Protest Gathering of Filmmakers at Kiarostami's Grave

The newspaper Arman reported on the call for a "protest gathering of filmmakers at Kiarostami's grave," stating that "the House of Cinema, following the release of the medical ruling regarding Abbas Kiarostami, issued a statement declaring that 'the official announcement of the medical case ruling for Abbas Kiarostami was perhaps as shocking as the tragedy of his death.'" According to this newspaper, the House of Cinema's statement mentioned that "the board of directors of the House of Cinema, in a show of respect and sympathy for the family and survivors of the late artist, along with the organizers, invites filmmakers and artists to gather on Thursday, October 7, at 11 AM, at his grave in Tork Mazraeh located in Lavasan, to pay tribute to the departed and honor life." The newspaper also highlighted a warning from the cyber police regarding "spying through uploaded religious chants," advising not to download anonymous files shared on social media due to potential malware risks. Additionally, the newspaper Shargh described the rising tensions in the Persian Gulf following Saudi Arabia's naval exercises and the Revolutionary Guard's warnings to its vessels as a "yellow status in the Persian Gulf." It reported that "one day after Saudi Arabia began its naval exercise named 'Gulf Shield' in the waters of the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy of the Revolutionary Guard labeled this maneuver as 'provocative,' warning Saudi vessels not to approach Iranian waters, even from international waters near Iran's territorial waters." The newspaper noted that "on Tuesday, the official Saudi news agency (SPA) reported the commencement of the 'Gulf Shield' exercise with the participation of the Saudi Royal Navy, where warships, air, surface, and underwater combat, electronic warfare, mine clearance, beach landings, and live-fire exercises will be practiced. The aim of this exercise is to enhance combat readiness and professional cooperation among all naval units and to support Saudi maritime interests." Furthermore, the newspaper emphasized that "according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Islamic Republic of Iran's maritime zones law in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, the territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the baseline," and that "innocent passage" emphasized in the Revolutionary Guard's statement refers to the passage of foreign vessels through territorial waters "as long as it does not disrupt the order, tranquility, and security of the country." Shargh underscored that "Iran-Saudi relations have been tense and cold for several months," noting that "after the Mina tragedy during the Hajj in 2015 and the execution of Sheikh Nimr, a Shiite cleric critical of the Saudi government, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia became more strained; however, some protest groups attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran, exacerbating the situation. They assaulted the embassy with incendiary materials, setting parts of the building on fire and entering it. Following that, Saudi Arabia attempted to use the attack on its embassy as a pretext for inciting controversy against Iran." The newspaper also pointed out that "in addition to these issues, regional crises have fueled this tension, which date back to before Sheikh Nimr's execution, the embassy attack, and the Mina tragedy; including Syria and especially Yemen." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also reported on its front page that "the Navy of the Revolutionary Guards warned of provocations by some governments during the so-called Gulf Shield exercise." Yadollah Javani, a senior commander and former head of the political office of the Revolutionary Guards, wrote in an editorial titled "A Firm Warning to Provocative Saudis" that "the Revolutionary Guard's statement reflects the reality that the Saudis' objectives from this military exercise, given the regional conditions, go beyond a normal drill. The strategically significant West Asian region is in a sensitive and volatile state, with the Syrian crisis entering a decisive phase, and the confrontation between the U.S. and Russia in the Syrian developments unprecedentedly affecting regional equations." The editorial writer of Javan pointed out what he termed "Saudi Arabia's failures in regional crises," stating: "What security need is Saudi Arabia addressing with this military exercise? Which country in the region threatens Saudi territorial security?" He emphasized that "the answer is clear. Saudi Arabia is not conducting exercises to address its security needs. The Al Saud family is engaging in such drills to implement nefarious plans and create another crisis." The newspaper also mentioned that "Saudi Arabia seems to intend to increase its military presence in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, parallel to the presence of Western military vessels, and it is evident that considering the regional conditions on one side and the role of the Al Saud regime in regional crises on the other, the Islamic Republic will monitor and control all military vessel movements in the strategic waterways of the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Sea of Oman during this exercise." Yadollah Javani, in his note for Javan, recalling the "detention of British and American sailors" as a "symbol and sign of the Revolutionary Guards' power and seriousness," wrote: "Saudis and non-Saudis participating in this exercise should be cautious in their behavior and avoid any miscalculations by staying away from the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic. The Al Saud family should have learned from their major mistakes in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen that the next major mistake could be the last mistake in the life of this regime." The newspaper Iran reported on an incident involving six professors from Sharif University of Technology due to an elevator fall, quoting Mohsen Tafazoli, a chemistry professor at Sharif University, who stated that "four vertebrae in his back" were injured in the incident, saying: "That day when we got into the elevator and the door closed, we suddenly heard the sound of the cables breaking. It seems that the elevator was so worn out that the safety brake and emergency cable did not function." The chemistry