Newspapers' Perspectives on the Turkish Coup

The newspaper Shargh features a large photo of the Turkish people's presence in the streets to confront the military coup plotters on its front page, describing it as a "counterattack against the coup" and stating, "The military's several-hour attempt to overthrow the Turkish government failed." Mohammad Ali Sobhani, former director general for the Middle East at Iran's Foreign Ministry, wrote in the editorial of Shargh titled "Defending the Right of People's Sovereignty" that the events of early Saturday in Turkey "carried the message that although the phrase 'end of the coup era' cannot be used, this tool has at least lost its past popularity." The editorial writer of Shargh noted that the "coup" is a long-standing phenomenon in the region, with "no doubt about its undesirability," and stated, "Fortunately, this movement in Turkey, which has the most history of military coups in our region and has a long-standing struggle between democracy and the military, has lost its past effectiveness due to the timely presence of the people and the vigilance of official authorities and political leaders." Shargh also reported under the headline "Praise for the Brave Resistance of the People Against the Coup" that "the overnight coup in Turkey did not succeed against the Erdoğan government, and as the Turkish embassy in Tehran stated in a statement on Saturday, the unity of the Turkish people thwarted the coup." According to this newspaper, the Turkish embassy in Tehran emphasized that "the president and government are in charge," announcing that "not all branches of the Turkish armed forces were involved in this coup, and this action was carried out by a group of armed forces that received their response from our nation." Shargh also reported that Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, emphasized that Iran supports the "government elected by the people," stating, "For the Islamic Republic of Iran, a stable, secure, and democratic Turkey is a priority." The government-aligned newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to an image of people in the streets and the seizure of a tank during the failed Turkish coup, with the headline "The Coup Under the Feet of the People," stating, "With the suppression of the last movements of the rebellious military, the coup saga in Turkey officially came to an end on Saturday evening." This newspaper reported at least "265 killed and 1,441 injured" in the event and noted that "2,839 people were arrested and 2,745 judges were dismissed." Mohammad Mahdi Mazaheri, a university professor, in the editorial of Iran titled "The Turkish Coup: Roots and Consequences," referred to "a set of factors and conditions," including constitutional changes in the 2010 referendum that led to "the possibility of prosecuting military personnel in public courts and the abolition of senior military immunity," alongside President Erdoğan's efforts "to lift the hijab ban in universities, Erdoğan's rise to increase his power in the presidency, his attempts to make Turkey an effective power in the Islamic world, and Erdoğan's policies regarding Syria and his desire for military intervention in that country" as some of the reasons that "led to the army's opposition and gradually brought the military to the conclusion that Erdoğan and his party are no longer suitable for governing Turkey." The editorial writer of Iran emphasized the "military's misjudgment of public opinion and the political atmosphere prevailing in Turkish society," stating, "The military believed that the recent problems of Erdoğan's government in ensuring the security of Turkish cities and the rise in terrorist activities in the country would lead the people to support the military during the coup; however, this prediction and assessment turned out to be completely wrong, and despite the coup occurring in the late hours of Friday night, the people showed their full support for Erdoğan and demonstrated with their widespread presence that they no longer tolerate military rule and undemocratic changes in their country." The newspaper Iran simultaneously emphasized "Tehran's support for the legitimate government of Ankara" and referred to the failed coup in Turkey as "a destabilizing event" that "could have a detrimental impact on the dimensions of regional issues, and for this reason, passing indifferently by it was impossible." Due to this sensitivity, "Iran remained awake alongside Turkey on the night of the coup" and "was among the few countries whose officials took a stance in the early hours of the coup regarding what was happening, insisting on support for the legitimate government of this country while several strategic centers in Turkey were under the control of the coup plotters." The repeated supportive calls of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during the coup and Ali Shamkhani's emphasis on "Iran's opposition to any coup, whether internal or external" are among the instances that the newspaper Iran described as "supportive positions towards the elected government of Turkey." The newspaper Etemad also dedicated its front page to the President of Turkey, reporting under the headline "The Return of Erdoğan" that "the people saved the President of Turkey." Sara Masoumi, in a report for Etemad, noted that shortly after the coup, "Erdoğan returned with confidence" and while "the coup opponents surrounded him," he brought the people "to the streets via Skype" to "preserve the election results" and "prefer democracy over military coups," stating that "a group of tanks moved up and took control of them. One person lay in front of a tank, and his image circulated around the world." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, referred to the "midnight coup in Turkey, which failed before dawn with 265 dead and 2,800 detained," describing it as "a failed coup against Turkey's shift" and stating, "Turkey experienced its fifth coup in history during the same days and hours it was undergoing a shift in foreign policy, a coup that was different from previous coups that started from lower ranks of the army and failed." This newspaper identified the coup plotters as "low-ranking officers of the Turkish army" and stated, "The night before, two nations were awake. The Turkish people came to the streets to confront the coup, and many people in Iran stayed awake until dawn to follow the news on social media and provide serious and humorous analyses." The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also wrote in a note titled "The Color and Smell of a Saudi Coup" that since the failed coup in Turkey occurred on the same day that the secret section of the 9/11 report was to be released, which specified the role of Saudi government agents in financially supporting the 9/11 suicide bombers, such a coincidence could "confirm or at least make it worth considering" the possible intervention of "foreign factors," including Saudi Arabia. The newspaper Khorasan, in a note titled "The Coup in Turkey and