Meaningful Appointment of Zarif for Araghchi

The newspaper Shahrvand highlighted Hassan Rouhani's statements during the inauguration of the third line of the Tehran Metro, quoting him as saying, "We won once in war, and once over war." The newspaper Javan referred to the military parade as "the parade of Iranian missiles over Resolution 2231," noting that exactly 70 days after the UN Security Council's Resolution 2231, which prohibited the Islamic Republic from designing, developing, and testing ballistic missiles, various domestically produced ballistic missiles were displayed during the nationwide military parade coinciding with the start of the Sacred Defense Week. Aftab Yazd reported the appointment of Abbas Araghchi as the "Head of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Implementation Follow-up Headquarters," evaluating Mohammad Javad Zarif's decree for his deputy as "meaningful." The newspaper assessed the establishment of the JCPOA follow-up headquarters as a "meaningful" action, stating, "This indicates that the JCPOA and its implementation have long been finalized and cannot change the course of the JCPOA." The newspaper Bahar reported on the drafting of guidelines for the protection of speeches in the Ministry of Interior. According to this newspaper, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Interior, announced the news of the "drafting of detailed guidelines for establishing order and security in legal gatherings and speeches," stating, "We had various regulations and laws in this area, but there was no precise and specific mechanism determined for execution that could operate in a coordinated manner based on a general rule." The newspaper Shahrvand reported on the "project for organizing financial and credit institutions" and the publication of a one-year report from the Central Bank in this regard, stating that "4,500 financial and credit institutions are being organized." The newspaper Jam-e Jam reported that "simultaneously with the investigation into the case of the assault on a French tourist by four Afghan nationals, the consul of that country thanked Iran for the swift arrest of the assailants". According to this newspaper, "The investigation into this case coincided with the complaint of a 23-year-old French national, who stated in her complaint: 'I went hiking near Farahzad Valley, where I was assaulted by four men.'" The newspaper Qanoon reported on the damage inflicted on the "Azadi" Tower in Tehran, stating, "In front of the eyes of the municipality, Azadi cracked." This newspaper wrote, "Once there was a dispute over the management of the tower, but currently each of the organizations claims that the management of Azadi is not with them, and no one accepts responsibility for its restoration." The newspaper Iran reported on the "increase in gas production and export capacity," stating, "Seven phases of South Pars are coming online." According to this newspaper, "Natural gas production in the country this winter will increase by more than 100 million cubic meters per day compared to last year, with phases 15 and 16 coming online soon, and phases 17 and 18 and one row of phases 19, 20, and 21 will also be operational by the end of the year." The "meaningful" decree of Zarif for Araghchi; the establishment of the "JCPOA Implementation Headquarters" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported the appointment of Abbas Araghchi as the "Head of the JCPOA Implementation Follow-up Headquarters," evaluating the decree of the Foreign Minister for his deputy as "meaningful." This newspaper pointed out the appointment of Stephen Mull by John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, as the head of the Office of Coordination for the Implementation of the Vienna Agreement, stating that in Iran, on Tuesday, "with the decree of Mohammad Javad Zarif, Abbas Araghchi was appointed as the head of the JCPOA Implementation Follow-up Headquarters. This is similar to what John Kerry did last week with the appointment of Stephen Mull, but with a significant and debatable difference. In the U.S., everyone was waiting for the final vote of Congress, and only after that was the JCPOA Implementation Headquarters established, but in Iran, the JCPOA Commission has not yet announced its opinion." However, Abbas Araghchi was appointed as the "executive responsible for implementing the agreement" and "along with his superior, they have gone to New York to follow up on the matters." Aftab Yazd noted that the decree appointing Abbas Araghchi to follow up on and implement the "JCPOA" was issued while "some of the concerned members of Parliament were announcing that the agreement is neither binding nor valid until we announce our opinion," raising the question of whether the establishment of the JCPOA Implementation Headquarters by the government prior to the Parliament's opinion on the Vienna Agreement indicates a greater confrontation between the government and Parliament in this regard, or perhaps a defiance by the Foreign Ministry towards the JCPOA Commission. The newspaper emphasized that "perhaps this issue