Qalibaf, Principlists, and the 96 Elections

The newspaper Etemad reported that "Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is the most serious candidate for the Principlists in 96" and quoted Mohammad Reza Bahonar as saying: "Qalibaf is different from other tested candidates in the elections because he secured the first vote from the candidates of the Principlist faction and brought in the second highest votes after Rouhani. Therefore, Mr. Qalibaf is not among the burnt-out figures." Bahonar told the newspaper that the Mayor of Tehran will decide to enter the 96 elections on the condition of "support from all Principlists." The government-aligned newspaper Iran also quoted Hossein Sobhaninia, a former parliament representative and an active Principlist, stating: "The Mayor of Tehran has conditioned his candidacy for the presidential elections on the agreement of Principlists to support him." The newspaper also reported that Saeed Jalili, the candidate from the 92 presidential elections, is currently traveling and giving speeches without concern for being labeled as "electioneering." The newspaper Hamdeli headlined "Principlist Candidates Sacrifice for One Person," stating: "Efforts to initiate a withdrawal movement in the right-wing faction have begun." The newspaper Shargh reported that on Sunday, it was finally Qalibaf's turn to appear before the 10th Parliament's Civil Commission to respond to the representatives' requests for an investigation into the Tehran Municipality; however, his presence and responses were controversial due to the interference of the Commission's Chairman, who claimed that the case of property transfers is currently under judicial review, thus "claiming a legal prohibition on conducting the investigation." In response, the requesting representatives stated that the investigation is not only about properties but also includes other issues such as the issuance of permits and licenses without accountability and improper appointments in the Tehran Municipality. The newspaper Arman published a photo of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, quoting him as saying: "I consider Hassan Rouhani to be the most qualified." Hussein Abdollahi, the managing director of Arman, wrote in an introduction to the interview with Rafsanjani that "satisfaction is the most accurate description that can be seen at first glance on the face of Ayatollah Hashemi." He has some concerns but much less than in the years when every incompetent decision imposed costs on the country. He is now trying to prevent the path determined in 92 and half traversed in 94 from being coveted by the opponents of moderation and to reduce the speed of its movement due to occasional obstacles. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani emphasized that "Mr. Rouhani's rivals, known figures, cannot resist his vote," stating that "now moderates and reformists participate in elections as a group, and people are inherently moderate; we have very few extremists." He also criticized the media team of the 11th government, stating that what we told Mr. Rouhani and still say is about his media team. Mr. Rouhani has a weak media team whose work does not yield necessary results, but "their office does not have the capacity for this work. Mr. Rouhani has accepted and said: bring a team that can work. But when it was handed over to the office, it remained." The newspaper Novaran, on the occasion of World Street Vendor Day, published a photo of a street vendor and wrote: "I also buy from street vendors." This newspaper noted that the International Street Vendors Union designated November 14 as World Street Vendors Day in 2012 to mark the tenth year of its activities and "requested that every year on November 14, activities be conducted to highlight the demands of street vendors." Asu Javaheri, in a report for Novaran, reviewed the encounters with street vendors and the meeting "Street Vending; Opportunity and Necessity of Law," stating: Street vending is a job that "by being in the informal sector has always been under suspicion and has been targeted by urban rulers, cultural policies, and even sometimes the public has been suspected. Street vending is an honorable solution that the lower classes of society have chosen for their livelihood instead of any inappropriate means." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported on Tuesday about the decline in the credibility of the Iranian passport, stating: "The Iranian passport has lost its dignity under Rouhani's government." According to this newspaper, "the latest statistics about the credibility of passports worldwide show that the Iranian passport has dropped 12 ranks to 98th in the world, a year after the implementation of the JCPOA, ranking alongside countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nepal, Palestine, and Sudan, and now only countries like Libya, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have lower visa credibility than Iran." Nafiseh Ebrahimzadeh, in a report for this newspaper, wrote: "According to a general agreement, the credibility of each country's passport is a measure of the international standing of its citizens among other countries, and the President of the 11th government had promised to enhance this credibility at the global level through his proposed international and diplomatic policies. However, reports published in this area, more than three years into the 11th government's activity and nearly a year after the JCPOA, show that not only has the credibility of the Iranian passport not increased, but it has also dropped 12 ranks compared to 1392." The newspaper Shahrvand reported that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, on Sunday in his press conference reacted to a letter from 15 representatives of the 10th Parliament to the head of the judiciary requesting the annulment of the sentence of this imprisoned human rights activist, saying that the "request" of the representatives might be considered. According to this newspaper, the spokesperson for the judiciary stated regarding the letter from several representatives to the head of the judiciary and the Attorney General that: "Firstly, the Attorney General said that this letter has not officially reached me, but I have learned about its content through the media and will respond soon." However, in this letter, "the representatives have misunderstood Article 134" and "in crimes subject to punishment, whenever there are more than three crimes, the court issues the maximum sentence for each of them and when the committed crimes exceed three, it can give the harshest sentence for each and can also add up to half of that to each of the crimes. Friends mistakenly thought that the aggregation of sentences was intended, but in these cases, each of the crimes should be the harshest." The newspaper Shahrvand also wrote that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated regarding the "request of the representatives from the head of the judiciary for the application of Islamic clemency in this case" that: "In my opinion, the representatives' request from the head of the judiciary is not problematic; although some jurists believe that this is also problematic, but since it is stated in the letter that 'we kindly request,' it may be considered." According to this newspaper, the spokesperson for the judiciary also stated that financial corruption in the Cultural Fund is "established" and said: "Currently, financial corruption is directed at the fund, the investment bank, customers, and brokers. This bank has provided 12,500 billion tomans in facilities, which have increased as we have approached these last days. According to Mohseni Ejei, 8,000 billion tomans of the facilities provided are still overdue. The spokesperson for the judiciary said: An expert evaluated a property at 41 billion tomans in 94, and within a few days, another expert estimated it at 227 billion tomans, for which they also gave an apartment to the experts." The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated its front page to a report titled "Return of Holidays to the Capital's Calendar," stating: "Due to persistent air pollution in Tehran, elementary schools were closed." According to this newspaper, "these days, to understand whether the air is polluted or not, there is no need to check the weather news; the thick smoke and haze that darkens the sky and the continuous coughing of the city's residents, along with tears gathering in their eyes, speak for this pollution; Tehran's air is unhealthy" and "the Deputy for Monitoring and Environmental Assessment of Tehran Province stated that Tehran is experiencing the most polluted air of the year, saying: The air quality index of Tehran is at 154, which is unhealthy (red status) for 'all individuals.'" The newspaper Siyasat Rooz, while quoting Hassan Rouhani during his trip to Khuzestan, wrote: "JCPOA means a new breath of fresh air," alongside a photo of Tehran's air pollution, with the headline "Right to Breathe," stating: "If you want to honor and restore citizens' rights, first tell those who have suffered from severe pollution and are struggling to breathe where they should go to claim their rights! What should those who have gone to the brink of suffocation due to the policies you adopted do? Can the rights of these citizens be seen and their damages compensated?" This newspaper also criticized Hassan Rouhani regarding air pollution, stating: "When the highest executive authority of the country calls himself a jurist and pursues citizens' rights in the first urban actions, we are hopeful that he will also pursue the rights of those harmed by wrong policies."