Reaching the 'Day of the Event'

Most Iranian newspapers have welcomed the potential announcement of a 'nuclear agreement' with reports and notes. The Aftab Yazd newspaper has dedicated its front page to Hassan Rouhani, quoting him as saying: 'I have fulfilled the promise I made during the elections regarding the resolution of the nuclear issue. Even if the work stops right here, at the final steps of the negotiations, we have fulfilled our duty.' The Teadil newspaper has headlined 'A Few Steps to a Great Reconciliation,' stating: 'Two years of intense and complex discussions regarding the nuclear file are nearing an agreement.' The Shargh newspaper has featured Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on its front page, referring to the potential announcement of the nuclear agreement and describing Monday as the 'Day of the Event.' The Etemad newspaper, in a report titled 'Finally an Agreement?', has written: 'Despite the finalization of the JCPOA text, the last negotiations regarding the details of the Security Council resolution continue.' Etemad has also published a cartoon of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on its front page with the title 'Netanyahu's Solitude,' stating: 'The world is waiting for the nuclear agreement, and Israel is worried about the success of diplomacy.' However, the Kayhan newspaper emphasized in its Monday headline that 'the agreement within the framework of the Lausanne document is a loss.' This newspaper, published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, stated: 'Evidence suggests that the Americans are pursuing their goals within the framework of the Lausanne document, and if those goals, reflected in the U.S. fact sheet, are achieved, America will win this long challenge.' The Qanoon newspaper referenced a 'request for the death penalty from the parliamentary podium' by one of the representatives, writing that Abolfazl Abutorabi, a representative from Najafabad, stated in his speech on Sunday: 'Even if a death sentence were issued for Rahimi, it would still be insufficient.' The Jahan San'at newspaper published a report on a meeting about 'the issue of female genital mutilation in women' at the Iranian Sociological Association, stating: 'Every 11 seconds, a girl aged 5 to 10 is subjected to this practice worldwide, and many may be unaware of the strange prevalence of this practice in Qeshm, with traces of female genital mutilation recorded in six provinces of Iran.' The Iran newspaper reported on 'record electricity consumption in Iran's history,' stating: 'With unprecedented increases in temperature and its persistence in recent days, electricity consumption in Iran has surpassed 50,000 megawatts, breaking the record in the history of Iran's electricity industry,' and now 'many cities are just one step away from blackouts.' The negotiations reaching the 'Day of the Event' have been highlighted by the Shargh newspaper, which has dedicated its front page to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, referring to the potential announcement of the nuclear agreement and describing Monday as the 'Day of the Event.' Zeynab Ismaili, a correspondent for Shargh, reported from Vienna on developments in the nuclear negotiations, stating: 'On a dragging Sunday, the Day of the Event seems both very far and very close. The fourth round of extra time to resolve the differences between Iran and the 1+5 is coming to an end today. It feels like the promised day is here, and everyone is looking for signs. Those who have been camping in front of the Coburg Palace for 17 days are waiting for white smoke, and the questions, answers, messages, and conversations are all tied to the nuclear negotiations.' The Shargh reporter noted that 'all the residents of the tent at the beginning of Theodore Herzl Street are waiting for the moment the news is released,' writing: 'Sometimes the news pushes the agreement further away and sometimes brings it closer. The negotiations have emerged from the coma of Thursday and Friday, have passed the rainbow of Saturday, and now everyone is waiting for sunny weather.' In the last hours of Sunday afternoon, Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters from the balcony of the Coburg Hotel: 'We have work tomorrow... there is no extension.' At the same time, the Shargh newspaper wrote that 'after a dragging Sunday afternoon, following 17 days of continuous negotiations, it is said that there is still a lot of work left, and the text of the agreement and its annexes still need work. Parentheses, blanks, and... must be finalized after hours of bargaining in the remaining hours.' This newspaper emphasized that Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry are 'two ministers trapped in Vienna,' stating: 'Iran and Greece are still at the top of the news; just like 2,500 years ago,' which has caused 'European foreign ministers to constantly shuttle between capitals and Vienna.' The Shargh newspaper also reported that 'the resolution that is supposed to remove Iran's nuclear file from Chapter Seven of the UN Charter is also one of the topics discussed in these negotiations,' writing: 'In this text, the duration of the resolution's implementation is limited, and at the end of this period, it will be annulled. According to UN laws, only a resolution under Chapter Seven can annul a previous similar resolution and is binding for all UN member states.' Hamid Karimnia, an international affairs expert, emphasized that 'the best solution for all parties is to reach an understanding because all parties know that the international political environment has changed just like global climate change. Therefore, political behaviors must also transform.' Nader Hoshamandiar, a university professor, also wrote in a note in the Shargh newspaper about the state of Iran's economy after a potential agreement, stating: 'After the agreement, the first activity that executive officials and development planners must urgently undertake is to create a business environment that benefits the public production and eases activities in the economy for all people, especially the private sectors.' The Shargh newspaper's columnist emphasized that 'the biggest problem in Iran's economy is the circulation of capital or the monopoly of capital production in certain economic groups that have no relation to public activities and public wealth creation,' writing: 'For this reason, after reaching an agreement, the government must devote all its efforts to ensuring that production and productive economic activities become a collective demand and effort in the country's economy without any disturbance from large private firms and cartels.' Nader Hoshamandiar wrote: 'If this does not happen, it can be said with certainty that victory in the negotiations will only benefit specific economic cartels that will carry out their activities in the economy with more capital and have a larger field for maneuvering. As usual, nothing will benefit production and productive activities from this campaign.' The 'request for the death penalty from the parliamentary podium' has been highlighted by the Qanoon newspaper, which wrote about 'the request for the death penalty from the parliamentary podium' by one of the representatives, stating that Abolfazl Abutorabi, a representative from Najafabad, said in his speech on Sunday: 'Even if a death sentence were issued for Rahimi, it would still be insufficient.' According