Mohammad Reza Aref, 'Commander Without an Army'

The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page on Tuesday to Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Hope faction, referring to him as 'Commander Without an Army.' The newspaper emphasized that 'neither was Aref offered the presidency of the Research Center of the Parliament, nor was there any support for him to achieve the presidency of the Education Commission of the tenth Parliament.' Alireza Karimi, the editor-in-chief of Aftab Yazd, also wrote in an editorial titled 'Aref's Short Wall' that with the end of the internal elections in Parliament to determine the heads of specialized commissions, 'the alarm of the inefficiency of the Hope faction in fulfilling reformist and popular demands' has been sounded. Two days after the dismissal of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Deputy for Arab and African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Mohammad Javad Zarif, which led to analyses regarding the government's inclination to change regional diplomacy, the newspaper Javan dedicated its front page to Qassem Soleimani, quoting the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's external branch, stating: 'The destruction of the Al Khalifa is the least consequence of the insult to Sheikh Isa Qassim.' According to this newspaper, Qassem Soleimani issued a 'strongly worded statement' in response to the Al Khalifa's action of stripping Sheikh Isa Qassim, the leader of Bahrain's Shiites, of his citizenship, warning that the least consequence of this action would be armed resistance and the fall of the Al Khalifa regime. The statement emphasized that 'the Al Khalifa has exploited the peaceful movement of the people and has no accurate assessment of the people's anger, and they certainly know that violating the sanctity of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim is a red line that, if crossed, will ignite a fire in Bahrain and throughout the region, leaving the people with no choice but armed resistance.' This newspaper, close to the IRGC, noted that 'the Bahraini Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday that it had revoked Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim's citizenship on charges of promoting sectarianism and inciting unrest in Bahrain,' describing this action by the Bahraini government as 'a continuation of the intensification of pressure to completely eliminate the opposition and destroy the revolution in this country,' and wrote: 'The wave of final elimination of opponents and the destruction of the revolution has begun, and the government has increased pressure on the opposition without limits over the past two months.' The Javan newspaper also reported that on Tuesday, 'the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, urged the Bahraini regime to accept the realities and end the extrajudicial actions and security approach against the religious and national leaders of this country.' The newspaper Etemad also evaluated the Quds Force commander's statement as 'an unprecedented warning to Bahrain,' writing: 'Following the revocation of the citizenship of the prominent Shiite Sheikh by the Bahraini government, Major General Soleimani warned that any violation against Sheikh Isa Qassim would face unprecedented armed resistance from the Al Khalifa.' This newspaper noted that Sheikh Isa Qassim went to Qom after the Iran-Iraq war and 'benefited from the teachings of scholars like Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani and Mahmoud Shahroudi,' and resided in Qom until late 2000, stating that his stay in Iran 'significantly contributed to his recognition as a devout and courageous scholar, and the Leader of the Islamic Republic appointed him as Bahrain's representative in the World Assembly of Ahl al-Bayt based on this recognition.' Etemad wrote: 'The Bahraini government has raided his home several times and pressured him, but now, in the continuation of unprecedented pressure on revolutionaries, it has decided to expel him from the country by stripping his citizenship; an action that will undoubtedly increase public discontent and political instability in this country.' Simultaneously, Kayhan criticized the dismissal of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian from the Arab and African Affairs Deputy of the Foreign Ministry in its editorial titled 'Finally, a Manager Was Dismissed,' stating: 'Finally, a senior government manager was dismissed,' but this 'dismissed manager is neither a bank manager, nor the head of the National Development Fund, nor a senior manager of the management organization who would receive millions in salaries, and perhaps 1.4 billion tomans. He is the Deputy for Arab and African Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, who took strong positions on regional issues, especially Syria.' Kayhan also quoted Qassem Soleimani as saying: 'Sheikh Qassim is a red line; crossing this line will set Bahrain and the region on fire.' The newspaper Arman also reported on the reactions of government critics to the changes in the Foreign Ministry, including the dismissal of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, stating: 'Of course, these days, in addition to the heat of the weather, these worried individuals are also heated by another issue, which is the decisions of government officials, such as Zarif's sudden action and changes in the Foreign Ministry.' This newspaper also quoted Hamid Hosseini, an economic and political activist, stating: 'Some media outlets receive large budgets from the government under the guise of cultural work but publish articles against it from morning till night,' but 'the summoning of the managing director of Kayhan newspaper on one side and the closure of the Jahan