who are imprisoned, especially for baseless reasons such as sanctions.' This newspaper also emphasized that Marzieh Afkham stated that 'there is still no agreement between Iran and the USA for the extradition or exchange of prisoners.' The newspaper Shargh also referred to Amir Mirzaei Hekmati as 'one of three American prisoners in Iran', stating: 'Amir Mirzaei Hekmati is one of three Iranian-Americans who have been imprisoned in Iran since 2011, and the US Foreign Ministry has repeatedly requested their freedom' and '[pastor] Saeed Abedini, 34 years old, who has been sentenced to eight years in prison for actions against national security, is another Iranian-American prisoner, and Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American journalist for the Washington Post, has also been in custody since July 22 of this year.' This newspaper, while reviewing 'previous efforts for exchanges', referred to the release of three American hikers from Iranian prisons during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency with the mediation of Oman, stating: 'Although the same mediator later facilitated the release of Mojtaba Attari, an Iranian professor who was imprisoned in the USA two years later', but now 'until an active mediator is found for the exchange of one or more prisoners between the two countries or a contract for prisoner exchange between the two countries is drafted, a lot of time is needed.' The government's new method for reducing subsidy recipients; identifying 'low-income' instead of 'high-income' The newspaper Iran reported on the government's new method for eliminating high-income subsidy recipients, stating that this time, instead of identifying high-income households and removing them from the list of subsidy recipients, the government plans to implement a 'low-income identification scheme' and 'identify those in need of subsidies.' This newspaper pointed out that 'in the budget law, the government is obligated to pay cash subsidies only to actual needy individuals after accurate identification', stating: 'In late April of this year, the government once again registered applicants for cash subsidies, but at the end of the registration period, only 4.2 million Iranians voluntarily renounced their continued receipt of subsidies', and thus 'the lack of interest from high-income subsidy recipients in voluntary renunciation led to the government being entrusted with their removal, but the unavailability of accurate databases for identifying high-income individuals and the high error rate of current methods prompted the government to complete its databases so that this work could be done with the least error rate.' The newspaper Iran wrote that 'accordingly, Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Labor, Welfare, and Social Affairs, announced the government's new method for reducing the number of subsidy recipients, and based on this method, the government, instead of identifying high-income individuals for whom there is incomplete information and this factor increases the risk of removal, has focused on identifying and categorizing low-income groups.' This newspaper emphasized that after 'identifying and categorizing low-income groups', the government will pursue its plan to rationalize the targeting of subsidies by 'focusing on providing subsidies to low-income deciles, and the targeting of cash subsidies will ensure that by removing those for whom the cash subsidy of 45,500 tomans has no role in their lives, the revenues from targeted subsidies can be used to support key sectors of the economy.' Kamran Nadri, an economics professor at Imam Sadiq University, told the newspaper Iran about the government's new method: 'Removing high-income individuals from receiving subsidies by identifying low-income individuals cannot be considered a change in the government's method of identifying high-income individuals, as the government has previously used this method to identify low-income deciles.'