to this newspaper, Abolfazl Abutorabi, a representative from Najafabad in the ninth parliament, stated in his speech: 'Economic corruption is like a termite that destroys the country from within and affects public trust in officials, which is the best asset of the revolution,' and 'officials are trustees of public assets, trustees of the blood of martyrs, and if they betray with embezzlement in public assets, they should be punished more severely than other people, not that they inflict about $14 billion of financial damage to the country and then are sentenced to 10 years in prison; even if such a criminal were executed 10 times, it would still be insufficient.' Abolfazl Abutorabi stated that 'Mehdi Hashemi has inflicted about $14 billion of damage to the country in the Karsant case or is fleeing after being the head of one of the country's banks, and then no significant punishment is considered for them, their trust in all officials is lost,' stating: 'Officials are trustees of public assets, trustees of the blood of martyrs, and if they betray with embezzlement in public assets, they should be punished more severely than other people, not that they inflict about $14 billion of financial damage to the country and then are sentenced to 10 years in prison; even if such a criminal were executed 10 times, it would still be insufficient.' According to the Qanoon newspaper, the Najafabad representative in the ninth parliament emphasized that 'for Rahimi, even if a death sentence were issued, it would still be insufficient,' stating: 'We lawmakers have acted weakly in determining the punishments for embezzlers; how come we have so many executions regarding the fight against drugs, so for those who are the root of corruption, we must increase the punishment for embezzlers.' Mahmoud Kashani, a lawyer and professor at Beheshti University, reacted to this representative's statements in the Qanoon newspaper, stating: 'It is regrettable that a member of parliament raises the slogan of execution for accusations of corruption and financial crimes.' This lawyer also stated: 'If representatives were truly seeking to eradicate the roots of corruption in the country, they should first reform the structure of the parliamentary election law so that candidates have equal opportunities to enter parliament. Representatives who can see all the angles and roots of corruption with their keen eyes and suppress it.' Mahmoud Kashani emphasized that if the representatives are in search of suppressing corruption, they should first reform the electoral system of Iran, noting: 'Our electoral system dates back to 1290 in the solar calendar, which is 104 years ago. Can we hold free and fair elections with a 104-year-old election law?' Abdullah Samami, a lawyer, also told the Qanoon newspaper: 'Members of parliament should not allow themselves to intervene in such matters. Members of parliament are considered the legislative power, the legislators. The Islamic Consultative Assembly, as the legislative authority, intervenes to prevent any financial corruption and other matters and has the right to legislate on that subject, but the authority to determine what crime has occurred or what has not occurred or what is a crime or what is not a crime and what the punishment will be or what it will not be is with the judiciary.' This lawyer described Abolfazl Abutorabi's statements as a violation of the principle of separation of powers and stated: 'The head of the judiciary must support judges against statements made by some members of parliament.' The announcement of 'a 6% increase in the prices of essential goods' has been reported by the Shahrvand newspaper, stating: 'Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, announced on Sunday, on the sidelines of signing a memorandum of understanding with Azad University, the issuance of a directive for a 6% increase in the prices of 18 essential goods.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, who announced the issuance of this directive 'on behalf of the executive assistant to the president,' stated: 'This announcement means that if necessary, with the review and opinions of the pricing determination and stabilization board, necessary revisions will be made.' The Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade noted that the directive for the price increase of essential goods up to 6% 'is in line with inflation and the costs of various production sectors and can be reviewed.' He stated that 'a group also under the name of the pricing determination and stabilization board, which includes representatives from various ministries, may make necessary revisions for some goods, and most goods are priced based on supply and demand, but in any case, the pricing determination and stabilization board, which is based in the Organization for Consumer and Producer Protection, may review this matter.' Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh also stated that 'most goods are priced based on supply and demand, but in any case, the pricing determination and stabilization board, which is based in the Organization for Consumer and Producer Protection, may review this matter.' Gholamreza Kaveh, spokesman for the Organization for Consumer and Producer Protection, told the Shahrvand newspaper: 'In the first directive, only the pricing process has been defined, and this does not mean issuing a permit for price increases for 18 essential goods, and previously, any request for price increases for essential goods was raised in the market regulation working group and was examined and approved based on conditions,' but according to 'the first deputy's directive,' from now on 'any decision regarding the price increase of 18 essential goods up to 6% will be entrusted to the Organization for Consumer Protection.' According to this newspaper, the directive approving price increases states: 'Any increase in the prices of goods and services, priority one, includes goods such as wheat, flour, bread, sugar, chicken, eggs, rice, vegetable oil, red meat, butter, and raw milk, urea fertilizers, phosphates, and potash, and high-consumption dairy products including milk, cheese, and yogurt, various subsidized goods as necessary and announced by the market regulation working group this year up to 6% solely based on the share of fuel and energy carriers, wages, and... in the final price of goods and services with the approval of the Organization for Consumer and Producer Protection, and any increase in price beyond 6% requires approval from the market regulation working group.' Soheila Roozban, in a report for the Shahrvand newspaper, pointed out that 'expectations in the market for essential goods have peaked for producers of these products,' writing: 'Producers are, on the one hand, watching the results of the negotiations to reduce their production costs, and on the other hand, waiting for the Organization for Consumer Protection's opinion on their requests to raise prices.' This newspaper noted that producers 'after the unification of fuel prices, were ordered by the government to stabilize prices to maintain market stability; now, the patience of these people has run out, and they are talking about price changes after Ramadan,' writing: 'Although this event means higher prices for consumers, it should be noted that previously, any request for price increases was rejected by the market regulation working group, and its review was postponed to the future.'