New Controversy Over Astronomical Properties in City Council

The newspaper Shargh reported that the public session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Tuesday was attended by Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, who was responding to opponents of Iran's accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) aimed at combating money laundering. Before the session began, Ali Larijani, as the Speaker of the Parliament, had advised representatives in a closed meeting not to raise certain issues. Mehdi Ghadimi wrote in the report that representatives such as Ahmad Salek, Mojtaba Zolnoor, and Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh criticized the possibility of foreign dominance and claimed that Ali Tayebnia had accepted commitments on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a letter a month ago that undermined Iran's national security. Falahatpisheh emphasized the binding nature of these commitments, while Dehghan, referring to Falahatpisheh's statements, argued that the suspension of sanctions for one year was unacceptable and protested that they had asked Iran to remove support for liberation movements from the constitution. In response to these criticisms, Ali Tayebnia, who had a stack of letters and resolutions at the podium, showed a group of letters to the representatives and stated: 'These are correspondences and resolutions that were made between 2009 and 2013 for Iran's accession to FATF, and it was the right thing to do.' He even emphasized that the previous government had correctly requested membership in FATF in 2012, and its acceptance was in June of the previous year. The newspaper reported that Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the 10th Parliament, also responded to representatives opposing Iran's accession to FATF, saying: 'You say these clauses are in accordance with the law, only three or four clauses have issues. When we have issues with three or four clauses based on your statements, why do we criticize the entire agreement? Diplomatic reason is also a good thing in the world; we must discuss each topic at its appropriate time. When two clauses of your law are not similar to the rest of the world, why do you want to be placed on the blacklist altogether? Now the question is whether we should negotiate if we approve laws within the framework of these laws or not; the previous government also said to negotiate; that is, to say we will carry out these actions in due time. Why do you insist on saying the last word first to create problems?' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, however, headlined that Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, stated: 'We need more consensus on FATF.' The newspaper wrote: 'While on Tuesday, Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, was trying to resolve the FATF issue for the representatives in Parliament, Ali Larijani was also advising Tayebnia on this matter; in the evening, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said that FATF is a complex issue and still requires more consensus.' According to the newspaper Javan, 'Shamkhani's remarks indicate that the Islamic Republic is anticipating new negotiations regarding FATF, and thus, despite the atmosphere of the Parliament on Tuesday, FATF cannot be considered concluded.' The newspaper Etemad dedicated its front page to the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the candidates for the U.S. presidency, stating: 'The Democratic candidate was prepared, the Republican candidate fought extemporaneously' and 'the lawyer won.' Amir Ali Abolfat'h, an analyst on American issues, wrote in this newspaper: 'Election debates do not affect party voters but have a significant impact on those who have not yet decided to participate in the elections or have not yet chosen their preferred president and are considered independent or undecided voters,' and 'based on estimates, this group constitutes 20 million voters.' The columnist for Etemad also wrote: 'It seems that Hillary Clinton was able to speak more maturely, thoughtfully, and accurately than her Republican rival. Clinton focused more on her plans and programs, especially on security issues, detailing them more and managed to present herself as someone who is not physically weak or ill and is full of energy, while Donald Trump, apart from business and economic issues, which are his specialties, spoke generally on other topics and could not precisely explain his plans.' The newspaper Iran, close to the government, also dedicated its front page to this debate and quoted Donald Trump as saying: 'The JCPOA makes Iran a great power.' Mohammad Ali Hosseini, former spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also wrote in a note in the Iran newspaper that 'Iran was the focal point of the heated debate in the U.S. presidential election.' The first presidential debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates took place while the issue of Iran and the nuclear agreement became the main contentious topic among the candidates. Each side addressed the challenges of Iran's nuclear issue according to their respective party policies. The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, close to the Front of Steadfastness, also dedicated its headline and front page to this debate, stating that 'the debate between two New Yorkers, a Republican and a Democrat, was unexpected for many because Donald Trump, a non-politician, managed to engage in a logical discussion with Hillary Clinton, a seasoned and professional politician, for 90 minutes and even appeared more reasoned than his rival in many cases.' This newspaper also quoted Hillary Clinton as saying: 'We dismantled Iran's nuclear program without firing a shot.' The