Media Reflection on the Identity Announcement of Ali Sanbali

Some Iranian Sunday newspapers have covered the suicide attack in Kabul in their headlines or front pages, including the newspaper Iran which dedicated its front page to this attack and wrote: "In three attacks during the Light Movement demonstrations, 80 people were killed and 261 were injured." The newspaper Quds described this attack as a "terrorist act of ISIS at the Light Movement gathering" in a report titled "Fire in Kabul," while the newspaper Khorasan stated: "Light turned the color of blood." Vatan-e-Emruz also described this attack as a "terrorist attack by ISIS on the Hazara Shiite demonstrations in Kabul" alongside a photo from the attack with the headline "Tired, tired of injustice." The newspaper Shahrvand reported on its front page that Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, announced after visiting four prisons that "we are protesting the health conditions in prisons." Mahtab Joudaki in the Shahrvand report reminded that "this is not the first time the Minister of Health has protested the health conditions in prisons," noting that in 2014, after visiting Qezel Hessar prison, he wrote on his personal website: "It was the first time I entered a prison. I think even from behind the camera of a documentary film, one cannot depict the depth of what happens in such an environment. The things I saw were shocking and very disturbing." On Saturday, Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi criticized the poor health conditions in four major prisons in Alborz province, stating that "infectious diseases" are the most serious problem for prisoners, as "overcrowding in prisons, lack of space and suitable places lead to the spread of infectious diseases, putting prisoners and their families at risk." The Shahrvand newspaper quoted the Minister of Health as saying: "There is no reason we shouldn't have family doctors in prisons, and there is no reason we shouldn't have the screening that we have established for free in the outskirts of cities in prisons." He emphasized that "we have again stated our readiness to cover 50% of health service costs in prisons; however, there should be some indication from the insurance companies and the judiciary so that we can also proceed in this direction." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in its front page emphasized that "Iran is ready for a zero JCPOA situation," reporting that the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization "says necessary measures have been taken for a rapid return in case of JCPOA violation, and his spokesperson went even further, warning that if the West violates the JCPOA, Iran will reach the production of 100,000 SW within a month and a half." The newspaper Sharq dedicated its front page photo to a report about Hillary Clinton's introduction of Timothy Michael Kaine as her vice-presidential nominee, stating: "A staunch supporter of the JCPOA became Clinton's vice president." Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy in Hassan Rouhani's government, in an interview with the newspaper Etemad regarding the "behind the scenes of the salary scandal" emphasized that "the legal permits for payments were given by the parliament in the mid-2000s." He also stated that "it was early 2015 that we realized high payments were made in the form of loans in some subsidiary companies," and actions were taken to cancel them, including in the 2016 budget law and one of the cabinet's decisions in April 2016. The Minister of Economy of the eleventh government emphasized that "none of the political figures played a role in our appointments," and regarding the salary scandal, "the president ordered that without exception and leniency, those responsible for astronomical salaries should be dismissed, and we acted on the order." The newspaper Arman reported on its front page about "Ahmadinejad's secret electoral meeting with clerics," stating that Mohsen Ghavrian revealed the activities of a think tank aimed at undermining the government in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. Amirhossein Azimi in the Arman report noted that Mohsen Ghavrian had previously spoken about the activities of government opponents and their plans to organize actions to weaken the government, quoting the statements of this former student and current critic of Mohammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi on Saturday: "There is not just one think tank against the government, but several think tanks are active, with bases in Tehran, Qom, Mashhad, and some other cities. In these think tanks, the rivals of Rouhani sit and plan; and perhaps they spend a lot of money to create a wave against the government." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, in a report about "the media reflection on the identity announcement of Ali Sanbali," the perpetrator of the Munich shooting, wrote: "The anti-Iranian propaganda of the Munich shooting failed." This newspaper reminded that "Ali David Sanbali, an 18-year-old who, despite his Iranian descent, shouted during his armed attack against foreigners: 'I am German,' opened fire on people who had come to the Olympia shopping center in northwest Munich to buy their necessities, while carrying 300 bullets in his backpack." The Iran newspaper noted that "his armed attack ended with dozens killed and injured, while he committed suicide by shooting himself while fleeing. An ending that, alongside other facts related to the assailant, led the Munich police to confirm that the incident was not terrorist in nature." It wrote: "Despite the rejection of the terrorist nature of the Munich incident, on Saturday, some of Iran's regional rival countries, such as Saudi Arabia, in their official news emphasized the Iranian descent of the assailant and mobilized their users on social media to weave a hat for their anti-Iranian goals from the fabric of the Munich incident." The Iran newspaper emphasized that "Ali Sanbali was either mentally ill or a right-wing extremist," quoting the meeting of Abdollah Nokonam, the Iranian consul general in Munich, with the city's police chief, stating that "the German police do not consider any connection between the assailant and the educated Iranian community and will continue to have a positive view of Iranians." The newspaper Kayhan, in one of its main headlines without mentioning the name and identity of the Munich shooter, emphasized that "the killing machine has reached Germany," writing: "In the Friday night attack by an armed individual on a store in Munich, 10 people were killed and 27 others were injured, and this attack has once again spread terror across Europe." Kayhan referred to the assailant as "an 18-year-old teenager" without mentioning Ali Sanbali's name and wrote: "Regardless of the nature of the armed individual who committed this inhumane act and whether this individual was connected to Wahhabi terrorists and ISIS or not, this event and the terrorist actions in France and Belgium, etc., that have occurred previously, show that the arrow that the West shot into the darkness towards the Middle East has ricocheted back towards themselves." This newspaper, which is published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, wrote: "Even if the armed assailant is said to be a young Iranian-born individual living in Germany, and has no connection with terrorists, which it is said he does not, but reports also indicate that this armed action was reactive to the attacks in Belgium and even against foreign migrants, if so, it still cannot be disconnected from the terrorist actions of groups supported by the West in Syria, Iraq, and the entire Middle East." Mostafa Tajzadeh, in an interview with the newspaper Hamdeli, emphasized that "the biggest lesson from the Turkish coup is the presence of the people on the scene." This reformist figure, who himself was arrested on the night of the 2009 presidential election and spent seven years in prison in Iran, told Hamdeli: "Coup attempts today in countries like Turkey, which are relatively endowed with civil liberties, cannot succeed. The massive presence of people on the scene prevents this, and people have learned that as soon as the military enters the streets, they too should pour into the streets. It is clear that in the battle between tanks and people, the people will win, even if there are casualties. In any case, the unprecedented presence of people on the scene was the main reason for the coup's failure." The newspapers Ebtekar, Sharq, and Etemad have published reports criticizing the design of the clothing for the Iranian delegation to the Olympics. The Ebtekar newspaper dedicated its front page photo to these clothes and wrote with the headline "Cheap Chinese": "In the past two days, photos related to the national team’s clothing for the Rio Olympics have been published, which were met with criticism and mockery from Iranian social media users." According to this newspaper, "the responsibility for designing and sewing the Olympic Rio sportswear for the national team was entrusted to a Chinese company named Lining, and the Iranian Clothing and Textile Design Association and Jihad University of Alzahra were also involved in its design." The newspaper Sazandegi, in a report titled "Moving Beyond Consolidation," reviewed the developments of this student movement organization in Iran from its inception to the present, quoting Abdollah Momeni, a former member of this organization, stating: "The consolidation that currently exists has no relation to the consolidation that existed from the day of its formation until the beginning of Ahmadinejad's presidency, in terms of thought and identity. What is seen from the current consolidation is not even a shadow of the consolidation in previous years. A new definition of the student movement has been transformed; a confirming movement rather than a critical one."