Mockery of Rouhani's Government at Conservative Comedy Festival

The third birthday celebration of the political-social satire "Dr. Salam" became, as in previous years, a venue for criticism and mockery of Hassan Rouhani's government and its policies. "Dr. Salam" is a satire series produced and published by the "Student News Agency" affiliated with the Basij Student Organization. Much of the content of "Dr. Salam" features political and social criticisms and jokes with a conservative approach, using the government's programs and policies as material for humor over the past two years. The third anniversary celebration of this program took place on Thursday, May 30, in Tehran, attended by Hossein Shariatmadari, Hassan Abbasi, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Saeed Qasemi, and a group of other conservative critics of the government. During the event, an award titled "Fereydoun" was given to Fa'ezeh Hashemi for her meeting with Fariba Kamalabadi, one of the Baha'i leaders who had been granted temporary leave from prison. Masoumeh Ebtekar was nominated for her appearance on a BBC program, Mohammad Javad Zarif for his appearance on the program "90", Abbas Araghchi for appearing on the program "Amu Pourang", Kazem Jalali for being on the reformists' list, and Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, for being alongside Mohammad Khatami. The award's title is derived from the name of Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother, whom conservatives consider to be "unnecessary" and "excessive" in many of the president's programs. Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, was also selected as the "Nobakhtiest Nobakht of the Year", a title derived from Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesperson for the eleventh government. Mohammad Soleimani, a conservative member of parliament, stated after the award was given that "the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization has said he accepts all responsibilities of the JCPOA. I said in parliament that this responsibility acceptance is of no use to Aunt Ghazi." Hassan Rouhani was among the officials who faced significant jabs during the event, with the symbol of his electoral campaign, the {key}, becoming a subject of humor. During the program, Hossein Shariatmadari, as a representative of Ali Khamenei at the Kayhan Institute, opened up criticism and questioning of the achievements of the "JCPOA" and urged Hezbollah forces to be vigilant against the propaganda of the supporters of the "JCPOA". Mohammad Hosseini, the Minister of Culture in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, also recited a critical poem regarding some policies of the eleventh government and Fa'ezeh Hashemi's meeting with a Baha'i leader in Iran. Ali Fadavi, the commander of the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, without naming any government officials, said that "our people do not like and do not accept that someone is afraid of America after 37 years." Saeed Qasemi, a leader of Hezbollah, also criticized the "JCPOA" agreement and introduced Hassan Rouhani and his supporters as the "Baalist arrogance". Parviz Davoodi, Ahmadinejad's first vice president in the ninth government, stated without specifying his audience that "the gentlemen do not understand our serious words; either they do not understand or they pretend not to understand." Hassan Abbasi, during the program, announced that "Maldives" has cut its relations with Iran and asked the audience to "applaud for the government's active foreign policy." Abbasi also referred to Fa'ezeh Hashemi's controversial meeting with Fariba Kamalabadi in Iran and said, "They met with Baha'is. Know that their next meeting will be with homosexuals." Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the Judiciary's Human Rights Headquarters, was also one of the speakers at this event, who criticized Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the President of the eleventh government, saying, "Mr. Hashemi said that if the achievements of the JCPOA are published, we will be disgraced. That's fine. We who are uneducated, let us also be disgraced." Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, also hinted to Hassan Rouhani that "those who could not solve the people's problems with the key should not lock it." These political and critical speeches took place while reports indicated that at least eight thousand people were present at the event, and some held harsh placards criticizing the government above their heads. Some of these placards read, "The government of burial and concrete, I bring you a shovel", "The result of the JCPOA, the first four-year government", "We proudly worry so as not to be political bastards", and "I am not a political bastard, so I am." Over the past three years, conservative critics of the government have utilized humor and satire in addition to serious criticism and attacks on the government and many other officials of the Islamic Republic to advance their goals. On the seventh of Ordibehesht this year, the "Justice-Seeking Student Movement" announced its intention to award the "Golden Malle" for what it called the "insistence" of Abbas Araghchi, a senior nuclear negotiator, in "justifying, beautifying, and covering up the repeated violations of America" regarding the JCPOA. The "Golden Malle", "Silver Malle", and "Bronze Malle" awards are the latest initiative of hardline conservatives in criticizing and denying the JCPOA and attacking Hassan Rouhani's government and Iran's nuclear negotiating team, and this is the second award of this peculiar type. Since 2012, the Noor Pathways Headquarters of the Basij has also awarded a prize titled "Wet Gunpowder" to individuals they call the "most detestable personality of the year". This award has so far been given to figures such as Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, for presenting the Academy Award to the film "Argo", Catherine Ashton, the former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, and Tarya Cronberg, the head of the European Parliament's relations with Iran for a secret meeting with Nasrin Sotoudeh and awarding her the Sakharov Prize, and Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France, for what they called "insulting the sanctities of millions of Muslims."