Decoding Iran's Positions," emphasized that "for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the existence of a stable government in Turkey is of utmost importance." This newspaper, referring to the 500-kilometer common border between Iran and Turkey, stated, "These borders are not ordinary borders, and on average, more than 40 million dollars worth of trade and financial transactions take place daily; in such a way that only from the Bazargan border, about 500 trucks and thousands of people cross daily," and this volume of border communications makes "both sides not only gain nothing from any insecurity in the other country but also suffer losses." Amir Hossein Yazdanpanah wrote in a note for Khorasan, "The disruption of security in Turkey also affects our (Iran's) security, and for this reason, we consider the security of neighboring countries as our own security, and any crisis in this country or other neighbors that leads to the weakening of security and the economic and political system in these countries is undesirable for us and negatively impacts our interests." The newspaper Khorasan criticized Erdoğan's regional policies, especially the disagreements between senior officials of the Islamic Republic and the Turkish president regarding the Syrian crisis, emphasizing that despite all this, "he has an Islamist government and has helped Iran in various areas such as sanctions," and "although Erdoğan is not our preferred option, compared to his potential successors, such as the coming to power of a coup government or supporters of Fethullah Gülen, who are staunch opponents of the Islamic Republic, or a non-Islamic government in Turkey, Erdoğan is more preferable for us than other options." The newspaper Ta'adol reported that at least 10,000 Iranian tourists were in Turkey at the time of the coup and announced the dispatch of planes to repatriate these tourists to Iran, stating that "the first plane carrying Iranian passengers landed at Tehran International Airport at 2 PM on Saturday." According to this newspaper, "Following the recent events and insecurity in Turkey and the occurrence of an emergency situation, the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization issued a notice to travel and tourism service offices, asking them to refrain from any registration and dispatch of tourists to this country's tourist destinations until further notice and until security and calm are restored." The newspaper Ta'adol simultaneously reported, citing "an informed source," that Iranians whose "passports are waiting for an appointment at the embassies of other countries in Turkey should wait until Tuesday and the reopening of the embassies" and "if flights resume and embassies do not start operating, they should refer to the Iranian embassy and consulate for receiving transit documents." Rahman Ghahremanpour, an international affairs expert, in an interview with the newspaper Hamdeli emphasized that "civil society defeated the coup," also referring to the opposition leaders' rejection of the coup and stating that politicians in Turkey have "reached a political maturity and do not want to resolve their differences through the military, which will signify the end of the coup perception in Turkey and will strengthen democracy." The newspaper Arman featured an interview in its Sunday issue with Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist figure who had been imprisoned for seven years since the night of the 2009 presidential election. In this interview, Mostafa Tajzadeh emphasized that we should learn from raising topics such as moving past the reformist president and avoid the slogan "moving past Rouhani," as in the end, we will have to search with a lantern in dark alleys for figures like Rouhani who have the necessary management skills for the country. This reformist figure stated that "Hassan Rouhani will reach the presidency in 2017 without any significant issues," stating, "Currently, Mr. Rouhani has no rival in the principlist camp, and the principlists are also aware of this. The only person who might be able to garner more than 10 million votes is Ahmadinejad, and if he runs in the elections, we will face one of the most fervent elections in the history of the Islamic Republic. In such circumstances, the election atmosphere will become bipolar, and those who do not intend to participate in the elections will also vote for Mr. Rouhani to prevent the repetition of past mistakes." The newspaper Arman also quoted Mostafa Tajzadeh as saying, "Although Mr. Rouhani's government may have weaknesses, which I also believe it does in some areas, the fact that he has lifted the shadow of war from the Iranian people has achieved a significant historical achievement." The newspaper Hamdeli reported on "journalists' complaints regarding threatening text messages" and quoted Sara Najimi, a lawyer for several journalists, stating that "some journalists and reporters have filed a lawsuit regarding threatening text messages, and this complaint has been registered in the cultural and media prosecution and referred to the second inspection branch of the prosecution." This newspaper reminded that "two weeks ago, 700 journalists and social activists received threatening text messages from several unknown numbers," and now Sara Najimi and the lawyers of several journalists have stated that the registered complaint "is not only due to the threatening nature of these messages but also because it claims that these journalists are in contact with the regime's opponents, which is considered a kind of defamation and slander. Additionally, because the text of the message accuses journalists of exchanging specific information, it is insulting, and since the messages were sent on a large scale, it is considered the dissemination of falsehoods and, in addition to all these, a kind of public opinion disturbance, and the plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit regarding all these matters." "The Profit of Smoke" is a report in the newspaper Farhikhtegan that refers to "three thousand billion tomans in annual cigarette turnover" in Iran and that "the cigarette mafia has a strong backing in the country." Elham Kazemi, in this report, emphasized that "about 40 percent" of the three thousand billion tomans in cigarette turnover in Iran "which is more than one thousand billion tomans, goes to smugglers," stating: "Iranians smoke 62 billion cigarettes annually, of which according to the anti-smuggling statistics, 40 percent is produced domestically, 29 percent is imported, and the rest is obtained through smuggling." According to this newspaper, "many talk about the existence of a cigarette mafia in Iran that is connected to power centers," and even according to Alireza Jamshidi, head of the Organization for Trade Violations, "this mafia has serious backing in the country." Qasem Mirzaei Nikoo, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told Farhikhtegan, "Currently, there is no will in the country to combat smuggling and the cigarette mafia."