New Documents Released on Rahim Mashaei's Role in Embezzlement Case

The Iran newspaper has reported on the upcoming "meeting between Iran and six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in September." Jam Jam newspaper, in its front page on Monday, not only published a report about the ongoing earthquakes in "Javadabad" Tehran but also warned, citing earthquake experts, that the "safety of Tehran" must be taken seriously. Ahmad Jannati's statements, Secretary of the Guardian Council, have been welcomed by newspapers close to conservatives. Kayhan newspaper quoted Jannati as saying, "Those who were silent during the sedition are not allowed to enter the Assembly of Experts," while Javan newspaper reported him saying, "They want to subjugate the Guardian Council and the judiciary." This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also referred to Jannati's comments on "some efforts to break the resistance of the institutions of the system," stating that "over the past 25 months, the reformist movement has been systematically and intricately trying to return to the hidden layers of power and is attempting to subtly approach the highest decision-making centers of the system, aiming to give a more concrete and precise meaning to the term overthrow than before." Arman newspaper, in its front page, raised the question of whether the main goal of the serial complaints is "Ahmadinejad's complaint against Rouhani," quoting the weekly Seda as saying: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intended to sue Hassan Rouhani, but suing the president does not easily yield results," adding that "the arrow of complaint against the president has hit a stone, and now it is the turn of other government officials." Shahre Vahdat newspaper published the televised statements of Safar Naeimi Zar, a representative from Astara in the ninth parliament, about land grabbing in the Heyran pass, reporting under the headline "Surprise in Heyran from Land Grabbers" that in these land grabs, "officials from the previous government and representatives from the parliament were involved, and this time not only national lands were seized but also agricultural lands in the region have been devastated." Etemad newspaper dedicated its front page to Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, former chief of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office, reporting on the release of documents regarding his role in the 3,000 billion tomans embezzlement case. Qanoon newspaper dedicated its front page to the "tragic reconstruction of Tehran's City Theater," stating: "City Theater has been one of the most recognized symbols of Iranian theater and has been the center of Tehran's theater for over four decades, but these days, the reconstruction axe is worrying the family of artists who have worked in this place for years." This newspaper emphasized that "reconstruction is not bad at all and is necessary and even essential for any building and place," noting that the latest round of reconstruction of City Theater, which began last autumn with the demolition of some of its halls, has faced opposition and dissatisfaction from many theater professionals and artists due to the "lack of a plan and overall design." Behzad Farahani, a prominent figure in Iranian theater, told Qanoon newspaper: "From the very first day, we were unaware of the demolition process. In fact, none of the theater community knew about the demolitions, and after we protested, we were told that these demolitions were ordered by Mr. Moradkhani. Even the representative of cultural heritage who came to visit was astonished by the start of the demolitions without the knowledge of cultural heritage. Unfortunately, the country has reached a point where they demolish first and then are unable to build." The Iran newspaper reported on the "meeting between Iran and six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in September," stating that "Tehran and the Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf have entered a path of dialogue and negotiation," and that Iran and the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council will start a new phase of regional talks in the form of a "G7" group from next September. The Iran newspaper emphasized that the proposal to start these negotiations comes after the conclusion of Iran's nuclear dispute with the 1+5 countries and "simultaneously with a new round of intensive consultations by the Iranian Foreign Minister on the table of Arab countries, which, according to an Iranian diplomatic source, 'Qatar and Oman are behind the scenes of the plan to bring Iran into the center of dialogue with the member states of the Cooperation Council.'" According to this newspaper, the "G7" negotiation plan has been welcomed by the "overt and covert" consultations of Mohammad Javad Zarif with regional actors, and with the first meeting scheduled for next month, it will become a reality. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, who accompanied Mohammad Javad Zarif on the new round of regional trips, told the Iran newspaper: "The regional talks between Iran and the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries will be held at the initiative of the Emir of Qatar and the Foreign Minister of Oman," and "the first phase of the talks will begin by the end of September at the latest." This newspaper also reported on the meeting between Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister and the Saudi Foreign Minister, quoting Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying: "On the eve of Ramadan and on the sidelines of the Islamic Cooperation Organization meeting in Jeddah, I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister. He expressed clear and candid remarks about the region and, of course, heard clear responses as well, and in this meeting, the importance of Iranian-Saudi dialogues for helping the crisis-stricken countries in the region in combating extremism and terrorism was emphasized." Hossein Amir-Abdollahian evaluated his meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister as "a candid yet constructive meeting." Experts' warnings after the "Javadabad earthquake" about the need for "Tehran's safety" were highlighted in Jam Jam newspaper's front page on Monday, which published a report about the ongoing earthquakes in "Javadabad" Tehran. The newspaper noted that "finally, last Friday night, a glimpse of nightmares came true, and the surroundings of Tehran shook; fortunately, there were no casualties," stating: "The 4.1 magnitude earthquake occurred at 11:12:14 PM at a depth of 13 kilometers and 17 kilometers