New Ambiguities in the Contaminated Rice Case

The newspaper Shargh, in its Monday issue, referred to the appointment of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, stating: After eight months of vacancy for the political deputy position, Mohammad Hossein Maqimi has been appointed by Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli. This newspaper quoted Morteza Moghaddam, the deputy of the Ministry of Interior during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, emphasizing that one of the most important missions of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior is the holding of elections, including the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts elections next year. The newspaper Etemad, with the headline "Neither Right nor Left," wrote about the appointment of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior: "Mohammad Hossein Maqimi, a moderate option, was selected after eight months for the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior." This newspaper emphasized that "recent months have displayed the peak of conservatism of the minister responsible for 'politics' in the country." Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist political activist, also told the newspaper Ebtekar that Mohammad Hossein Maqimi, the new political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, is "a very good negotiator" and "we do not expect the Ministry of Interior of the eleventh government to act in favor of reformists; rather, we expect it to act impartially." The newspaper Etemad dedicated a section to Ali Jannati and an exclusive interview with him, in which the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance implicitly confirmed the existence of a "list of 400 banned authors" in previous years. In response to a question from Mojtaba Hosseini, a reporter for Etemad, about the existence of the "list of 400 banned authors" in the previous government, Ali Jannati said: "In the past, there were a number of publishers and authors who sometimes faced unfounded criticisms or were unjustly criticized due to ignorance, and their books remained unpublished." The newspaper Kayhan reported on the possible holding of a gathering in front of the French embassy in Tehran, stating that this gathering, organized by the "Student Basij" and with the permission of the Tehran governorate, is aimed at supporting "protests against the French government's support for those who insulted the Prophet of Islam." The newspaper Qanoon reported on the arrest of several officials from the Ministry of Sports and Youth in a report titled "Who is the arrested director general of the Ministry of Sports?" This "director general" of the Ministry of Sports and Youth is identified by the initials "Ms. F-M." The newspaper Shahrevand, in its Monday issue, published a report on "new ambiguities in the contaminated rice case," stating that a year after an 18-member Iranian delegation traveled to India to investigate the "contamination of imported rice" from that country, the report of this delegation has not yet been published. The newspaper Shahrevand quoted Mehrdad Lahouti, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, emphasizing that the "cost of the trip" for this delegation, including four members of parliament, was covered by the "rice importers," and for this reason, ambiguities in the "contaminated rice case from India" have increased. The appointment of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior was highlighted by the newspaper Shargh, which noted that after eight months of vacancy for the political deputy position, Mohammad Hossein Maqimi has been appointed by Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli. This newspaper emphasized that "the political deputy is the most important deputy of the Ministry of Interior" and reminded that "the offices of political affairs, elections, and territorial divisions" are managed under the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, and "other duties of this deputy include holding elections, overseeing governors and mayors, and presiding over the country's election headquarters." According to the Shargh newspaper, Mohammad Hossein Maqimi, the new political deputy of the Ministry of Interior, was born in Bahman 1329 in Khomein and graduated in mechanical engineering from Shiraz University and has been the governor of Markazi province since the beginning of Hassan Rouhani's government. "The representative of Khomein in the eighth term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the governor of Khuzestan province in Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's second government from 1992 to 1996, the governor of Kermanshah province in Mohammad Khatami's first government from 1996 to 2000, and the deputy of the executive assistant of President Hashemi Rafsanjani are among the executive positions held by Mohammad Hossein Maqimi, and the Shargh newspaper wrote: "In Maqimi's resume, he has also served as the deputy of urban development of the Ministry of Interior, head of the Municipalities and Rural Administrations Organization, acting mayor of Tehran, advisor to the Minister of Interior, and deputy of mines and metals, and head of the reconstruction and renovation headquarters of war-affected areas." The Shargh newspaper reminded that until eight months ago, "Kazem Mirvold" was the political deputy of the Minister of Interior, but "after Mirvold's resignation, speculations about his disagreement with the Minister of Interior intensified." Morteza Moghaddam, the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior during the reformist government, told the Shargh newspaper: "The prolonged appointment of the political deputy relates to the sensitivity of this deputyship and its special position, but regarding why this appointment has taken so long, in addition to its sensitivity, it relates to the conditions of this ministry. In fact, during these eight months, a process occurred where various factions in the government sought to appoint someone who was ideologically close to them. Some believed that the political deputy should be someone who could effectively advance Mr. Rouhani's programs, but others thought differently." The Shargh newspaper quoted Morteza Moghaddam emphasizing that one of the most important missions of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior is to hold elections, including the Islamic Consultative Assembly and Assembly of Experts elections next year. Morteza Moghaddam also stated: "The political deputyship currently faces difficult conditions. Because during these months without a political deputy, deficiencies and gaps have emerged in this ministry, and tasks that should have been carried out have not been done, and the new deputy must seriously pursue them. On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior itself during this time has not adequately addressed internal policy and public demands and the political-social development of civil institutions and parties, and society is facing accumulated demands." The newspaper Etemad with the title "Neither Right nor Left" wrote about the appointment of the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior: "Mohammad Hossein Maqimi, a moderate option, was selected after eight months for the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior." This newspaper emphasized that "the new political deputy of the Ministry of Interior can perhaps be seen more as a moderate figure," describing Mohammad Hossein Maqimi as someone who "is neither overly radical nor overly passive. This characteristic may have satisfied the Minister of Interior in choosing a political deputy." Etemad also wrote: "Mohammad Hossein Maqimi was the option that the Minister of Interior was looking for. Neither reformists can criticize him much, nor can conservatives." The newspaper Ebtekar