Principlists Call for Establishment of Guidance Patrol in Parliament

The newspaper Arman reported on its front page on Monday about the arrest of several "disruptors" during a speech by Hassan Rouhani, the President. The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, criticized the President for his remarks at the Environment Week ceremony, stating that in Hassan Rouhani's speech, "water, air, soil, and forests were also linked to sanctions." The newspaper Aftab Yazd published a report on the reaction of principlists to the attire of a member of the European Parliament during a meeting with the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating that "principlists called for the establishment of a guidance patrol in Parliament." The newspaper Etemad focused on the statements of the police spokesperson regarding the "Cooperative Foundation" case of the police and quoted Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi as saying that "several individuals" had been arrested in this case. The newspaper Qanoon also assessed another part of Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi's remarks as a "green light from the police to ensure the safety of women in stadiums." This newspaper noted that according to the police spokesperson, "no directive has yet been issued regarding the presence of women in sports stadiums, whether in volleyball or basketball," but "if a directive is issued, the police will ensure the necessary security." The arrest of several "disruptors" during Hassan Rouhani and Hassan Khomeini's speeches at the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death was reported by Arman, which quoted Mohammad Saleh Jokar, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, stating that "the disruption of the speeches of officials and political figures must be investigated, and given that we witnessed similar events this year at the Imam's shrine, and several individuals have been arrested in this regard, the matter must be carefully examined to determine who intended to disrupt the ceremony." This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission stated that "interrogation of these individuals is underway to identify the behind-the-scenes actors, and the evidence we have indicates that these individuals were advised by certain groups to disrupt the order of the ceremony." According to Arman, Mohammad Saleh Jokar also stated that "the claim that some disruptions during the Imam's memorial were attributed to Hezbollah forces is absolutely not true." The newspaper Arman attributed the "disruption" during Hassan Rouhani and Hassan Khomeini's speeches during the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death to the "worried ones," stating that "worried ones is a term that gradually replaced extremists, and it is believed that the term extremist became so burdensome for them in public opinion that they decided to replace it with another term, thus after each round of nuclear negotiations or government decision, they prepared a new identity for themselves by holding gatherings and raising posters inscribed with the phrase 'we are worried.'" This newspaper emphasized that "it was these worried ones who raised their placards again on June 3 and 4 during the speeches of Hassan Khomeini and Hassan Rouhani, but their type of worry differed from that of other concerned individuals because their partisan and factional interests and incorrect beliefs were what worried them. What they did was not in line with public expectations and was contrary to it." The newspaper Arman recalled that after the "disruption" in Hassan Rouhani and Hassan Khomeini's speeches, the members of the large moderate camp demanded that the relevant authorities identify and deal with those responsible for disrupting the order of the speech at Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum. The newspaper Javan criticized the President for his remarks during the Environment Week ceremony, stating that in Hassan Rouhani's speech, "water, air, soil, and forests were also linked to sanctions." This newspaper wrote: "On Sunday, Hassan Rouhani at the tenth National Environment Award ceremony and the second day of Environment Week tied the fate of water, air, soil, forests, employment, and banks to negotiations, explicitly stating that sanctions must be lifted for the people's drinking water problems to be solved. In fact, despite experts' emphasis on not linking domestic issues to the nuclear discussions and recent negotiations, Hassan Rouhani once again implied that with the lifting of sanctions, not only will investments flow to Iran, but environmental issues and youth employment will also be resolved, and water resources will increase, and banks will be revived." The newspaper Javan described the Iranian President's remarks as causing "surprise for many domestic experts" and wrote that "within hours, many Western hostile networks and media reported the news in a way that indicated sanctions had brought Iran to its knees." According to this newspaper, the President stated in his remarks on Sunday: "When we say that the oppressive sanctions must be lifted, some should not roll their eyes too much. The oppressive sanctions must be lifted for investments to come. The oppressive sanctions must go so that environmental issues and youth employment can be resolved, so that water resources can increase, and banks can be revived." The President of the eleventh government also stated: "We have summarized the command of good and forbidding evil in a few divine rulings. Good means all merits, and evil means all ugliness. Therefore, anyone who pollutes the water is committing an evil act, and it is forbidden," and "sometimes next to the dam of drinking water for the people, by polluting the water, they commit an evil act; go see that there is evil there and forbid evil there." The newspaper Javan, while publishing these parts of Hassan Rouhani's remarks, wrote: "Although the President's statements are correct, it is unclear who his audience is, and it cannot be understood who should forbid evil, as many large factories and workshops are sending their wastewater and chemical and harmful waste to rivers and seas." This newspaper also published other parts of Rouhani's remarks about the necessity of preserving the environment, writing: "While the President was making these beautiful statements, hundreds of kilometers away, in the forests of Ilam, people with empty hands, shovels, and buckets were trying to extinguish a fire that had turned over 90 hectares of those oxygen producers to ashes, and reports indicated the dire condition of Lake Urmia." Aftab Yazd reported on the principlists' reactions to the attire of a member of the European Parliament during a meeting with the Speaker, stating that "principlists called for the establishment of a guidance patrol in Parliament." According to this newspaper, a delegation from the European Parliament "met with some Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, the Speaker, after their trip to Tehran on Saturday, and it can be said that there was nothing special in the content of these meetings, and both sides made expected remarks," but "the side issues of this trip began when the main news agencies of our country broadcast images of this meeting." The newspaper Aftab Yazd published a photo of Marijje Schacke during her meeting with Ali Larijani, stating: "Based on the images sent, one of the female members of the European Parliament attended this meeting with a specific appearance, and her type of hijab caused photographers to find an interesting subject and take and reflect different photos of her, but as predicted, this type of hijab faced reactions from principlists." According to this newspaper, "the first protest in this regard was initiated by Mehdi Koochakzadeh, a member of the Parliament's Stability Front," who criticized this issue in his Instagram post, calling the European Parliament representative uncivilized and unrefined, stating that "this European official attended the meeting in sleepwear." Aftab Yazd, referring to questions posed by Mehdi Koochakzadeh criticizing the attire of the European Parliament member, quoted him as saying: "Are there any regulations or protocols for the way foreign guests should appear at official ceremonies and meetings with officials of the Islamic Republic? If not, why and how are they obliged to wear a headscarf? And if such regulations exist, they are so naively written that simply wearing a headscarf leaves the rest of the body’s attire unaddressed?" This newspaper also noted: "Interestingly, among these protests was a statement from a hardline website that argued that the guidance patrol should be established in Parliament as soon as possible." Aftab Yazd pointed out that "at first glance, this matter may seem humorous," writing: "The Nasim Online website, while making such a request, stated: 'Given the current situation and the likelihood of more European and American delegations visiting Tehran, this issue should be reminded to the senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that nuclear negotiations only constitute part of this ministry's activities, and attention to diplomatic principles and serious reminders to diplomats who do not observe diplomatic etiquette is also part of the process of restoring dignity and credibility to the Iranian passport, which the President promised to the people of Iran.'" This newspaper noted the "history of side issues" during foreign delegations to Iran, stating: "The side issues regarding the presence of Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, the meeting of European delegation members with Hashemi Rafsanjani, the presence of the Italian Foreign Minister, and some meetings of Catherine Ashton in Tehran are of this kind." Aftab Yazd emphasized that these days, critics of the eleventh government "create a weapon against the government from every small and insignificant event," while "these individuals remained silent in the face of the shortcomings, deficiencies, and costly side issues of the previous government," but now "they are trying to entangle the diplomatic text of Hassan Rouhani's government with futile side issues." The report of the police spokesperson regarding the "Cooperative Foundation" case and the "unannounced resolution on the entry of women into stadiums" was highlighted by the newspaper Etemad, which quoted the police spokesperson Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi as saying that "several individuals" had been arrested in this case. The newspaper Qanoon also assessed another part of Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi's remarks as a "green light from the police to ensure the safety of women in stadiums." The newspaper Etemad wrote: "Although Sunday was the first press conference of Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi as the police spokesperson, it was a newsworthy and controversial session" because he "discussed topics ranging from the presence of women in stadiums to the Cooperative Foundation case of the police and from the iftar to suhoor plan to the continuation of the moral security plan." According to Etemad, the police spokesperson regarding the latest status of the "Cooperative Foundation" case stated: "Two years ago, a report of deviations in the companies under the Cooperative Foundation was submitted, and the inspection sections reported it to the then police commander, who personally intervened and formed a case on this issue and submitted it to the judiciary, resulting in several arrests and the formation of a case that is currently under review." Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi also mentioned the "issue of oil sales by the police," stating: "In a meeting held in 2013 with the first vice president, the oil minister, the treasury president, the central bank governor, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, and several police officials, it was accepted that the police had received oil to cover budget deficits and salaries, but unfortunately, at that time, the legal regulations and protocols were not properly followed, which is why Mohammad Baqer Nobakht was tasked with investigating this matter." The police spokesperson emphasized that "this amount was about 400 billion tomans at the time of the currency rate," and regarding whether the police should return any amount to the government, he stated that "a mechanism should be designed, and the matter will be resolved internally, just as the purchase of Benz vehicles was handled in the same way." The newspaper Qanoon also published parts of the police spokesperson's remarks regarding the issue of women's entry into stadiums, with Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi's statements being assessed as a "green light from the police to ensure the safety of women in stadiums." According to this newspaper, the police spokesperson regarding the possibility of lifting the ban on women's entry into sports stadiums stated: "So far, no directive has been issued regarding the presence of women in sports stadiums, whether in volleyball or basketball." Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi named "the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Interior, and the police as the three main decision-making bodies in this regard," but stated that "the Ministry of Interior, which is the official authority, has not issued any directive so far, and since no directive has reached us, we continue to prevent women from entering sports venues." The newspaper Qanoon also quoted the police spokesperson as saying: "If a directive is issued, the police will ensure the necessary security." This police official also spoke about "photos and videos of women attending basketball matches as spectators," stating that "this presence was uncoordinated, and perhaps a few who were present in the hall were there as guests with coordination."