newspaper Hamdeli reported on its front page that Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the Hope faction in the 10th Parliament, announced the '48 trillion tomans condemnation of the previous government' in the Court of Auditors. According to this newspaper, Mahmoud Sadeghi, during a warning in the open session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, referred to the meeting of the faction for economic transparency and financial discipline with the head and prosecutor of the Court of Auditors, stating that 'according to the prosecutor of the Court of Auditors, the previous government has a definitive financial violation and condemnation of 48 trillion tomans, of which 12 trillion tomans pertain to the former president himself. Therefore, I request the Speaker of the Parliament and the head of the Court of Auditors to execute the issued rulings.' The Hamdeli newspaper quoted this parliament member as saying: 'Mr. Ahmadinejad has been definitively condemned, and his objection has been confirmed in the Court of Auditors, and 12 trillion tomans pertain to Ahmadinejad himself, the rulings of which have not yet been executed,' while 'this individual has completely advanced his work during his 8 years of presidency by creating chaos and has wasted over 700 billion dollars of oil revenue.' The Hamdeli newspaper also has a report on the 'new controversy over astronomical properties in the City Council,' stating that Abdolhossein Mokhtabad, a member of the Cultural Commission of the Tehran City Council, referred to the arrest of the editor-in-chief of the Architecture News website and said; the municipality and council should withdraw their complaint against Mr. Yashar Soltani and release him. This member of the Tehran City Council, in his pre-agenda remarks, referred to the seizure of the Architecture News website and the arrest of Yashar Soltani, the editor-in-chief of the Architecture News website, saying: 'Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf should withdraw his complaint so that this individual can return to his family because such actions are not befitting the council and municipality.' These remarks by Abdolhossein Mokhtabad did not sit well with Reza Taghipour, a principlist member and spokesperson of the City Council, who said that 'someone has tarnished the council's reputation with accusations and slanders, and now the council members should have the honor to support the council's integrity; someone has tarnished the council's reputation, and now you want him to be released?' Asara Kiani, in a report for the Hamdeli newspaper, wrote: 'When the news of the allocation of astronomical properties worth several trillion tomans by the Tehran municipality to specific individuals, including over a hundred legal entities and about 150 individuals from high-ranking municipal officials, five members of the City Council, and two journalists, was published, public opinion expected accountability for these illegal allocations, and 'people expected the mayor of Tehran to appear in a position of accountability,' but 'what is now being discussed more is the issue of releasing the editor-in-chief of the site that published these names,' while 'all eyes are focused on the complaint against Yashar Soltani and the Architecture News website, the issue of the municipality's violations has been sidelined.' 'When the news of the allocation of astronomical properties, villa houses, and apartments worth several trillion tomans by the Tehran municipality to specific individuals, including over 100 legal entities and about 150 individuals (all high-ranking municipal officials, five members of the City Council, and two journalists) was published, what was most expected, especially among public opinion, was the discussion of accountability for these illegal allocations (with special conditions such as installment payments and below market price); people expected the mayor of Tehran to appear in a position of accountability. Weeks have passed, and what is now being discussed more is the issue of releasing the editor-in-chief of the site that published these names.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan reported that on Tuesday morning, 'a minibus carrying teachers from the village of Shahzand in Arak collided with a Benz truck, resulting in four deaths and 12 injuries.' According to this newspaper, in this accident, 'three teachers in the minibus and the minibus driver died, and 11 people were transferred to the hospital,' and Iraj Khahrazi, the head of the traffic police of the central province, told Farnaz Estadnoubari, a reporter for Farhikhtegan, that 'this heartbreaking accident occurred at kilometer three of the secondary road of Qareh Kahriz Bazneh. The cause of this accident was the truck's deviation to the left compared to the minibus.' Mohammad Dadkan, the former head of the Iranian Football Federation, criticized financial corruption and the empty promises of officials to the people in an interview with Shargh newspaper, saying: 'We keep holding shows that we will raise the pensions of retirees. Right now, my brother can send you his pay slip. He is retired with 900 thousand tomans. Who says we don't have salaries under a million tomans?' Dadkan also mentioned that just today, one of the central bank officials said: 'We won't let the dollar create a challenge,' what challenge could the dollar at around three thousand six hundred tomans create? The dollar has gone from seven to one tomans to three thousand six hundred tomans; we still say it doesn't create a challenge? Let's be honest with the people and tell them the truth. The previous government was in the cup for eight years; we have been in the JCPOA for four years! How long will people sit and listen to these words?'