Protests of Mine Workers at Yurt Mine

The Iranian newspaper, close to the government, dedicated its front page to Hassan Rouhani's visit to the coal mine in Azadshahr, where he met with miners and the families of the victims of the mine disaster, reporting with the headline "The Cry of the Grieving, A Listening Ear from the President." The report states: "The President sat down with the grieving miners in Golestan. Nevertheless, the bitterness of the workers from the incident and their years of deprivation manifested in an attack by some workers on Rouhani's vehicle at the end of the meeting. According to Hamid Abutalebi, the Vice President, this incident was predictable but did not affect Rouhani's decision to meet with the miners of Yurt in winter." The newspaper noted that "based on images published by news agencies, Hassan Rouhani initially met with some families of the victims in a calm and friendly atmosphere, inquiring about their problems and issues. He also listened to the grievances of other miners." However, "according to a video released by the Tasnim news agency, one of the workers addressed Rouhani, stating, 'Mr. President, where have you been until now? We have worked in the mine for 22 years. Do you know what a miner is? 40 miners died. 170 children are now fatherless. 40 women are widows. A few years ago, we came to the governor's office and protested that we had not received our wages for 14 months, coming with our wives and children, but the officials did not respond.'" The Iranian newspaper emphasized that "after these expressions, an outpouring of emotions suddenly led to an unprecedented scene of an attack on the President's vehicle. A few individuals present attacked the President's car with fists and kicks." Sadegh Zibakalam, a university professor, in an editorial for the Iranian newspaper, posed the question, "What would the principlists do if Rouhani heard the cries?" He wrote: "The way the President and his entourage dealt with the protesting workers is noteworthy," as "none of the protesting workers were reprimanded, and the President's companions or bodyguards did not disrespect them, and no one was arrested. Now, I would like to look into the eyes of the media managers supporting some election candidates and ask this question: If instead of Mr. Rouhani, one of their supported candidates or some other responsible officials were present and faced such a furious reaction from the workers, would anyone still not be arrested?" The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, close to the Front of Steadfastness, also dedicated its front page to the scene of the attack on Rouhani's vehicle, where Ali Rabi'i, the Minister of Cooperatives and Labor, is seen among the angry workers. This newspaper, with the headline "Where Have You Been Until Now," wrote: "After the spontaneous protests of the workers during Labor Day ceremonies, Hassan Rouhani's convoy faced the punches and explicit protests of the angry miners of Yurt in Golestan." The newspaper emphasized that "the videos and photos published from the Yurt mine during the President's visit represent one of the most exceptional scenes of worker protests against the highest executive authority in the country." It wrote: "Is such an unrestrained protest imaginable in the presence of the President's bodyguards amidst severe economic problems?" This newspaper also noted that "if Rouhani's accompanying team had anticipated such a strong reaction, they would not have taken the risk of such an encounter." The newspaper Aftab Yazd described the workers' protests against Hassan Rouhani as a "safe protest against the President," stating: "The grieving miners of Yurt spoke with the President in peace and security and protested their living conditions." This newspaper also reported: "Hassan Rouhani attended the gathering of mourning families and other miners, and not only did he not apologize, but he promised to identify and subsequently punish those responsible for this incident," while "Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated that he would not apologize for the collapse of the Plasco building." The newspaper Etemad also headlined "The Cry of Pain to the President," stating: "Grieving and angry miners expressed their sharpest criticisms without hesitation towards Hassan Rouhani." This newspaper quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying that on Sunday, "the message from the Governor of Golestan to the government officials was sent to prevent the President's visit to the Yurt mine due to the high grief of the workers and the anxiety of their families." Etemad wrote that despite such advice, Hassan Rouhani insisted that "I am the President of the people's pain; if their cries bring national calm, I must go among them" and visited the miners of North Yurt. Kayhan, in its front page, quoted the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating: "Do not distort; governments do not influence the removal of the shadow of war." This newspaper described Ali Khamenei's remarks on Sunday as a "reaction to distortion" of his statements, implicitly referring to Rouhani's comment that "the JCPOA removed the shadow of war and the threat of unjust sanctions from the country." Kayhan simultaneously, in a note titled "The Rejected Ones," attacked Hassan Rouhani and his supporters, stating: "The