New Assessment of Iran and US Teams' Arrangement in Geneva

The newspaper Etemad described the statements made by Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli on Saturday regarding the influx of drug trafficking money into elections as a "warning from the minister against the entry of black money into politics." The newspaper Shahrvand also headlined "Rejecting Dirty Money in Politics," reporting that on Saturday, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, spoke about the "possibility of money from drug sales entering the electoral and power domains." According to this newspaper, Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the commander of the police force, also commented on the minister's statements, saying: "Sometimes this money is spent before elections, but whether it has resulted in anything, I do not know." The newspaper Iran also highlighted the "echo of the minister's warning" among members of parliament, with Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, the head of the Commission on Article 90, stating that the minister, who makes such claims, should ensure that drug trafficking decreases so that this money does not enter elections. Behrouz Namati, the spokesman for the parliamentary board, however, described the entry of dirty money into elections as "political" and told the newspaper Iran: "I do not accept the minister's projection and believe that the general representatives in parliament have been elected with clean votes." The newspaper Teadval, while publishing a report about the "new arrangement of Iran and US teams in Geneva," emphasized that "with the presence of new faces, the nuclear agreement is closer than ever." Sadegh Zibakalam, a university professor, evaluated the meeting between the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the US Secretary of Energy as an event that "allows for a new analysis of Iran's relations with Western countries, specifically the US, based on new hypotheses." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also described the "presence of new faces" in the Geneva negotiations as "a sign of a new round of nuclear talks" but questioned whether this new arrangement is a "strategy for acceleration" or a "decision for prolongation" of the negotiations. The newspapers Khorasan and Mardomsalari dedicated their front pages to the "resolution of the Assembly for the establishment of a new election execution body." According to these newspapers, "Members of the Expediency Discernment Council, in their meeting yesterday [Saturday], continued the review and drafting of the general policies of elections by approving four more clauses, including holding elections under the supervision of a central election committee composed of the three branches of government and national trustees." The newspaper Mardomsalari also dedicated its front page to the Expediency Discernment Council's resolution for "the establishment of a central election commission composed of representatives from the three branches and national trustees." The newspaper Qanoon reported that based on the resolution passed by the parliament on Saturday, "headquarters and foundations must pay taxes," but "Astan Quds Razavi remains exempt." The newspaper Quds noted that "the rise in chicken prices has also upset the Minister of Agriculture," reporting that "the price of chicken in the market has fluctuated sharply over the past few weeks, rising from 5,700 to 8,500 tomans per kilogram, which has led to public dissatisfaction." The death of Sadegh Tabatabai has received widespread coverage in Sunday newspapers. Less than a week after the statements of Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, about media "prohibitions" against Mohammad Khatami, the newspaper Shargh published the text of Hassan Rouhani's condolence message on the death of Mohammad Khatami's sister on its front page. The newspapers Arman, Ebrar, Etemad, Afkar, Ettela'at, Javan, and Khorasan have covered the news of Sadegh Tabatabai's death with images of him on their front pages. The newspaper Arman referred to Sadegh Tabatabai as "the calm man of turbulent days" and wrote: "Sadegh Tabatabai is well known to the people of Iran, especially those who are political and historical and remember the early days of the revolution. A well-dressed, handsome, and eloquent young man with modern thoughts yet committed to religion, he was the spokesperson for the first government of the revolution and one of the five candidates in the first presidential election, appearing on the Islamic Republic's television and speaking about politics and the issues and problems of the revolution for those who were anxious and worried about the future of the revolution and homeland." The newspaper Shargh described his death as "the passing of a passenger of flight 57" alongside a photo of Sadegh Tabatabai. The newspaper Etemad noted that the death of "Sadegh Tabatabai, brother-in-law of Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini and nephew of Imam Moussa Sadr," signifies "the farewell of the connecting link between the Khomeini and Sadr families." "The Minister of Interior's warning about the entry of trafficking money into politics" The newspaper Etemad described Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli's statements on Saturday regarding the influx of drug trafficking money into elections as a "warning from the minister against the entry of black money into politics." The newspaper wrote: "From the 'garden' of election expenses, 'clean' money has just arrived, and after the 'dirty money' of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, now it is the turn of the 'dirty money' of smugglers and drug traffickers to make headlines. Etemad emphasized that on Saturday, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, at a specialized conference of police chiefs combating drugs, only provided a 'clue' about this issue in his remarks, referring to the arrest of a gang that had a financial turnover of 2,000 billion tomans over two years, stating: 'The individual who conducted this financial turnover is 35 years old and has only completed five grades of education.' The newspaper Etemad reported that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, continuing his remarks with concern about the 'cycle of trafficking money in power and politics,' said: 'Some of this money enters the political domain, and individuals enter it in the form of elections and so forth, thus contaminating the power domain, and the people, in the form of democracy, give their authority to a government under the title of parliament or government.' Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli also stated that 'if such financial turnover enters the economic cycle, it will have many negative effects because if we consider the country's financial turnover in consumption at least 10,000 billion tomans and its transit equivalent to 20,000 billion tomans, it constitutes two-thirds of the country's development budget.' The Minister of Interior of Hassan Rouhani's government, referring to 'the entry of such money into the domain of intermediation and dirty economic currents,' said: 'This money also enters illegal exports and imports, and even if the greatest economic philosopher in the world comes, he cannot control the country's economy in the presence of trafficking and drugs.' The Minister of Interior stated that 'dirty money is placed in the path of power and politics,' saying: 'For example, when a city council candidate spends two billion tomans and when asked where he got this money, he says friends helped, we must ask if this dirty and trafficking money has infiltrated there; thus, we say this money has infiltrated everywhere and has made its impact.' The newspaper Shahrvand also reported on its front page, titled 'Rejecting Dirty Money in Politics,' that on Saturday, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, spoke about 'the possibility of money from drug sales entering the electoral and power domains.' This newspaper noted that 'after the case of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, the former first vice president of the previous government,' and his letter stating that 'to support conservative candidates in the eighth parliamentary elections, he received a total of 1.2 billion tomans from an individual named Jaber Abdali and distributed it among 170 parliamentary candidates,' the statements of the Minister of Interior on Saturday indicate: 'This is the first time that a senior former government official has been sent to prison over financial allegations.' The newspaper Shahrvand emphasized that the police commander did not reject the Minister of Interior's statements on Saturday, reporting that Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said to reporters: 'I will not comment on entering the electoral domain as it should be based on a case and judicial permission, but sometimes this money is spent before elections, but whether it has resulted in anything, I do not know.' Reactions from Parliament to the Minister of Interior's warning The newspaper Iran also focused on the 'echo of the Minister of Interior's warning' among members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, quoting Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the ninth parliament, stating: 'Parliamentarism without strong parties leads to inefficiency and the emergence of issues such as dirty electoral money. The premise of any discussion and solution to eliminate or reduce such phenomena is the existence of a party system for elections.' Behrouz Namati, the spokesman for the parliamentary board, however, described the proposal for the entry of dirty money into elections as 'political' and told the newspaper Iran: 'I do not accept the minister's projection and believe that the general representatives in parliament have been elected with clean votes.' Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, the head of the Commission on Article 90 of the parliament, also called for further explanations from the Minister of Interior regarding the entry of dirty money into elections, stating to the newspaper Iran: 'The minister, who makes such claims, should ensure that drug trafficking decreases so that this money does not enter elections.' The head of the Commission on Article 90 emphasized that 'the claim of drug traffickers entering elections is a significant and heavy claim that requires more information,' stating: 'It must be clarified which elections and in what form this was meant. We cannot claim without investigation and verification that the source of dirty electoral money is known. Dirty money must be defined. It is possible that someone helps a candidate, and this money is not dirty. The sources of money must be examined according to anti-money laundering laws.' Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, while not denying the large advertising expenses in various elections, emphasized that 'these expenses must be clarified.' Abbas Raji, the head of the Agriculture Commission of the parliament, also emphasized that 'we cannot ignore the unusual and unreasonable expenses of some election candidates,' stating to the newspaper Iran: 'These candidates receive large sums from others to spend in such a manner; otherwise, they do not have such capital themselves.' The representative from Arak regarding the Minister of Interior's statements about the entry of trafficking money into elections stated: 'This issue must be clarified. The entry of such money undermines the essence of elections and the position of parliament.' Amir Abbas Soltani, another member of parliament, also noted that 'he has not seen a specific case of traffickers entering the electoral domain, but he does not consider it impossible,' recalling the case and claims of Mohammad Reza Rahimi, who said he provided financial assistance to 170 candidates and members of the eighth parliament. This member of the Energy Commission of the parliament, referring to some large election expenses, stated: 'Anyone who spends one billion tomans to enter parliament or the city council certainly receives this money from somewhere or someone, and generally, the source of this money is not lawful, and a large part of it is suspicious and, as the Minister of Interior said, possibly dirty.' Amir Abbas Soltani mentioned 'reforming election laws' as a solution to prevent the entry of dirty money into elections, stating: 'The election law must prevent rent-seeking and the use of state resources, and limits must be set for advertising expenses to eliminate waste and vote-buying.' According to this parliament member, the average cost of election advertising for parliament varies by region and electoral district; for example, in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, it has ranged from 50 million tomans to one billion tomans. Assessment of newspapers on 'the new arrangement of Iran and US teams in Geneva' The newspaper Teadval, while publishing a report about 'the new arrangement of Iran and US teams in Geneva,' emphasized that 'with the presence of new faces, the nuclear agreement is closer than ever.' This newspaper wrote: 'While it was previously announced that only the Iranian Foreign Minister would join the ongoing negotiations, the addition of two other cabinet members to him has increased attention and focus on the Iranian negotiating team,' and this probability increases when 'we realize that in addition to John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, for the first time a cabinet minister from the Obama administration has also practically entered the negotiations since Saturday.' According to the newspaper Teadval, 'the simultaneous arrival of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, and Hossein Fereidoun, the special assistant to the President, from the airplane steps at Geneva airport indicates that this round of negotiations is likely to be different from before and of much greater importance; even some analysts and news agencies have reported the possibility of a political agreement.' This newspaper noted the 'sudden presence of Ali Akbar Salehi and Hossein Fereidoun in Geneva,' stating: 'Media close to the government have described Fereidoun's trip as a consultation and acceleration of necessary coordination due to his close relationship with the President,' and Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the director of media diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also stated that the reason for 'Hossein Fereidoun's presence in Geneva is to conduct consultations and necessary coordination during the ongoing negotiations.' According to the newspaper Teadval, 'the presence of Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, and his deputy Behrouz Kamalvandi in Geneva is another distinctive point of this round of discussions,' and meetings with their American and Swiss counterparts indicate that 'technical and serious discussions will likely be more prominent in this round.' The newspaper Teadval, referring to the meeting on Saturday evening between Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Ernest Moniz, the US Secretary of Energy, reminded that 'this is the first meeting in this area between the parties since the day after the revolution and Moniz is the second high-ranking official and member of the White House cabinet to negotiate in front of senior Iranian diplomats.' The newspaper Teadval assessed the 'new arrangement of Iran and US teams in Geneva' as a cause for 'increased optimism about the negotiations.'