Reactions to the Death of the Porsche Driver's Daughter

The newspaper Etemad reported that "the provincialization of parliamentary elections was half-heartedly rejected" and the generalities of this plan were approved in the parliament on Wednesday, but "the issues were so numerous that it was returned to the specialized commission by the order of the Speaker of the Parliament for clarification." The newspaper Jahane San'at reported that "Hamid Farakhi Dizaj Malek," a street vendor who self-immolated in protest against the confiscation of his goods by municipal agents in Tabriz, died on the 30th of Farvardin due to the severity of his injuries. The newspaper Shargh, one day after the "release of the confession video of Abbas Yazdanpanah" by the Tasnim news agency, quoted Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, lawyer of Mehdi Hashemi, as denying the content of these confessions, stating: "The case of Abbas Yazdanpanah is under consideration by the National Security Council and the Ministry of Intelligence. His killers have been identified, and it is clear who ordered this action." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, described the statements of senior government officials regarding "dirty money" as "a game of reformists." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on the "aftershocks of the death of the Porsche driver's daughter in cyberspace," stating: "On the early morning of the past Tuesday, two high-end cars collided on Shariati Street and Hemmat Highway in Tehran, resulting in the deaths of five people due to the severity of the crash. Up to this point, the matter is ordinary," but "the story changed when the news of these two accidents spread everywhere and it became clear that the occupants of these vehicles were from the upper classes or, as they say, the rich kids." Nasser Qasemzadeh, a psychologist, emphasized that "we have a wide class gap in Iranian society," stating that multiple factors are involved in this issue, including "Iran's sick economic system," "employment and unemployment and inflation," all of which have led to a populace that is "somewhat suppressed and especially the younger generation carries a kind of repressed anger regarding their natural physical and spiritual needs." [Asghar] Mohajeri, a sociologist, also told the newspaper Shahre Vahdat that "the attack by users on the page of the girl who lost her life in the recent accident can be analyzed in light of the consequences of increasing class distance in Iran," adding that "one of the signs of the disappearance of the middle class is the fading of ethics, which is clearly evident in today's life." This newspaper also reported in another article that "the smuggling of clothing is 333 times the official imports." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat dedicated its front page to "children's protests against the destruction of the earth" and wrote: "On Wednesday, the second square of Sadeghiyeh hosted earth lovers who gathered on Earth Day to invite passersby to separate wet and dry waste," and during this event, "elementary school girls distributed 'biodegradable' bags among passersby who were walking through the second square of Sadeghiyeh on Wednesday morning, shouting their wish for a clean earth." The newspaper Hamshahri reported on its front page, quoting Mohammad Fazel, the director of the Ministry of Education's office, that "payments to educators will be made by the 19th of Ordibehesht." The newspaper Iran dedicated its front page on Wednesday to "the second restitution of historical artifacts of Iran," stating: "108 historical artifacts returned from America to Iran." Mohammad Beheshti, head of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, wrote in a note in the newspaper that "the items that returned to Iran on Wednesday morning were inscriptions and artifacts related to the site of Choghamish. These items were previously held by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago before the revolution" and "Iran had a contract with this center, as it was involved in archaeological studies and also worked on deciphering ancient inscriptions." The newspaper Qanoon reported in a piece titled "Threat to Repeat the Shiraz Incident" that "while the fate of the attackers on the car of a parliamentary representative heading to Shiraz for a speech is still unknown, this time threats have begun before the attacks," and "in a statement attributed to the public relations of Ansar Hezbollah [Golestan], it is claimed that if Hassan Khomeini and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri travel to this province to speak at the memorial ceremony for the victims of the Yak-40 plane, an incident similar to the Shiraz incident will be repeated." The newspaper Resalat reported on its front page, quoting Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, a former representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC and current secretary of the Society of Clerics, stating: "The revitalization of the principlist front is essential." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani also expressed satisfaction with "the meetings of principlist parties," stating: "The achievements of these meetings are promising. We hope that the experience of the 2013 elections will never be repeated." The approval of the "provincialization of elections" in the parliament, the examination of the plan in the commission. The newspaper Etemad reported that "the provincialization of parliamentary elections was half-heartedly rejected" and the generalities of this plan were approved in the parliament on Wednesday, but "the issues were so numerous that it was returned to the specialized commission by the order of the Speaker of the Parliament for clarification." According to this newspaper, "the Speaker of the Parliament gave the commission of councils and internal affairs of the Islamic Consultative Assembly two weeks to resolve the issues and present the plan again to the public session." Etemad reminded that "supporters of the provincialization of elections had many reasons for their support," and in addition, "there were diverse figures among the supporters, from Ali Motahari, whose support for such a plan seemed unlikely, to Hossein Ghorosi and Ahmad Ali Moghim, who were principlist figures." According to this newspaper, supporters of the provincialization of parliamentary elections considered this "plan a utopia to prevent electoral violations and even vote buying, hoping that this plan would lead to a reduction in representative duties and shift them towards national responsibilities." Etemad reported that opponents of the provincialization of elections had "more reasons and concerns," and one of their "main concerns was the issue of 'dirty money' entering politics; a warning that the Minister of Interior gave some time ago and now his concern has spread to other members of parliament as well," to the extent that Mehdi Davatgari, the representative of Maragheh, as the first opponent of the generalities of the provincialization of parliamentary elections in the public session on Wednesday said: "We are facing a big test today; this plan creates the suspicion in public minds that representatives are seeking this plan to stabilize their