duality of war and peace is a great Goebbels lie, but the duality of truth and falsehood is correct. The lie is that they claim, and the truth is what is seen. It was said that the treasury is empty, and the astronomical paychecks of government officials came to light. They consider the attack on the Saudi embassy as the reason for the absence of several thousand pilgrims in Iran and settle accounts with it, but in their election headquarters in Ilam, with childish and foolish rhetoric, they insult the lofty position of Imam Reza and the benefactor of hundreds of millions of Shiites and elsewhere to the defenders of the shrine. They consider criticism of themselves as one-sided and unethical, but easily attach one-sided blame to anyone they want on unrelated issues." The newspaper Resalat dedicated its front page to the spokesperson of the judiciary and his statements against the Minister of Education. This newspaper quoted Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i as saying: "The Minister of Education has imported clothing with another's business card." According to this newspaper, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i pointed out that in his previous media meeting, he had reported on the "smuggling" of clothing by the daughter of a minister and that the case is under review in the government’s regulatory court, stating: "On May 1, the 27th branch of the government’s regulatory court acquitted the minister, stating that this item was not smuggled. However, I want to point out some issues here; this company, named Amitis, has been registered with the childhood freshness in its articles of association and belongs to Fakhruddin Ahmadi Aashtiani, the Minister of Education, and his family. According to the articles of association, the company was registered in 2014, and since then, the Minister of Education has been the chairman of the board, and his daughter has been the CEO." Furthermore, "the Minister of Education's company represents an Italian company, and the scope of this company's activities can include the export and import of textiles. However, the company imported clothing using the business card of another company named Ramtin Gostaran Tabarestan at the address of Fereydunkenar." The newspaper Sobhe No, close to Qalibaf, reported that "Qalibaf's Karaneh system has been filtered" and described this action as "the battle of the 4 percent against jihadist service." This newspaper wrote: "Qalibaf has begun a dangerous game in favor of the people; he has started a battle against the '4 percent minority' for jihadist service to the people. To save the country's economy from recession, to employ the youth against those who consider unemployment a super challenge and use it as an excuse for lack of employment and agitation in the market, the actions of the government over the past four years have been criticized, but despite all the destruction, the final hours of the four percent have arrived with the rise of the people's movement." The newspaper Shahre Vandan in one of its main headlines wrote: "Are promises beyond authority not a form of lying?" This newspaper also reported that the information base of Nasir Makarem Shirazi published a text quoting this cleric based in Qom, "severely criticizing the baseless promises of some candidates and considering this group of candidates close to lying and deceit." The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page to "Rouhani's response to rival candidates" during a speech in Urmia, quoting him as saying: "Where you manage, have you paid taxes until now?" Rouhani's reference was to the statements of Ebrahim Raisi, another presidential candidate, about the necessity of collecting taxes, while the Astan Quds Razavi, which is currently under the leadership of Ebrahim Raisi, has been exempt from paying taxes since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, according to letters from previous and current leaders of the Islamic Republic. Shargh also reported that Hassan Rouhani, during his speech on Sunday in Urmia, said: "Before coming to West Azerbaijan, I went to Golestan to visit our dear miners in Azadshahr. Throughout Iran, there is compassion, love, and brotherhood. This mine is in the private sector and under the control of an institution, and they must be accountable to the people. We will stand by the people and workers and alongside the dear families who have lost their loved ones with all our might, but why have those responsible for that mine remained silent?" The Iranian newspaper reported on Sunday that the main shareholder of the North Yurt mine is the Mehr Eghtesad Iranians Institute, affiliated with the Basij Cooperative Foundation, and Hassan Rouhani's remarks in Urmia also referred to the owners of this mine. Ahmad Tavakoli, a principlist figure and former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated in an interview with the newspaper Arman that "the principlists are looking to make the presidential elections a two-stage process." This principlist figure told the newspaper Arman: "The final candidate of the principlists is not yet determined, and it is possible that Mr. Raisi may not be the one. There is a possibility that all three principlist candidates will remain in the scene until the end of the elections to divide the votes and push the elections to the second round."