fundamentally indicates that the JCPOA and its implementation have long been finalized and cannot change the course of the JCPOA." Fayyaz Zahed, a university professor and political activist, evaluated the establishment of the JCPOA Implementation Headquarters in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating to Aftab Yazd: "Now that the U.S. government has managed to bypass Congress, and Stephen Mull has been introduced as the JCPOA implementation officer, it seems that Mr. Araghchi's selection also means that both sides have prepared their agents for operationalizing the JCPOA. However, this does not mean the government is defying Parliament, but rather that after introducing the American counterpart, we have also introduced someone to operationalize the JCPOA." This political activist also stated: "It was clear that the Iranian Parliament could neither add nor remove any clauses from the agreement; rather, if we want to look at it optimistically, the Parliament's activity in this regard was an effort to enlighten public opinion." Regarding whether Zarif's recent action indicates a confrontation between the government and Parliament on the nuclear issue, he stated: "The nuclear agreement is a two-year process that has taken place, and the Europeans are unaware of our own self-goals; in fact, the 1+5 has reached an agreement with the Islamic Republic, and we must be realistic that the JCPOA Commission currently has no specific authority, and decisions have already been made in negotiations, so the operational stages of the agreement will also be carried out." Aftab Yazd also reported that "there is undeniable confusion in the JCPOA Commission of Parliament" and while "there is talk of conditional approval of the JCPOA," Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, the spokesman for the JCPOA Commission, stated that "this commission will propose to the Parliament to review the JCPOA in the form of a bill in the open session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly," while Masoud Pezeshkian, another member of the JCPOA Commission, stated that "nothing is supposed to happen regarding the JCPOA in the open session unless the special commission's report is turned into a bill. The output of the special commission has only been a report, and the judgment will be with the people, and the JCPOA cannot be accepted conditionally." This newspaper also quoted Nozar Shafiei, a member of the National Security Commission, stating: "The JCPOA is currently being implemented and has been operationalized." Aftab Yazd emphasized that "the current actions of the JCPOA Commission and the proactive measures of the government without regard to the JCPOA Commission's report further indicate that in the struggle between some members of the JCPOA Commission and, of course, non-member guests with the negotiating team, more than the essence of the agreement and the intended JCPOA, the political tug-of-war of some representatives and government officials for advancing domestic and personal agendas has been at play." Drafting guidelines for the "protection of speeches" in the Ministry of Interior. The newspaper Bahar reported on the drafting of guidelines for the protection of speeches in the Ministry of Interior. According to this newspaper, Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Interior, announced the news of the "drafting of detailed guidelines for establishing order and security in legal gatherings and speeches," stating, "We had various regulations and laws in this area, but there was no precise and specific mechanism determined for execution that could operate in a coordinated manner based on a general rule." Hossein Zolfaqari pointed out that "a permit is issued in one place, while elsewhere it is said that this event should not be held, or the security council makes one decision and universities make another, or various gatherings may occur in mosques, open spaces, and legal gatherings, which we witnessed in the events that occurred, including the events in Shiraz." The newspaper Bahar wrote: Now that the month of Mehr has arrived and universities are reopening, various seminars and gatherings will again be held in the country's universities; gatherings and seminars that are feared to suffer from the incidents of previous years or be canceled or face violence, and for this reason, the Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Interior stated that "one of the necessities identified was that we need to prepare an executive guideline based on higher laws and regulations so that permits can be issued, and based on the issued permits, agencies can fulfill their duties in establishing order and security." Hossein Zolfaqari also stated that a "draft guideline" has been prepared based on proposals arising from the attack on Ali Motahari and the cancellation of this parliamentary representative's speech in Shiraz, stating: "A report on the issues in Shiraz has been prepared, and other proposals have been developed so that we do not need these issues in the future, and each of the agencies knows their duties, and we have given this