News website on the other side shows that the country's officials are also dissatisfied with this situation and are thinking of controlling these behaviors.' The newspaper Shargh also reported with the headline 'The Right Hand of Larijani in the Parliament Think Tank' that 'Kazem Jalali has been reappointed as the head of the Research Center of the Parliament, making him the second person after Ahmad Tavakkoli to hold the presidency of this strategic institution for two consecutive terms.' Mehdi Ghadimi, in a report for Shargh, noted that 'according to the law regarding the duties of the Research Center, the Board of Trustees of the Center, which is responsible for selecting the head of the Center, consists of the following members: the Speaker of the Parliament as the head of the Board of Trustees, members of the Parliament's presiding board, and the head of the Center,' writing: 'Jalali's reappointment was based on the opinion of Larijani and the presiding board of the tenth Parliament, while it has not yet been announced whether anyone other than Jalali has expressed readiness for this position.' The newspaper Hamdeli also emphasized in its front page with the title 'From a 0-30 Win to a 2-13 Loss' that 'the proportion of the people's votes has not found a place at the top of the committees of the tenth Parliament.' According to this newspaper, 'with Jalali's reappointment at the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the process of appointing principlists to key positions in Parliament has been completed, and reformists have only managed to take the presidency of two committees in Parliament,' while 'the list presented by Tehran in the parliamentary elections completely entered the Parliament, closing the space for even one principlist to enter.' Hamdeli noted that at least 103 reformist representatives are present in the tenth Parliament, stating: 'The composition of the permanent presiding board reflects the overall political makeup of the Parliament. Out of 12 members of the presiding board, 5 seats went to reformists, 5 seats to principlists, and 2 seats to moderate principlists, and therefore it was expected that the number of reformist, principlist, and independent committee heads would reflect the political makeup of the Parliament, but this matter took on a different form.' This newspaper cited that 'some representatives of Parliament reported on Ali Larijani's involvement in the committee matters at the last minute,' writing that Larijani's role 'has not been without impact on the selection of committee presidencies, raising the question of whether the Speaker of the Parliament has not used reformists instrumentally.' The newspaper Vatan-e Emruz, close to the Front of Steadfastness, also wrote in a note titled 'Nothingness' that 'the series of Mohammad Reza Aref's failures in the tenth Parliament has been completed with Kazem Jalali's presidency of the Research Center.' The newspaper Iran reported the 'transfer of Ehsan Mazandarani to Evin's medical clinic,' stating that Ehsan Mazandarani, the former managing director of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, was transferred due to 'low blood pressure resulting from a prolonged hunger strike.' This newspaper quoted Ehsan Mazandarani's wife, Malihe Hosseini, as saying that 'according to fellow inmates, Ehsan Mazandarani's general health is not good.' This newspaper also reported: 'Ehsan Mazandarani has been sentenced to 7 years in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, and has appealed the court's ruling.' 'The suspension of the Law newspaper following a complaint from the IRGC Intelligence Organization' is another news item in the Iran newspaper. According to this newspaper, 'following a complaint from the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the Law newspaper was suspended by the prosecutor's office,' while earlier 'the Organization of Prisons and Security Measures also filed a complaint against the managing director of the Law newspaper for publishing a report titled '24 Hours of Damnation' on charges of publishing falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion and publishing false information.' The Iran newspaper also referred to the summons of Kaveh Eshtahardi, a media figure from the principlist faction, stating that after Mehdi Hashemi filed a complaint against him for insult, publishing falsehoods, and defamation, the investigator of the fourth branch of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office summoned and interrogated Kaveh Eshtahardi and issued a bail order for him. The issue of astronomical salaries continues, and Kayhan noted in its Tuesday issue that 'dealing with astronomical salaries' is 'the first test of the tenth Parliament,' writing: 'Following the publication of astronomical salary slips of some government managers, the people expect legal entities, including the tenth Parliament, to fulfill their legislative and supervisory duties and stand against such managers.' The Iran newspaper, close to the government, however, has a report about 'billion-dollar bonuses in the previous government,' stating: 'According to existing documents, bonuses of 1.4 billion tomans, 680 million tomans, and 456 million tomans were paid to the boards of directors of banks and companies in the previous government.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, also stated: 'The report on irregular salaries will soon be presented to the people, while Abbas Salehi Amiri, the head of the National Archive and Library Organization, published his salary slip on Tuesday.' Ahmad Tavakkoli, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and a principlist figure, also told the Iran newspaper: 'The issue of irregular salaries is a national, not a political, matter.'