Reactions to the Discovery of the Bodies of 175 Iranian 'Buried Alive' Divers

The newspaper Shahrvand, in one of its main headlines, reported that 'the fuel cards for personal vehicles and motorcycles for June' are empty, stating that 'the fuel quota is awaiting a new government decision.' The newspaper Javan, in its editorial on Saturday, titled 'The Improbable and the Void of the Third Current,' examined the consequences of a potential coalition of political factions supporting Ali Larijani and Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming tenth parliamentary elections, describing it as an attempt to organize a 'third current.' This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, implicitly warned Ali Larijani and his supporters in the principlist faction that 'if the Rouhani-Larijani current fails to demonstrate cohesion the day after the 1394 elections, it will certainly face the fate of Rizehri, Rezaei, and others; at that time, returning will be more costly than separating, as following them is impossible and their trajectory will lead to the void.' The newspaper Shargh reported on the 'leak of a confidential letter from Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani to Ali Akbar Velayati' during the 2013 presidential elections. This newspaper noted that 'supporters of Saeed Jalili have once again sought to blame Ali Akbar Velayati for the principlists' defeat in the 2013 elections,' emphasizing the significance of the letter's publication in the 'Imam Sadiq University newsletter' as a sign of 'a shift in the angle of the Imam Sadiqi supporters' and their backing of Saeed Jalili amid internal developments in the principlist faction. The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported that reactions to the 'discovery of the bodies of 175 Iranian divers' were widespread, stating: 'Despite the propaganda about some youths in society and their indifference to national and religious issues, the reactions to the news of the 'discovery of the bodies of 175 martyr divers of Karbala 4 with their hands tied' in cyberspace and social networks showed that 'the youth have not forgotten the sacrifices of the previous generations during the war.' The newspaper Arman reported that on Thursday, May 31, the prosecutor of Pardis County announced the discovery of a large embezzlement case in the Tehran-Pardis highway company. Azar Mansouri, a reformist political activist, told Aftab Yazd that 'special quotas for women will be allocated in the lists presented by reformists in the upcoming parliamentary elections.' This reformist activist pointed out that 'there is no legal discrimination against women's participation in parliamentary elections,' but stated that 'given the unequal competitive and electoral conditions for women, the best way to secure more seats for women in parliament is through these quotas.' The newspaper Iran, in an editorial titled 'Media Allies of Illegal Financial Institutions,' wrote: 'Over the past few years, the network of underground economic players of financial institutions has managed to establish powerful advertising and news arms for itself under the shadow of legendary profits. So much so that today the first voice of opposition to the government's policies for dismantling illegal institutions and the hidden economy is heard from the headlines and pages of these very media.' Mohammad Noori, in the editorial of Iran, emphasized that 'the political and media allies of this network are currently more than ever casting doubt on the work of the government's economic managers and nuclear negotiators to the point that some of their prominent figures have resorted to betting on the fate of the nuclear agreement,' but 'all of this is a sign of the reality that the collapse of the sanctions structure has led to a destabilization of their economic and financial power.' The newspaper Etemad has a report on its front page about nuclear negotiations titled 'Stalled Progress, Duel of Tribunes,' stating: 'The nuclear news from Vienna and the repeated speeches of both sides indicate the critical state of the nuclear negotiations.' This newspaper also quoted 'an informed source' as saying: 'The negotiators' steadfastness against the demands of the other side has slowed down the negotiations.' The newspaper Qanoon dedicated its front page to the victory of Mohammad Khatami in the June 2, 1997 elections, featuring a series titled '18 Years After That Event,' including an interview with Abdollah Naseri and several writings by Sadegh Zibakalam, Fayyaz Zahed, and Masoud Adib about Khatami's victory and the formation of the reformist government. Etemad's front page features Mohsen Hashemi and an interview with him about 'himself, his father, and the role of the Hashemis in politics.' In this interview, Mohsen Hashemi stated that his father, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 'loves the revolution more than his children.' Fuel quotas await a new government decision; personal vehicle fuel cards are empty. The newspaper Shahrvand reported that 'the fuel cards for personal vehicles and motorcycles for June' are empty, stating that 'the fuel quota is awaiting a new government decision.' According to this newspaper, 'the third fuel quota for this year related to June has been different from previous periods due to sudden changes in government policy, and while, as in previous months, it was supposed to be deposited at midnight on the last day of the month, i.e., May 31, on the morning of June 1, when vehicles went to gas stations to receive their quotas, they found that only half of the quotas had been deposited.' Shahrvand noted that 'in June, only the fuel quotas for public vehicles, including pickup trucks, agencies, taxis, etc., have been deposited, while the remaining vehicles, namely personal vehicles and motorcycles, are facing empty fuel cards.' After many vehicle owners learned of this government decision by visiting fuel stations, the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company briefly announced in the afternoon on Friday that until a new government decision is made, the fuel quotas for personal vehicles and motorcycles will not be deposited, and this event may happen in the coming days. This newspaper emphasized that 'officials surprised everyone with their lack of communication regarding changes in fuel quotas,' writing: 'Interestingly, since the end of last year, senior officials of the Ministry of Oil had reported to reporters about the lack of change in the fuel quota system for 1394,' and even Abbas Kazemi, the deputy oil minister, had stated regarding the latest decisions on determining gasoline prices in 1394: 'The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company has not presented any scenario or option for changing gasoline prices to the government so far.' The newspaper Shahrvand wrote: 'Although at the time of preparing this report, there has been no official statement from government officials regarding the details of the change in the quota system, it can be expected that the fuel price in the new government decisions will not change, and only the amount of fuel quotas will be altered, as changing prices requires amending budget tables.' This newspaper, however, reminded that 'changes in quotas have a history of prior notification, so that after the changes in quotas in Esfand 1392, a new table for allocating quotas was used from the beginning of Esfand 1393.' Now, in the spring of 1394, if the change in fuel quotas for vehicles is confirmed, this 'will be the third time that vehicle quotas are changed, and this time the lottery has fallen on personal vehicles and motorcycles.' Personal vehicles had been receiving 60 liters of gasoline monthly and motorcycles 25 liters at a price of 700 tomans per liter over the past year. Evaluation of the newspaper close to the Guards regarding the messages and consequences of the 'Larijani-Rouhani Coalition.