guideline to the governors to provide us with their corrective opinions based on the issues they face in the provinces, and we strive to issue this guideline by the end of the current month of Mehr so that there is coordination in holding events across the country." Bahar, referring to the internal political situation, wrote: "The eleventh government is facing a mountain of problems, especially domestically; Farhad Kouhkani needs to chop away at the mountain that the hardliners have created for the eleventh government in internal politics; a chopping that should put an end to the lawlessness and illegal behavior that begins with the cancellation of speeches and licensed seminars at the last minute to disrupting gatherings and threatening violence in holding concerts and licensed gatherings." This newspaper referred to "internal security and political development" as "two main components for the country's progress and the popularity of the eleventh government, especially in the domestic arena," evaluating the statements of Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy of the Ministry of Interior, regarding the drafting of the "guidelines for establishing order and security in legal gatherings and speeches" as "good news" and emphasizing that "the mountain of problems that hardliners have created for the eleventh government must one day collapse." The performance report of the Central Bank in organizing 4,500 financial and credit institutions. The newspaper Shahrvand reported on the "project for organizing financial and credit institutions" and the publication of a one-year report from the Central Bank in this regard, stating: "4,500 financial and credit institutions are being organized." According to this newspaper, the Central Bank has published its performance report regarding the organization of financial and credit institutions, including credit cooperatives, interest-free loan funds, leasing, currency exchange, banks, and credit institutions, and "based on this report, in 1393 (2014), a total of 46 institutions received establishment or operational licenses, and the operational licenses of 122 institutions were renewed, while the licenses of 9 institutions, which only pertained to currency exchange, were revoked." The newspaper Shahrvand, citing the Central Bank's report, wrote: "In total, in this year, the status of 177 institutions has been clarified, which has occurred through the issuance, renewal, or revocation of licenses, but the interesting issue in this performance report is that the files of 4,465 institutions are still under review for organization, and no timeline for the completion of this review has been announced." According to the Central Bank, "in 1393 (2014), a total of 102 credit cooperatives' operational licenses were issued by the Central Bank, and 10 credit cooperatives managed to obtain their operational licenses, while 92 others were able to renew their licenses, but the files of 1,100 other credit cooperatives are still under review and organization, and their status has not been clarified. In 1393, none of the credit cooperatives had their licenses revoked by the Central Bank." The newspaper Shahrvand noted that "2,200 interest-free loan funds are being organized," stating: "Despite the fact that according to the law, these funds are only allowed to have one branch, in recent years, some of them have established many branches, and for this reason, organizing them is one of the priorities of the Central Bank," and while "the files of 1,200 interest-free loan funds are under review in this bank, only 3 funds managed to obtain official operational licenses last year." According to the newspaper, "in 1393, a total of 18 leasing licenses were issued and renewed. Of this number, 6 leasing companies received operational licenses from the Central Bank, and 12 leasing companies renewed their licenses. However, the files of 50 leasing companies are on the agenda for issuing licenses or revocation. In previous years, repeated violations by some leasing companies have caused heightened sensitivity regarding the files of this category of institutions." The newspaper Shahrvand also noted that "the Central Bank is pursuing the organization of currency exchange offices with the aim of organizing the currency market and due to the pivotal role of currency exchange offices in this market," referring to the Central Bank's directive to currency exchange offices, which includes changes such as "increasing the initial capital," stating that "currency exchange offices in Tehran and large cities must have 4 billion tomans, and in other cities, they must have 2 billion tomans in capital," and now according to the Central Bank's report, "currency exchange offices are the only category of financial and credit institutions that faced revocation of licenses last year." The newspaper Shahrvand reported that "in 1393, licenses for 26 currency exchange offices were issued, and the licenses of 18 offices were renewed, while the licenses of 9 offices were revoked, and in total, 1,100 other currency exchange offices are awaiting the review of their files."