Proposal from Two Ministries; Iranian Goods to Replace Cash Subsidies

The remarks made by Hassan Rouhani on Saturday at the conference of police commanders have caught the attention of several newspapers. Among them, the Arman newspaper reported on its front page, quoting the Iranian President as saying, "The police are not obliged to enforce Islam." The Islamic Republic newspaper also highlighted another part of Rouhani's speech, quoting him as saying, "The main deniers in society are poverty, unemployment, drugs, corruption, and hypocrisy." The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, published Rouhani's remarks under the headline "The police are obliged to enforce the law, not Islam," and in a commentary responding to the President's words about enjoining good and forbidding wrong, stated: "Our officials must understand that what is today a branch of religion is, in fact, the foundation of the principles of religion and is one of the most basic issues that a Muslim is obliged to observe; if they do not, they will be left with nothing." On Sunday, the Khorasan newspaper reported that Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, confirmed the removal of at least 200,000 people from the list of subsidy recipients. According to this newspaper, Rabiei emphasized the continuation of removing subsidies for the wealthy "to compensate for a budget deficit of 6 trillion tomans, equivalent to the removal of subsidies for about 11 million people." The Shahre Vahdat newspaper reported that the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade announced that the plan "Iranian Goods to Replace Cash Subsidies" is awaiting "government decision" as a proposal from two ministries to change the method of subsidy payments. The Shargh newspaper published parts of a letter from hardliners in Qazvin protesting the "full body waxing" in some beauty centers in the city, and included an interview with the editor of the site that published the letter, in which he described the "change of lifestyle from cleanliness to waxing and massage" as "licentiousness." The Law newspaper reported on Sunday about the "increase in public suicides," referencing multiple cases of suicide at Milad Tower, metro stations, and even pedestrian bridges, as well as instances of self-immolation in public, stating: "Statistics show that in the first nine months of 1392 (2013), more than 11 people committed suicide daily in Iran." The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported that during the last day of the Al-e-Bayt Al-Muqaddas exercise conducted by the IRGC in Tehran, "street disturbance control" was practiced. Ahmad Bigdeli, the security and defense deputy of the IRGC in Tehran, mentioned the "impact of these exercises in repelling internal and external seditions," stating: "Whenever the enemy feels we are weak, they attack us, and the more prepared we are, the less likely the enemy will think of aggression." The Jahan Sanat newspaper reported on the "funeral of Hossein Ghandi" under the headline "Farewell to the Master of Headlines," stating: "Hossein Ghandi, a journalism professor, bid farewell on Saturday for the last time at the Media Studies and Planning Center with his loved ones, family members, and students who came from near and far." This newspaper also reported that "the corneas of Hossein Ghandi's eyes were donated to patients in need of organ transplants with the consent of his wife and two children." The reflection of Rouhani's remarks; the police are obliged to enforce the law, not Islam. Rouhani's remarks on Saturday at the police commanders' conference have been highlighted by several newspapers, including Arman, which reported on its front page that "the police are not obliged to enforce Islam." The Islamic Republic newspaper also emphasized another part of Rouhani's speech, quoting him as saying, "The main deniers in society are poverty, unemployment, drugs, corruption, and hypocrisy." The Etemad newspaper also reported on its front page that Rouhani told police commanders to "put aside imaginary threats." According to this newspaper, the President spoke among police commanders and managers about "the denials" and "those who should be dealt with, the police's duties, and the necessity of enforcing the law in society." Rouhani enumerated the people's expectations from the police, including how to deal with those whose crimes have been proven. He even stated that "the police must prioritize in enforcing the law and combating various crimes and violations, always being cautious not to fall into imaginary threats and knowing that all people are equal before the law and have equal citizenship rights." Etemad emphasized that "Rouhani's rhetoric regarding social security is consistent with what he has repeatedly emphasized during his two years in office." The response of the newspaper close to the IRGC to Rouhani's remarks. The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also published Rouhani's remarks under the title "The police are obliged to enforce the law, not Islam," and in a commentary responding to Rouhani's words about enjoining good and forbidding wrong, wrote: "Our officials must understand that what is today a branch of religion is, in fact, the foundation of the principles of religion and is one of the most basic issues that a Muslim is obliged to observe; if they do not, they will be left with nothing." Hassan Rashvand, in a commentary for Javan newspaper, wrote: "We must be certain that the unveiling of some women, which is currently being organized in large and tourist cities, is one of the denials similar to the unemployment emphasized by the President and perhaps even beyond that, and the government, based on its duty, is obliged to resolve this issue in society." This newspaper criticized the President's remarks, stating: "That a responsible official repeatedly beats this drum that we should not consider such phenomena as denials is not wise, and ignoring it may lead to a situation in the not-too-distant future where the very officials who fear that dealing with this phenomenon will create a security atmosphere in society inadvertently push society towards a situation where there is no solution but a security environment." The Javan newspaper emphasized that "our officials must accept that a movement exists in institutions and think tanks outside the country that designs how to systematically remove the hijab from women's heads, and this scenario is sometimes implemented inside Iran." Confirmation of the removal of 200,000 from the list of subsidy recipients; subsidies for 11 million will be cut. The Khorasan newspaper reported on Sunday that Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, confirmed the removal of at least 200,000 people from the list of subsidy recipients. According to this newspaper, the Minister emphasized the continuation of removing subsidies for the wealthy "to compensate for a budget deficit of 6 trillion tomans, equivalent to the removal of subsidies for about 11 million people." Khorasan quoted Ali Rabiei as saying: "We started organizing the subsidies for wealthy individuals before the New Year, and the