New Wave of Drought Migrants in Iran

The newspaper Javan, in its Sunday issue, attacked human rights lawyers Mohammad Seifzadeh and Abdolfattah Soltani, along with several other human rights figures and organizations, calling for the establishment of a 'task force' under the Supreme National Security Council to 'counter' UN resolutions regarding human rights violations in Iran. The newspaper Shargh reported on its front page the presence of 'seven presidents in Tehran,' stating that 'the third summit of gas-exporting countries will be held in Tehran on Monday, with Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, hosting the presidents of Russia, Iraq, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Turkmenistan.' The newspaper emphasized that 'Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, is the highest-ranking Russian official attending this summit,' noting that 'Putin's visit to Iran comes after eight years' and that the Russian president is expected to meet and discuss with the Leader of the Islamic Republic. The newspaper Ebrar published a warning from Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, a cleric close to the Leader of the Islamic Republic, about the 'repetition of the sixth parliament,' which had a majority of reformists. Mohammadi Kermani, referring to the upcoming elections for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Council in Esfand this year, told the Basij forces: 'Basijis should be vigilant so that a parliament like the sixth parliament does not come to power, which caused the Leader of the Revolution great sorrow.' The newspaper Arman, in its Sunday issue, revealed a report about subsidies paid to newspapers during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency from 2005 to 2013, disclosing that the newspaper Kayhan topped the list of recipients of non-refundable subsidies from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance with 10 billion and 300 million tomans, receiving '10 percent of the press subsidies' alone. The newspaper Etemad, in a report on the twelfth session of Babak Zanjani's trial titled 'The Story of Iran's Land,' wrote: 'As Babak Zanjani flips through the last pages of his defense, he recounts a detailed story about his largest construction project in response to Judge Salavati's questions. A story that forces him to mention those who pocketed large sums of money under the pretext of the oil billionaire.' The report names the Tehran Municipality, the IRGC, Ansar Bank, Basij, and officials from the Ministry of Oil as accomplices of Babak Zanjani in the Iran Zamin property case. The newspaper Bahar reported on its front page about 'the order of the Tehran governorate to present a report on the Varamin incident to the public,' stating that 'pressure groups will be introduced to the judiciary.' This newspaper also reported that Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a representative from Qarchak and Varamin in the ninth parliament, who was present during the attack on Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari, the Minister of Interior during the reformist period in Qarchak, has been expelled from the 'Faction of Followers of the Wilayat' close to Ali Larijani. The reason for Hossein Naqavi Hosseini's expulsion is not related to his role in the attack on Mousavi Lari. Behrouz Namati, a member of the Faction of Followers of the Wilayat, told the Bahar newspaper: 'Naqavi Hosseini's misconduct is against the faction's charter and strategies and involves non-factional behaviors.' The newspaper Qanoon reported on its front page about 'global solidarity for an Iranian project,' stating: 'The publication of the full text of the official document for the modernization of the Arak reactor revealed two major realities beyond technical issues. First, the truth of what the negotiators claimed, that the nuclear agreement would not harm our technical capabilities and would lead to future advancements. Second, the false claims of the opponents of the JCPOA, who argued that the promises of cooperation from the West in nuclear facilities are unreliable. The publication of this report shows that nuclear energy is a legitimate right that will be acquired by Iran through dialogue.' The newspaper Shahrevand reported on the impact of climate change and natural disasters on migration in Iran, stating: 'The shadow of mass migration and widespread emigration that scientists warn about and discuss in relation to Southeast Asia has long fallen over Iran as well.' This newspaper identified drought as a factor that 'links the fate of Iranians to forced migration and will compel them to migrate both within the country's borders and outside of them.' Mehdi Zare, the head of the Natural Hazards Committee of the Iranian Natural Hazards Association, told Shahrevand: 'Statistics provided by the Statistical Center show that in the two decades from 1996 to 2006 and from 2006 to now, 12 million people have been displaced every decade; that is, we have had 24 million migrations in two decades. About 70 percent of migrations are from rural to urban areas, and in the remaining 30 percent, a large portion is urban to urban and city to larger cities. This is the picture we have of migration in Iran, and we do not know how much of this migration is due to climate change, drought, or natural disasters.' The Javan newspaper's suggestion is to establish a task force to counter UN human rights resolutions. The Javan newspaper, close to the IRGC, in its Sunday issue, attacked human rights lawyers Mohammad Seifzadeh and Abdolfattah Soltani, along with several other human rights figures and organizations, calling for the establishment of a 'task force' under the Supreme National Security Council to 'counter' UN resolutions regarding human rights violations in Iran. This newspaper pointed to 'the issuance of human rights resolutions against Iran in the UN Human Rights Council' and another resolution that indirectly accused Iran of human rights violations due to its activities in Syria, stating that these resolutions 'remind Iranian officials that the use of this weapon against Iran as a grinding tool in foreign policy will continue.' The newspaper close to the IRGC emphasized that 'the issue of human rights can be considered one of the soft threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran,' stating that after the 'suppression' of the protests in 2009, human rights violations in Iran have been used as 'an excuse to confront' the Islamic Republic. The Javan newspaper reviewed how special rapporteurs on human rights in Iran were appointed, including Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, who held this position from 1986 to 1991, accusing all special rapporteurs on human rights of 'preparing biased reports,' and wrote: 'Again, in 2011, the UN Human Rights Council resolution was passed against Iran with 22 votes in favor, 7 against, and 14 abstentions, and it was decided to appoint a special rapporteur to address human rights violations in Iran.' This newspaper continued to mention some of the human rights defenders in Iran and two imprisoned lawyers and founding members of this center, namely Mohammad Seifzadeh and Abdolfattah Soltani, along with Shirin Ebadi, Mohammad Sharif, and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, as activists in 'soft overthrow' through monitoring human rights in Iran. The Javan newspaper