from Javadabad Tehran, 20 kilometers from Pishva, and 26 kilometers from Varamin." According to this newspaper, the seismological institute affiliated with the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University also announced that "six earthquakes, the strongest of which was 4.1 and the weakest 1.5 on the Richter scale, shook the Javadabad Varamin area," and although "this earthquake did not cause casualties and occurred somewhat outside Tehran, the topic of earthquakes in Tehran has once again become a concern for many who fear that this not-so-strong earthquake in Tehran province may be a precursor to a larger earthquake in the city itself." Amin Jalalvand, in his report for Jam Jam, noted that "the nightmare of a Tehran earthquake never ends," stating: "Those who exaggerate believe that after a Tehran earthquake, the fortunate ones are those who die in the initial moments of the earthquake; because the city's structure has reached a level of insecurity and congestion that after a massive earthquake in Tehran, there will be no possibility of rescuing those trapped under the rubble. Bahram Akasheh, a seismologist, regarding whether the Varamin earthquake could be a precursor to a major earthquake in Tehran, told Jam Jam: "We have very active fault lines in the north and south of Tehran. For example, a 90-kilometer fault line puts northern Tehran at risk," and in southern Tehran, there are many fault lines, with the "Northern Rey" and "Southern Rey" faults being the strongest, with the "Rey fault in southern Tehran having last shaken about 185 years ago, destroying the city of Rey, the market, and even Golestan Palace." This earthquake specialist emphasized that "two possibilities can be predicted for the future; either this earthquake in Varamin is unrelated to the faults of Tehran city and should be considered a warning, or this earthquake should be regarded as a foreshock for a major earthquake in Tehran." Bahram Akasheh stated: "Both possibilities exist, and no one can definitively say which possibility is more accurate," and as "historical evidence shows, southern Tehran has been flattened multiple times, and currently, with about ten active faults in southern Tehran, the likelihood of an earthquake in the capital is not far-fetched." Jam Jam reported that since last Friday night, "most rescue organizations in Tehran have been on standby to prepare for a possible earthquake in the capital," but Bahram Akasheh emphasized in his conversation with this newspaper that "due to Tehran's location on active earthquake faults, rescue forces and crisis management must always be on standby, not just react to news of earthquakes around Tehran," adding that "buildings must be made safe, and safety regulations must be adhered to so that a potential earthquake in Tehran causes less damage; otherwise, merely declaring readiness will not be effective." Mehdi Zareh, an associate professor at the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, told Jam Jam that "the earthquake last Friday night is related to the Pishva fault in Varamin," and this fault "has a capacity of up to 6.5 on the Richter scale, and even about 700 years ago, a 6-magnitude earthquake in this area destroyed Varamin, Pishva, and Rey city." Jam Jam wrote: "Although according to Mehdi Zareh, the end of the Pishva fault reaches the Southern Rey fault, this does not mean that the Pishva fault can activate the Southern Rey fault; therefore, the Varamin earthquake is unrelated to the Tehran earthquake." However, Bahram Akasheh disagreed with Mehdi Zareh's statement, telling Jam Jam: "It cannot be definitively stated that the earthquake in Varamin was necessarily due to the activation of the Varamin fault, and it is possible that this earthquake occurred due to the activity of another fault." This newspaper noted: both experts, Bahram Akasheh and Mehdi Zareh, "agree that whether or not there is an earthquake in Varamin, the risk of an earthquake in Tehran has not decreased at all, and the danger of an earthquake in Tehran remains as strong as ever." The reflection of the news about land grabbing by officials and representatives; surprise in "Heyran" from land grabbers was published in Shahre Vahdat newspaper, which reported the televised statements of Safar Naeimi Zar, a representative from Astara in the ninth parliament, about land grabbing in the Heyran pass, stating in a report titled "Surprise in Heyran from Land Grabbers" that in these land grabs, "officials from the previous government and representatives from the parliament were involved, and this time not only national lands were seized but also agricultural lands in the region have been devastated." This newspaper quoted Safar Naeimi Zar as saying: "Land grabbing around three villages in the Heyran pass named Upper Heyran, Lower Heyran, and Middle Heyran" has occurred, and "since 2007, a development plan has been implemented in these three villages, and 160 hectares of land were demarcated for them, and with the creation of suitable infrastructure, land prices increased, but later, some influential individuals from the neighboring county and province began to seize the lands of the development plan and bought the lands in the names of their relatives, but due to their insatiability, they seized about 100 hectares of land outside the plan as well. They then, in collaboration with provincial officials, under the pretext of reviewing 100 hectares, added to the 160 hectares and decided to change the land use from agricultural to villa construction." The representative from Astara in the ninth parliament pointed out that "influential individuals continued to seek to add another 100 hectares to these lands," stating that they "went through the procedures and had the documents signed by local officials, but got stuck in the current government, and when they came to get the governor's signature, the governor became suspicious of the matter and stopped this 100 hectares, but despite this, they had previously obtained permits for construction and villa building in this 100 hectares." Shahre Vahdat newspaper also quoted Safar Naeimi Zar as saying: "The fact that the Article 90 Commission says it has not received any complaints is due to the presence of influential people behind the scenes. In this regard, the local people should have filed complaints, but because they were threatened by influential individuals, they did not complain." According to this newspaper, the representative from Astara even mentioned "the names of the brothers, sisters, and accountants of representatives and officials" who have acquired land in the Heyran area and "or have built villas."