also published opinions from several political figures regarding "the expectations of political factions from Mohammad Hossein Maqimi" and quoted Rasool Montajebnia, the deputy of the National Trust Party, stating: "Since the political deputy position of the Ministry of Interior has been vacant until now, it has dealt a heavy blow to Mr. Rouhani, and now it is expected that Mohammad Hossein Maqimi will compensate for the blows and damages in the political deputy position of the Ministry of Interior." Ahmad Shirzad, a reformist political activist, also told the newspaper Ebtekar: "Mohammad Hossein Maqimi is a calm, logical, dignified, polite person, and a very good negotiator," and "we do not expect the Ministry of Interior of the eleventh government to act in favor of reformists; rather, we expect it to act impartially." This reformist political activist stated that "we need governors and mayors who will safeguard the people's votes," saying: "In elections, we need an executive board that is not from one faction like Mr. Ahmadinejad's government; because when the executive board is from one faction, people cannot trust it. Many mayors are not aligned with Mr. Rouhani's government; therefore, many of them, especially for the elections, must be changed." In an exclusive interview with Etemad, Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, implicitly confirmed the existence of a "list of 400 banned authors" in previous years. In response to a question from Mojtaba Hosseini, a reporter for Etemad, about the existence of the "list of 400 banned authors" in the previous government, Ali Jannati said: "In the past, there were a number of publishers and authors who sometimes faced unfounded criticisms or were unjustly criticized due to ignorance, and their books remained unpublished. This naturally reduced the motivation of those who were writers and interested in authorship." The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance stated that "in this area, we have directed our efforts towards organizing this field by appointing someone familiar with the principles like Seyyed Abbas Salehi on one side and selecting prominent cultural figures approved by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council as a supervisory board." Ali Jannati pointed out that in the field of books, "we have tried to create a hopeful atmosphere for those who want to write, away from undue criticisms and fault-finding, while preserving Islamic values and paying attention to the Supreme Leader's statements," saying: "I believe this part has progressed well. However, in the field of books, there have also been cases that were not compatible with existing laws or the policies of the system. We have stood against these. We did not allow toxic food to enter society. In fact, our focus was more on works that comply with the regulations rather than just looking at the author and censoring a work. I must say we have censored the censors." According to the newspaper Etemad, Ali Jannati, regarding recent statements by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture regarding Mohammad Reza Shajarian, said: "Reconciliation between Shajarian and other institutions is not our job," and "after all, he has two aspects: one is his artistic aspect, and no one can deny his artistic prominence, and a series of political issues surrounding him have complicated matters. Practically, this task does not pertain to our domain." In another part of this interview, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance emphasized that "we have laws regarding the use of satellites and their prohibition," stating: "If we conclude that the law has issues, we must address its legal shortcomings. As long as the law exists, everyone must adhere to it, but we should not do something that would imply that 70% of the people in Tehran who use satellites are lawbreakers; this issue stems from a lack of attention to developments." The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance also stated regarding music and the rulings of jurists: "In the matter of music, if a jurist wants to truly give an opinion, they must know the subject well, as well as Islamic jurisprudence; meaning they must understand Islamic jurisprudence and rulings and also know music well to be able to issue a ruling on it. If someone in the field of music does not know how many modes we have, how many scales there are, and has never listened to music, they cannot give an opinion. Any opinion they give cannot be correct. General opinions cannot be issued either." Ali Jannati, who is the son of Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, told the newspaper Etemad: "I am closer to Mr. [Akbar] Hashemi than to my father." The newspaper Qanoon reported on the arrest of several officials from the Ministry of Sports and Youth in a report titled "Who is the arrested director general of the Ministry of Sports?" This "director general" of the Ministry of Sports and Youth is identified by the initials "Ms. F-M." The newspaper pointed out that "on Sunday, the director general of the Ministry of Sports and Youth announced the unprecedented arrest of several individuals involved in violations within this ministry," stating: "The publication of this news drew media attention as it had no similar precedent in the Ministry of Sports and Youth." The newspaper Qanoon also reported that the "Public Relations" of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, quoting Reza Hosseini Kho, the director general of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, announced that these arrests were made based on the "order" of Mahmoud Goudarzi, the Minister of Sports and Youth, and after it was decided that "purification and combating irregularities in the Ministry of Sports and Youth would be seriously on the agenda of the security and other supervisory bodies." According to this newspaper, Reza Hosseini Kho, the director general of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, also stated: "Comprehensive investigations were conducted in various sections, and last week one of the cases reached a conclusion," and ultimately, with the cooperation of supervisory bodies and the support of judicial officials, "three of the violators, one of whom held a staff position in the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the other two were outside the sports management structure but related to it, were arrested." The newspaper Qanoon also reported that "after extensive follow-ups, results were obtained" indicating that among the detainees, "the main individual is one of the director generals of the Ministry of Sports and Youth who was appointed to this position a few months ago by Mahmoud Goudarzi." The newspaper Qanoon emphasized that "according to the law, disclosing the names of the accused is prohibited until the verdict is finalized, and since the issue and the violations of individuals are still at the level of accusation," it refrained from publishing the full name of the arrested official of the Ministry of Sports and Youth but noted: "This individual, named 'Ms. F-M,' according to the statements of the director general of security, was arrested after a week of reviewing evidence and documents of her violations, and according to what some employees of the Ministry of Sports and Youth claim, 'F-M' and her two companions are accused of land grabbing and similar violations," while "it has not been long since her presence in the Ministry of Sports and Youth." The newspaper Qanoon made no mention of the names of the other two accused individuals who were arrested in connection with the violations in the Ministry of Sports and Youth. Among the director generals of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, only the 'female director general' that matches the initials and specifications published in the newspaper Qanoon is the 'director.