also referred to 'the collection of human rights activists in Iran' as 'the second group monitoring events in Iran and accusing the Islamic Republic of human rights violations,' stating that this collection was formed in March 2006 by a number of students from the Office for Strengthening Unity 'with the aim of defending the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Iran.' Mehdi Poursefat, a reporter for the Javan newspaper, noted that 'in the face of such conditions, the structure to counter such a wide-ranging attack acts in a disjointed and uncoordinated manner,' writing: 'Currently, two institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, are active in the field of human rights, although the main responsibility lies with the Judiciary in addressing human rights violations inside and outside.' The Javan newspaper described the reactions of the Iranian Foreign Ministry to UN resolutions regarding human rights violations in Iran as 'simple and ineffective denials,' stating: 'Countering the human rights weapon requires a coherent and comprehensive policy that encompasses various diplomatic and even media aspects.' This newspaper close to the IRGC emphasized that to counter UN resolutions on human rights violations in Iran, 'a unified task force is necessary,' stating that to respond to these reports and resolutions, 'the establishment of a national body related to human rights, which is essentially a council composed of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Human Rights Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and representatives of relevant NGOs, can organize scattered movements and be transformative.' The Javan newspaper wrote that 'this body can operate under the Supreme National Security Council or any other high-ranking body and align these scattered activities with each other,' adding that 'this alignment practically prevents any kind of overlapping work and also provides the opportunity to effectively counter the instrumental use of human rights in international forums at the media and diplomatic levels.' This newspaper emphasized that the Iranian Foreign Ministry must engage in 'active diplomacy with a serious presence in international forums and consultations with countries around the world, especially members of the Non-Aligned Movement,' to influence the votes of these countries and to 'expose human rights violations in the countries that initiated resolutions against Iran.' Javan also stressed the need for 'communication with dissatisfied institutions in the West,' stating: 'Continuous dialogue with NGOs and internal critics in the West, considering that there are thousands of dissatisfied NGOs in the West, is important,' and although 'considerable efforts have been made in this regard inside, given the level of aggression from the other side and their networking in Iran, it is not only insufficient but should receive more attention.' Seven Presidents in Tehran; Putin's Visit to Iran After Eight Years The newspaper Shargh reported on its front page about the presence of 'seven presidents in Tehran,' stating that 'the third summit of gas-exporting countries will be held in Tehran on Monday, with Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, hosting the presidents of Russia, Iraq, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Turkmenistan.' This newspaper emphasized that 'Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, is the highest-ranking Russian official attending this summit,' noting that 'Putin's visit to Iran comes after eight years' and that the Russian president is expected to meet and discuss with the Leader of the Islamic Republic. Shargh reported, citing Kremlin officials, that 'Vladimir Putin will discuss issues such as nuclear energy, oil and gas, and technical and military cooperation' during his visit to Iran. This newspaper pointed out that 'the President of Turkmenistan will participate in this meeting as a guest' and 'the Prime Minister of Algeria will also come to Iran,' stating: 'Abdullah Salabedri, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and Aldo Flores Quiroga, Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum (IEF), are other dignitaries attending this summit.' According to the newspaper Shargh, on Saturday, the 17th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was held in Tehran under the presidency of Bijan Zanganeh, and 'bilateral meetings and discussions between the leaders of these countries and senior Iranian officials are also scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the summit.' This newspaper reminded that 'this is the first time that all three summits of heads of state, extraordinary ministers, and regular ministers are held in one country, and previously it was planned that the regular ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum would be held in Nigeria, which was moved to Tehran at Iran's request.' According to the Shargh newspaper, the slogan of the third summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is 'Natural Gas, the Preferred Fuel for Sustainable Development.' Warning from Mohammadi Kermani About the Victory of Reformists in Parliament Elections The newspaper Ebrar published on its front page a warning from Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, a cleric close to the Leader of the Islamic Republic, about the 'repetition of the sixth parliament,' which had a majority of reformists. Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, who has long served as the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Republic in the IRGC and is currently one of the Friday prayer leaders in Tehran and also the Secretary-General of the Society of Clerics of Tehran, during a speech at the Malek Ashtar Festival of the Basij stated: 'Basijis should be vigilant so that the sixth parliament does not repeat, as the enemy has plans for the upcoming two elections.' According to the Ebrar newspaper, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, referring to the upcoming elections for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Council in Esfand this year, told the Basij forces: 'Basijis should be vigilant so that a parliament like the sixth parliament does not come to power, which caused the Leader of the Revolution great sorrow,' and 'you Basijis must make the people aware; the Assembly of Experts election is more important than the Islamic Council election, and the Basij must recognize and introduce the currents to the people.' This newspaper reported that the Secretary-General of the Society of Clerics of Tehran, an organization of clerics close to the principlist faction, addressed the Basij forces, stating: 'When there is much misguidance, only those who are alongside the leadership will be saved, and currently, you Basijis have shown that you are obedient to the leadership. You obey the commands of the Supreme Leader, and not only do you comply with his orders, but when you know that the leadership is pleased with an issue, you pursue it.' Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani also stated: 'The Supreme Leader has repeatedly warned about the enemy's infiltration, and therefore Basijis must be vigilant in this area and remind the officials of this issue,' adding that 'a Basiji must be knowledgeable about the times and know what the revolution needs today and also understand what plots the enemy is devising.'