cabinet approved the organization of subsidies for the wealthy, and we are doing this in a way that does not leave a negative impact on society." The Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare also stated: "We started this organization with 30,000 people, then moved to 50,000, then 100,000, and then 200,000. Additionally, we designed and implemented a system for objections to the removal of subsidies." According to Khorasan, Ali Rabiei emphasized that "we did not intend to make this news public," stating: "I personally addressed the center for public objections and saw that someone who owned a 170 million toman car was protesting the removal of his subsidy, saying that this subsidy is my right." Proposal from two ministries awaiting government approval; Iranian goods to replace cash subsidies. The Shahre Vahdat newspaper reported that the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade announced that the plan "Iranian Goods to Replace Cash Subsidies" is awaiting "government decision" as a proposal from two ministries to change the method of subsidy payments. According to Shahre Vahdat, Mojtaba Khosrotaj, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, stated on Saturday during a press conference regarding "the Ministry of Industry's plan to replace cash subsidies with commodity subsidies and the proposal of this ministry to the government," that "since last year, we have proposed plans for providing commodity subsidies alongside cash subsidies to create actions for increasing demand in the market for purchasing domestically produced goods; we also held negotiations with the Ministry of Cooperatives last year, and this issue is still under review to implement commodity subsidies in the industrial goods sector." The Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade emphasized that "this plan is intended to stimulate domestic demand and boost production, under which facilities for purchasing goods will be allocated to the people, and the amount will be repaid through loans and installments." Shahre Vahdat quoted Mojtaba Khosrotaj as saying: "The Ministry of Industry is looking for plans that can create demand through the allocation of commodity loans to the people, so we intend to provide facilities for people to purchase durable goods, and this action is in line with stimulating demand in the domestic market simultaneously with boosting production." The Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade stated: "In this joint plan with the Ministry of Cooperatives, it is intended that facilities will be allocated under the Labor Law to employees and government wage earners, and we hope it will be implemented this year." A year ago, on the 8th of Ordibehesht 1393, the Jam-e Jam and Shargh newspapers also reported on "the National Iranian Oil Company's plan to replace energy credit cards with cash subsidies," a plan under which "every Iranian household would receive an energy credit card to pay for energy costs" to pay these costs, which have increased due to the implementation of the subsidy targeting law, but that plan has not been implemented over the past year, and cash subsidies continue to be paid. Publisher of threatening letter in Qazvin; "Changing lifestyle from cleanliness to waxing and massage is licentiousness." The Shargh newspaper published parts of a letter from hardliners in Qazvin protesting "full body waxing" in some beauty centers in the city, and included an interview with the editor of the site that published the letter, in which he described the "change of lifestyle from cleanliness to waxing and massage" as "licentiousness." According to this newspaper, in this open letter, which was initially published on a Qazvin site called "Qazvin News" and a copy of which was sent to many government, military, political, religious, and professional officials in the province, it stated that for some time, "the puzzle of services that are mostly considered contrary to religious law has reached its peak with the full body waxing in many of these centers, completing its mission of removing modesty and providing the ground for the beginning of some moral anomalies, and even illegal and unlicensed centers with the name of special waxing salons have been established in this city, which are operating without any concern and with certainty of the lack of oversight from responsible organizations to earn income." The authors of this letter warned the beauty salons in Qazvin and also the governor and Ayoub Rahimi, the political-security deputy of the Qazvin governorate, that "if effective action is not taken in this regard, the religious people of Qazvin will no longer tolerate practical insults to their sanctities and will not allow the modesty and security of their families to be toyed with by the hidden hands of certain known individuals and will take action themselves in this regard." The Shargh newspaper noted the reactions to the publication of such a letter on social media, stating that such a letter regarding "removing body hair," which is also emphasized in Islam in multiple narrations and considered recommended, is puzzling and surprising to many. Khalili, the editor of the "Qazvin News" site, the main source of this letter's publication, told Sadra Mohaghegh, a social reporter for the Shargh newspaper, that "this letter does not belong to us; we only published it, but we also support the subject raised in the letter." The editor of the "Qazvin News" site also stated: "The main issue in the current situation, in our opinion, is a new file that is being heavily promoted, the issue of massage, which is being presented behind cosmetic and hygiene matters. Discussions like bringing the culture of massage into homes and companies are underway, and this can have a different face; I believe that when the name massage comes up, thoughts go towards Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries, and if they are not addressed, we will inevitably head in that direction." The publisher of the letter protesting "the performance of waxing" in Qazvin, in response to the newspaper's question that "the published letter makes no mention of the issue of massage and everything revolves around the warning about waxing, while waxing is not new and relates to personal hygiene," emphasized that "if I were to look at the issue sociologically, I would address this issue from the perspective of changing lifestyle from cleanliness to waxing and massage; such things have no place in Iranian and Islamic lifestyle, which the Supreme Leader has also repeatedly pointed out, and this promotes a stage of licentiousness." The publisher of the letter protesting "the performance of waxing" also stated: "We also wrote in our news lead that emerging phenomena, a beauty salon for a woman is not an emerging phenomenon; the emergence of massage is one such instance. A few days ago, an exhibition was held in Qazvin by the Education Department regarding educational assistance topics; however, there was a booth belonging to a specific institute where several women were present, and behind the scenes, massage services were being offered, and this is just one of the examples.