Ministry of Science's 'Reconsideration' of Illegal Scholarship Cases

Saeedollah Nasiri Qeydari, the parliamentary deputy of the Ministry of Science, emphasized in an interview with the newspaper Etemad that "the Ministry of Science has not backed down from reviewing the cases of illegal scholarships," but simultaneously stated: "There will be a reconsideration of the rulings regarding employed scholarship recipients." The newspaper Iran, in its Sunday issue, referred to the meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the USA, on the sidelines of the 45th World Economic Forum in Davos, describing it as "Zarif and Kerry's negotiations beyond the threats of hardliners." The newspaper Javan dedicated its front page to Ali Larijani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, quoting the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly as saying: "Alternatives to negotiations are on Iran's table." The newspaper Khorasan also headlined its February 5 issue with "Tehran's Warning to Washington," stating: "As Congress intensifies efforts to pass newer sanctions against Iran, warnings from Iranian officials have taken on a more serious tone." This newspaper, while publishing statements from Ali Larijani and Mohammad Javad Zarif regarding the future of negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 countries, quoted Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesman for the National Security Commission of the 9th Parliament, as saying that "a plan has been prepared by a group of parliamentarians to obligate the government to continue enrichment using new generation centrifuges." The newspaper Shargh, while examining "the principlists' approach to the corruption ruling against Rahimi," described this faction's tactic as "a retreat forward" and wrote: The principlists' retreat forward comes while Mohammad Reza Rahimi "played his role as the first vice president of Ahmadinejad until the last day of the 10th government. The head of the government also did not hold back in defending him, labeling him and his cabinet as a red line that should not be attacked." Morteza Hajji, a reformist figure, stated: "The principlist faction is retreating forward to prevent their faction from being associated with [Mohammad Reza] Rahimi." The newspaper Qanoon, in a report titled "The First Vice President at the Last Station," reviewed the process of handling the corruption case and the conviction of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, recalling a supportive letter from 200 representatives of the 8th Parliament for his appointment as the former government's first vice president, and noted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated support for him. This newspaper reminded that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on November 3, 2011, in support of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, stated: "I have told the leadership that if it is proven that Rahimi has embezzled even one rial, I will come on television and apologize, announcing that I am not worthy of this position." The newspaper Kaseb o Kar reported on "the agenda for determining the wage for 94" and quoted a representative of workers in the Supreme Labor Council as saying that "determining the livelihood costs for a four-person worker family" and "determining the minimum wage" are two items on the agenda. The newspaper Arman dedicated its front page to Mohammad Hashemi, quoting him as saying: "To solve regional issues, Ayatollah Hashemi [Rafsanjani] needs to have authority." The newspaper Etemad, in its front page titled "Revolution Veterans Gathered Around One Table," proposed the "establishment of a gathering of revolutionary forces on the anniversary of the victory of the revolution." Elias Hazrati, the editor-in-chief of Etemad and a former representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, wrote in a note about this proposal: "Perhaps a gathering of revolutionary forces can be formed, bringing together principlists, reformists, moderates, and centrists to once again showcase a semblance of national unity on the eve of the anniversary of the victory of the revolution." The editor-in-chief of Etemad wrote: "The presence of revolutionary figures from both the left and right alongside each other will not only encourage the Iranian people and give them hope for a safer passage through dangerous turns but will also send a unified message to the outside world for those who covet this revolution," and "the enemies of the Islamic Revolution of Iran will never achieve their wish of hearing the voice of dissent and opposition from within the country, as those who once lived together in the prisons of Pahlavi now serve the people under the flag of the Islamic Republic." The newspaper Kayhan, which had previously predicted in its front page on Tuesday, January 6, that "after the death of King Abdullah, oil prices will reach $200," forecasted in its front page on Sunday, January 25, about the future of Saudi Arabia that "the Al Saud regime is collapsing from within." The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page to examining "speculations" about "the continuation of Ali Motahari's representation" and how he will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, also referring to the escalation of disputes among factions of principlists with this member of the 9th Parliament. However, Ali Motahari, in a brief response to this newspaper, stated: "The matter of which list I will be on for the upcoming elections is secondary to whether I will run at all." Zarif and Kerry's negotiations beyond the threats of hardliners. The newspaper Iran, in its Sunday issue, referred to the meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry, the foreign ministers of Iran and the USA, on the sidelines of the 45th World Economic Forum in Davos, describing it as "Zarif and Kerry's negotiations beyond the threats of hardliners." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Javad Zarif, during his trip to Davos for the 45th World Economic Forum, had a half-hour meeting with John Kerry on Friday night, and after meeting with his American counterpart, stated: "In the meeting with the US Secretary of State, we discussed various issues that our friends are pursuing in Zurich, including the number of centrifuges, enrichment methods, and various proposals that have been raised by both sides." The newspaper Iran quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying: "In this meeting, we discussed the necessity of accelerating and strengthening the negotiation process to prevent the damages that are occurring," and "it has been agreed that experts will continue discussions to achieve results in the negotiations." This newspaper also reported that "at the same time, Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi also headed to Switzerland to continue nuclear negotiations with the American negotiating team, and the Iranian delegation also held consultations with Wendy Sherman, the US Deputy Secretary of State and representative of this country in the 1+5." The newspaper Iran emphasized that Mohammad Javad Zarif, during his presence at the World Economic Forum, "had intensive meetings and programs aimed at accelerating the nuclear negotiation process," and in the course of nuclear consultations with negotiating officials from the countries involved, including John Kerry, his American counterpart, "in a warning message to Western hardliners and politicians," announced that the legislative proposals in Congress aimed at stopping the nuclear peace negotiations and pursuing new sanctions "will not go unanswered by Iran," adding that "the new sanctions plan in the US Congress will kill the Joint Action Plan that we agreed upon last year in Geneva." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Javad Zarif also emphasized that "I believe that reaching a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear program is almost within reach. We lose nothing by reaching an agreement, and I believe we can reach such an agreement soon," as "achieving an agreement is very likely, and we should not miss this opportunity." The newspaper Javan also dedicated its front page to Ali Larijani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, quoting the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly as saying: "Alternatives to negotiations are on Iran's table." According to this newspaper, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, emphasized in a joint press conference with the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament that "if the US Congress imposes new sanctions, it will certainly regret going down this path, and of course, they will face Iran's leap in nuclear technology, which is possible for the Islamic Republic of Iran." According to this newspaper, Ali Larijani also stated: "The fact that Mr. Obama says Congress is pressuring me does not concern me. If Obama cannot solve his domestic problems, it does not concern us, and he is responsible for disrupting the negotiations. The Iranian nuclear issue is not a matter that can be confined to niceties like being under pressure; it does not concern us." The newspaper Khorasan also headlined its February 5 issue with "Tehran's Warning to Washington," stating: "As Congress intensifies efforts to pass newer sanctions against Iran, warnings from Iranian officials have taken on a more serious tone, to the extent that [Mohammad Javad] Zarif warned Congress of retaliation from the Iranian Parliament in the event of new sanctions being passed, emphasizing that if our dignity is at stake, we have no hesitation in confronting it," and "Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, also described a 'leap in nuclear technology' as Iran's response to the passage of new sanctions by Congress." This newspaper also quoted Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesman for the National Security Commission of the 9th Parliament, as saying that "a plan has been prepared by a group of representatives to obligate the government to continue enrichment using new generation centrifuges." The spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the 9th Parliament told Khorasan that "the Islamic Consultative Assembly has previously expressed its readiness to confront such issues and even prepared a plan in this regard that if the West tries to obstruct our negotiations, the government will be obliged to increase its enrichment to 60%." This newspaper quoted Hossein Naqavi Hosseini as saying: "Both plans regarding enrichment are on the table of the Iranian Parliament" and if Congress wants to "impose and pass new sanctions against Iran, we will also initiate these plans and ask the government to continue on its path." The principlists' approach to Rahimi's financial corruption; a retreat forward. The newspaper Shargh, while examining "the principlists' approach to the ruling on Rahimi's financial corruption," described this faction's tactic as "a retreat forward" and wrote: "Mohammad Rahimi played his role as the first vice president of Ahmadinejad until the last day of the 10th government. The head of the government also did not hold back in defending him, labeling him and his cabinet as a red line that should not be attacked." Morteza Hajji, a reformist figure, stated: "The principlist faction is retreating forward to prevent their faction from being associated with [Mohammad Reza] Rahimi." Marjan Tavakoli in the Shargh report, referring to "the case of the second highest-ranking government official whose president claimed was the cleanest government in the Islamic Republic," wrote: "The judiciary convicted Mohammad Reza Rahimi of bribery in the well-known Iran Insurance case, sentencing him to five years and 91 days in prison and restitution," a ruling based on "the law on the intensification of punishments for bribery, embezzlement, and fraud enacted in 1988," which bears the signature of the then Prime Minister, Mir Hossein Mousavi. The newspaper Shargh noted the reactions of Hamid Rasai, a member of the Stability Front, Mehdi Mohammadi, a columnist for the Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper, and Abolfazl Abutorabi, a member of the Judicial Commission of the 9th Parliament regarding Mohammad Reza Rahimi's conviction, stating that now "with the announcement of the ruling in Mohammad Reza Rahimi's case, some principlist figures and media have initiated a wave in which they try to deny any factional connection with Rahimi and declare their innocence," and even "this faction has gone so far as to try to associate Rahimi with the reformists due to some responsibilities during the reconstruction period." This newspaper emphasized that reformist activists consider the principlists' new game as "a retreat forward" and regard it as an attempt to pollute the electoral atmosphere, quoting Abdollah Naseri as saying: "The type of behavior and responsibilities that Mr. Rahimi has had over the years indicates that Mr. Rahimi's base is linked to the conservative and principlist camp." Abdollah Naseri also mentioned Rahimi's responsibility as the governor of Kurdistan, saying: "If we want to observe the first point of Mr. Rahimi's behavior in the political arena, we see that he was the governor of Kurdistan during the second Khordad elections in 1997, where we witnessed a problematic and challenging electoral district that was to the benefit of the defeated candidate in that election due to his efforts." Morteza Hajji emphasized that "linking this corruption case to other cases is also a media game and another retreat forward by this faction," telling the Shargh newspaper: "Raising a case like Mehdi Hashemi's by the principlists is in line with putting pressure on the judiciary," and "anyone who has committed an offense and encroached on public funds must be punished so that the integrity of the system and the honesty of the Iranian people is not compromised." Shargh also quoted Morteza Hajji as saying: "There should not be a narrative that because Mr. X has been tried, Mr. Y must also be quickly convicted; like the proverb that says: you hit someone, you should be hit back." The newspaper Qanoon also reported in a piece titled "The First Vice President at the Last Station" that "Mohammad Reza Rahimi, despite all the support he received during the 10th government, could not escape the law and the judiciary. His crime was proven in court, and soon his sentence will be enforced, making him the first vice president in Iran's history to go to prison." This newspaper emphasized that "few can forget Ahmadinejad's statements regarding his deputy," noting that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on November 3, 2011, in response to the accusations against Mohammad Rahimi, stated: "I have told the leadership that if it is proven that Rahimi has embezzled even one rial, I will come on television and apologize, announcing that I am not worthy of this position."