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in its editorial on Saturday titled 'The Improbable and the Void of the Third Current,' examined the consequences of a potential coalition of political factions supporting Ali Larijani and Hassan Rouhani in the upcoming tenth parliamentary elections, describing it as an attempt to organize a 'third current.' This newspaper noted that 'since the formation of the two main currents in the country in the winter of 1988, individuals have attempted to establish their presence in the political arena beyond these two currents and, by criticizing and attacking the two aforementioned currents, sought to find a third path and channel for the political structure of the country.' The historical background of previous years shows that individuals such as Mohammad Reza Rizehri, Mohsen Rezaei, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad, and others have tried to present themselves as the axis of the 'third current.' Abdullah Ganji, in the editorial of Javan, wrote: 'However, due to reasons such as the lack of distinct ideological foundations, discourse, and social base, they could not become a source of new stability in the political power structure,' and now 'unconfirmed unofficial news indicates that part of the older principlists, centered around Ali Larijani, are seeking to form a coalition with Hassan Rouhani and the government to enter the political arena as a new current.' The editorial writer of Javan pointed out that there are three different perspectives regarding Ali Larijani and his supporters within the principlist faction, stating: 'Some believe that with the emergence of Ahmadinejad, a deep rift has occurred among revolutionary forces, and it is necessary to return to the 'zero point' of disagreements that existed before June 2, 1997, or July 3, 2005, to correct and compensate for the imposed frictions. With this perspective, if we see Rouhani and Larijani before June 76 or even July 84, they will be framed within the same context,' but 'the second perspective is that Larijani and some aligned forces see it as their duty and mission to create conditions to produce a replacement social base for Rouhani, helping to delineate the boundaries between Rouhani and reformists, and 'some of the older principlists or traditional right can convince Rouhani to distance himself from those who have deviated from the path of the Islamic Revolution by providing social capital.' The newspaper Javan wrote about the 'third perspective' of another faction of principlists regarding Ali Larijani and his closeness to Hassan Rouhani's government: 'Some principlists who entered the political arena later assess Larijani with the same yardstick they use to evaluate Rouhani. Therefore, to the extent that they feel distanced from Rouhani, they also feel this distance with Larijani; both Larijani sees them as an obstacle to the unity of principlism, and they consider Larijani as lacking the necessary criteria for the leadership of principlists.' This newspaper noted that 'whichever of the three reasons mentioned is taken as the basis for analysis, the reaction among principlists and reformists will lead to new decisions that will ultimately help shape the third current,' stating that 'the third current must be able to present a different understanding and discourse; otherwise, its formation will be impossible and, like its predecessors, will fade away and be used as a disposable entity in a single election. If the new current emphasizes Islam and the Islamic Revolution to the maximum, it is the same principlism, and if it diverges and fails to reconcile Islamism and republicanism, it will face the same fate as reformists. Therefore, it seems that we are facing a pragmatic and non-idealistic current that is neither seeking to fight against imperialism nor against the Islamic Revolution.' The newspaper Javan further attempted to describe the changing political landscape in Iran by naming three currents as 'Revolutionary-Radical Current,' 'Divergent-Extraverted Current,' and 'Conservative-Rationality Current.' This newspaper introduced the 'Revolutionary-Radical Current' as a current 'in line with the Islamic Revolution' and 'the shield of the Islamic Revolution in times of crisis,' referring to reformists as the 'Divergent-Extraverted Current' and regarding the 'Conservative-Rationality Current,' which it identified as the same third current resulting from the potential Larijani-Rouhani coalition, wrote: 'This current considers the Islamic Revolution a completed project that has turned into the product of the 'Islamic Republic.' Therefore, it defines itself not in line with the Islamic Revolution but as a nation-state called the Islamic Republic of Iran, will adjust its political behavior to the political norms of the world, and realism will be its main characteristic.' The editorial writer of Javan emphasized that 'material welfare' is prioritized by the 'Conservative-Rationality Current,' stating that they 'consider revolutionary zeal equivalent to extremism, slogan-mongering, and desensitization to the problems of the people, and this current has a relative position among the first-generation elites but lacks a base among revolutionary youth.' The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards implicitly warned Ali Larijani and his supporters in the principlist faction that 'if the Rouhani-Larijani current fails to demonstrate cohesion the day after the 1394 elections, it will certainly face the fate of Rizehri, Rezaei, and others; at that time, returning will be more costly than separating, as following them is impossible and their trajectory will lead to the void.' 'Disclosure of Mahdavi Kani's Confidential Letter to Velayati'; A Step by Imam Sadiqi Supporters Towards Saeed Jalili. The newspaper Shargh reported on the 'leak of a confidential letter from Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani to Ali Akbar Velayati' during the 2013 presidential elections. This newspaper noted that in the past couple of days, the image of the letter from Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, the late chairman of the Assembly of Experts, addressed to Ali Akbar Velayati, has been repeatedly published by various news agencies, stating that Mahdavi Kani, in this letter written three days before the 2013 presidential elections, implicitly asked Velayati to 'withdraw from the competition,' especially when among the traditional principlist candidates in that election, only Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf remained, and Gholam Ali Haddad Adel had withdrawn.