term in office." According to Mehdi Davatgari, based on the provincialization of elections plan, "a person wins the election by obtaining 15% of the vote at the county level and 85% of the vote at the provincial level; however, we do not have strong parties in the country that are active at the provincial level and representatives are recognized under them. He also said that in such circumstances, how can a representative campaign for the entire province," and in addition, "representatives are the bridge between the people and the system, and by approving this plan, this bridge will be cut off." Shakrokhda Mousavi, the representative of Ahvaz, also stated that "provincialization of elections leads to the empowerment of the powerful and wealthy," saying: "This plan has ethnic sensitivities. In previous periods, the Guardian Council opposed it and deemed it unacceptable." According to the newspaper Etemad, "the government is also against the provincialization of elections," and at the same time, the government’s parliamentary deputy announced that "the government agrees with the principle of provincialization but does not see the conditions as suitable." The death of the Tabriz street vendor due to protest self-immolation. The newspaper Jahane San'at reported that "Hamid Farakhi Dizaj Malek," a street vendor who self-immolated in protest against the confiscation of his goods by municipal agents in Tabriz, died on the 30th of Farvardin due to the severity of his injuries. This newspaper noted that "Hamid Farakhi Dizaj Malek, an Azerbaijani street vendor, died on the 30th of Farvardin after several days of hospitalization in the intensive care unit of the hospital," writing: "He self-immolated on Farvardin 24 in protest against the confiscation of his street vending goods by municipal agents in front of the municipality of region 8 of this city." Jahane San'at quoted a relative of Hamid Farakhi as saying that this street vendor "was engaged in retail in the Tabriz market and had previously received a street vending permit from the municipality," but after the encounter with municipal agents on Farvardin 24, "he set himself on fire in the office of one of the officials of the municipality of region 8 of Tabriz." Habib Hosseingholizadeh, the public relations officer of the East Azerbaijan emergency services, regarding the self-immolation of this Tabriz street vendor, said: "According to reports from emergency personnel, this man was far from the municipality at the time of self-immolation." According to this newspaper, "one of the employees of the municipality of region 8 of Tabriz, whose name has not been published, said that Hamid Farakhi self-immolated in the sidewalk section of the municipality and did not self-immolate in front of the building of region 8." Hamed Farakhi Dizaj Malek, the son of this protesting street vendor from Tabriz, emphasized that "my father had neither mental issues nor any specific illness that would lead him to do this," referring to the family's complaint against the officials of the Tabriz municipality, and said: "We have filed a case in the judicial authorities and are pursuing it." The son of this Tabriz street vendor also stated: "The family does not know what happened that forced his father to do this, and for this reason, they have filed a complaint to understand what issue led to this incident." The newspaper Jahane San'at simultaneously reported that "the news site Anaj, affiliated with the principlists of Tabriz," in a report on the 29th of Farvardin had introduced the protesting street vendor Hamid Farakhi as someone "with many psychological problems," but with the death of this street vendor due to the severity of injuries from self-immolation, "neither the officials of the Tabriz municipality nor the council of this city have been willing to respond" regarding the self-immolation of Hamid Farakhi. The newspaper Jahane San'at noted that "Hamid Farakhi was 43 years old at the time of death," writing: "He had one son and two daughters," and local websites in Tabriz reported that "Hamid Farakhi's body was buried in Tabriz on the morning of Tuesday, the 31st of Farvardin." This newspaper recalled that a month earlier, "on the 23rd of Esfand 93, a 34-year-old street vendor from Khorramshahr named Younes Asakereh self-immolated in protest against the removal of his fruit vending booth in front of the municipality of this city" and ultimately "died in the early morning of the second of Farvardin due to his injuries in Motahari Hospital in Tehran." The reaction of Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer to the release of the confession video of Abbas Yazdanpanah. The newspaper Shargh reported that one day after the "release of the confession video of Abbas Yazdanpanah" by the Tasnim news agency, quoting Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, lawyer of Mehdi Hashemi, denied the content of these confessions, stating: "The case of Abbas Yazdanpanah is under consideration by the National Security Council and the Ministry of Intelligence. His killers have been identified, and it is clear who ordered this action." This newspaper noted that "the connection between Abbas Yazdanpanah and Mehdi Hashemi is not a subject that principlist media can easily overlook," writing: "The Tasnim news agency on Wednesday, in this context, released the confession video of Abbas Yazdanpanah, who was arrested and recorded in 1995." According to this newspaper, "the Tasnim news agency edited parts of Yazdanpanah's confessions alongside staged scenes and with the voice of a narrator discussing the life of Abbas Yazdanpanah and his connection with Mehdi Hashemi and how he went missing," adding that "the report begins with the question of who benefits from the killing of Abbas Yazdanpanah?" Shargh emphasized that "the Tasnim news agency" alongside "some other media outlets are trying to attribute the disappearance of Abbas Yazdanpanah to Mehdi Hashemi," writing: "Abbas Yazdanpanah was an Iranian-British citizen who lived in the UAE in recent years. He went missing in 2013. Principlist media later associated his name with Mehdi Hashemi and after a while announced that he had been killed" and "the wife of Yazdanpanah announced that the British Foreign Office told her that her husband died during a kidnapping." This newspaper noted that "the name of Yazdanpanah coincides with two contracts involving Iran; the Karsent and Statoil contracts," writing: "The Karsent contract was signed at the end of the second term of the reformist government and committed Iran to exporting gas to the UAE. The parliament at the time deemed this contract damaging and prevented its implementation. This led to the Karsent lawsuit being brought to the Hague court. It was claimed that Yazdanpanah was supposed to send documents regarding the Karsent contract to the Hague court before he was kidnapped," adding that "the name Abbas Yazdanpanah is also mentioned in the Statoil case, a case in which an American court raised accusations against Mehdi Hashemi." According to the newspaper Shargh, Abbas Yazdanpanah was arrested once in 1995 and during that period in his confessions, a film was made referring to his connection with Mehdi Hashemi. Now the Tasnim news agency has released this film.