professor also expressed dissatisfaction with the fire department, stating that although there is a center directly opposite the university, it took 20 minutes for them to reach us. When they arrived, they did not have adequate equipment, which significantly impacted our rescue process." The newspaper Iran, in its report titled "And the Hour of Terror in the Elevator Fall at Sharif University," quoted Bijan Votoqi, a student manager at Sharif University, who is hospitalized with a broken left leg and back injuries, stating: "At 1:40 PM on Tuesday, my five colleagues and I got into the elevator after a work meeting and lunch. As soon as the door closed, the cabin shook violently. We were all terrified and tried to open the door. Perhaps all the events occurred in a few seconds. While we were trying to exit the elevator, suddenly the cabin fell with a more terrifying shake and crashed to the basement level 2. At that moment, the lights went out, and we were left in complete darkness. None of us were in good condition, and we were injured and bleeding, piled on top of each other." This electrical engineering professor at Sharif University stated that "for about half an hour, the situation remained the same, and we could only hear incomprehensible sounds from outside. There was no air, and we could not breathe properly. Until finally, they broke the window of the cabin and cut part of the elevator wall to pull us out. When we entered the elevator, it was 1:40 PM, and I think we were stuck there for about two hours, until 3:40 PM. Of course, this elevator has had problems for a long time, but unfortunately, it has not been repaired. As far as I know, this elevator was always breaking down, but it had never fallen before, just getting stuck. But believe me, this was a terrifying and unexpected incident." The newspaper Iran noted that "Reza Khedabadi, a 55-year-old professor at the Sharif University of Technology's mechanical engineering department, who suffered injuries and fractures in his vertebrae, pelvis, heel, and nose, is under special care in the ICU due to internal bleeding," and reported that "Javad Akbari, a 57-year-old associate professor of mechanical engineering at Sharif University, was also in surgery at the time of the reporter's visit to the hospital." The newspaper also reported that Hamidreza Madah Hosseini, the head of the Sharif University College, is also hospitalized after surgery, and the sixth victim of the elevator fall at Sharif University, "Qasem Miramadi, the educational deputy of the university, who had both hands broken in this incident, was discharged from the hospital after surgery on Tuesday." The newspaper Khorasan highlighted the escalating tension between filmmakers and the Medical System Organization over the ruling regarding Kiarostami's treating physician, noting that in this context, "Dr. Ahmad Mir, Kiarostami's treating physician," broke his silence, stating: "I have committed no fault and did not expect such a heavy ruling to be issued against me. To have the opportunity to present my explanations before the medical experts again, I will use my right to protest and defend myself to provide further clarifications to clarify the case." He also stated that "despite the complications that arose after the surgery, Kiarostami was treated and returned home. After some time, at his and his family's request, he traveled abroad, where he had an accident and, since he was also taking anticoagulant medication, suffered a brain hemorrhage and was found dead the next morning." The newspaper Etemad, on its front page, discussed the "difficult situation of pension funds in a roundtable with the presence of Hojjatollah Mirzaei, Deputy Minister of Labor, Ali Heydari, a member of the Social Security Board, and Mohsen Renani, an economist," with the headline "A 55 Million-Person Table, 50 Thousand Billion Debtor." This newspaper quoted Hojjatollah Mirzaei, Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, stating: "In the last two elections, the funds suffered significant damage. On the eve of the 2013 elections, a financial burden of 2 trillion tomans was placed on the Social Security Fund under the title of equalization, which has continued to 8 trillion tomans in recent years," adding that "before the 2008 and 2013 elections, they faced a very large financial burden due to populist government decisions. This is part of the poor governance that has imposed these costs not only on the funds but also on all stakeholders, comprising approximately 55 million people, and has created a situation where fund managers, the government, and subscribers have all suffered losses." This ministry official emphasized that "today the funds have a severe deficit to cover their expenses. For the government, covering these deficits, especially next year, will reach at least 50 trillion tomans, which is a larger figure than subsidy resources. The government has neither the capacity to pay nor the ability to avoid payment; this is a forced consequence that has entered the funds from the political arena." Mohsen Renani, a professor at Isfahan University, also told Etemad: "These days, we hear a lot of news about the country's crisis areas. That corruption has reached a systemic level, that the water crisis will lead to social problems, that recession has become a deadlock, that the debt crisis has no outlook, that the crisis of social insurance funds has reached a critical stage, and... we have numerous such news that we do not know which to address and whether the political system can cope with all these issues or not?" The newspaper Shahrvand dedicated its front page photo to the repeated fires of Peugeot cars in Iran, simultaneously reporting on "the CEO of Peugeot's condolences to the people of Iran," quoting him as saying: "We apologize, we have become victims of sanctions." According to this newspaper, Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Peugeot, stated on Wednesday at the first joint meeting of Iran Khodro and Peugeot that "he assures the Iranian people that he will not repeat the mistakes of the past years," and later, in response to a question about the payment of 427 million and 600 thousand euros in compensation to Iran, which had previously been announced by the CEO of Iran Khodro, he said that "we have previously made large transfers to finance the project, and perhaps compensation is also part of that."