Reactions to the Reopening of the British Embassy

The newspaper Etemad reported on the promises made by the Minister of Interior regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections, including "standing against unjust disqualifications." The first promise of Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, as noted by this newspaper, is "standing up for the rights of candidates," emphasizing that candidates who have "certificates of health from four legal authorities" will have their rights defended. Rahmani Fazli stated that "standing up for candidates' rights is not about media uproar or shouting; rather, he wants to proceed calmly and through logical negotiation." The government-aligned newspaper Iran dedicated the front page of its Monday issue to the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran, reporting under the headline "Reopening of Iranian and British Embassies with the Key of Agreement" that "the British Embassy in Tehran and the Iranian Embassy in London were reopened simultaneously." This newspaper emphasized that the reopening of the British Embassy in Iran was accompanied by a "special event" and that "while the Iranian Embassy was reopened with the presence of Iranian and British officials, the highest diplomatic authority of the UK traveled to Iran for the reopening of the British Embassy." The newspaper Jahan San'at emphasized the "reopening of the British Embassy without the presence of Iranian officials," stating: "Philip Hammond entered the British Embassy amid tight security measures, and not only was no Iranian official accompanying him at the reopening ceremony, but journalists were also not allowed inside the embassy." The newspaper Kayhan criticized the diplomacy of Hassan Rouhani's government due to the "reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran," referring to it as "reverse diplomacy in the reopening of the British Embassy" and described the reopening as a "gift from Iran's 80 million market to the architect of banking sanctions." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, pointed out that "Philip Hammond went directly from the airport to Ferdowsi Street for the reopening of the Iranian Embassy and after the reopening, went directly to the Ministry of Oil in Tehran for discussions with Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's oil minister," stating that this action reflects "London's insatiable appetite for the mercantile aspects of the two sides' relations." The newspaper Qanoon reported on "Ahmadi's response to Ahmadi" and emphasized that "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has shown that he exits his lair and issues statements whenever it is not in his favor," stated: "After the publication of an interview with Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the former commander of the police, the website close to Ahmadinejad's ideological current published a statement from Ahmadinejad's office rejecting Ahmadi-Moghaddam's comments." Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam referred to a joint meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the early days after the controversial 2009 elections, stating that Ahmadinejad told him: "We shook the circle, and the extras and trash came out. Deal with them and collect them all. Go arrest Khatami and others and reduce the nuisance." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported that "the head of Tehran police warned against the sale and use of glassy manteaus in Tehran," while "many store windows in shopping centers in the capital are decorated with lace and silk manteaus, which are currently a new trend for Tehranian girls and, of course, a new issue for the police." This newspaper wrote: "The issue of these manteaus continues, and in the latest reactions, the police announced yesterday that they will confront not only women wearing these manteaus but also producers and stores selling glassy manteaus." The newspaper Abrar Economic reported that "the government, led by the Ministry of Labor, has obtained written electronic commitments from protesters for the establishment of cash subsidies." The promises made by the Minister of Interior regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections were reported by Etemad, which stated that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has made two important promises "to reassure many of those who intend to register for the green chairs of the Majlis this winter." The first promise of the Minister of Interior, as noted by this newspaper, is "standing up for the rights of candidates," and he emphasized that candidates who have "certificates of health from four legal authorities" will have their rights defended. Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated that "in the matter of examining qualifications, we must stand up for the rights of those who have certificates of health from four legal authorities. I will definitely stand up in this regard. However, if someone's qualification is legally rejected by these authorities, even if they stitch the earth and sky together, we cannot legally do anything for them. I cannot defend those who have legal and judicial records and have been issued a ruling against them. However, if someone is unjustly disqualified, rest assured that the Ministry of Interior will support their rights, and I will personally pursue the matter." The second promise of the "principlist minister" regarding "the non-recognition of some candidates' qualifications due to lack of time" was also mentioned, where Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli complained about such disqualifications and announced the ministry's arrangements to increase the groups reviewing candidates' qualifications. He stated: "This fault is attributed to both the executive and supervisory boards, which, due to lack of time to review qualifications, announced that the qualifications of some candidates were not recognized. However, lack of time should not lead to the non-recognition of individuals' qualifications, as the principle in Islam is innocence. If necessary, we should increase the number of working groups reviewing candidates' qualifications to provide enough time for the review. In my view, for example, if you did not have the opportunity to review your qualifications, we should not tell you that you cannot run in the elections due to non-recognition of qualifications." According to Etemad, the Minister of Interior of Hassan Rouhani's government has made a "more important" promise that "might change the fate of the elections," as Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated: "In the executive boards, we have decided to allocate all necessary resources for the required investigations to recognize qualifications, and in fact, we will do our utmost to ensure that there are no non-recognitions of qualifications in this election period." Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli also mentioned the viewpoint of the Guardian Council in this regard, stating: "So far, I have spoken with some members of the Guardian Council in a friendly manner, and they also believe that the qualifications of all individuals should be recognized or rejected through investigation and review. If the Guardian Council also acts according to the law, the elections in this regard will be completely transparent." Etemad noted that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has a fundamental anxiety, which is the "violation of candidates' rights," and quoted the Minister of Interior as saying: "If their rights are violated, he must answer for it on the Day of Judgment." This newspaper reminded that the promises and statements of Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli came just a few days after the election warnings from the President and that "the Minister of Interior's reassurances more than anything indicate that this election will be a different one, and perhaps the negotiations between the Ministry of Interior and the Guardian Council regarding the four thousand potential candidates entering the Majlis will be more than any other period to form a Majlis with diverse tastes." The newspaper Iran, while dedicating a photo to the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran, reported under the headline "Reopening of Iranian and British Embassies with the Key of Agreement" that "the British Embassy in Tehran and the Iranian Embassy in London were reopened simultaneously." The newspaper wrote: "Despite this simultaneity, the reopening of the British Embassy in Iran was accompanied by a special event and thus attracted more attention. If the Iranian Embassy was reopened with the presence of Iranian and British officials, for the reopening of the British Embassy, the highest diplomatic authority of the UK traveled to Iran." The newspaper Iran emphasized that "Philip Hammond's visit to Tehran occurred exactly twelve years after the last time a British Foreign Secretary visited Tehran to participate in the four-party nuclear negotiations." Twelve years ago, it was Hassan Rouhani who, as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the head of Iran's negotiating team at the time, hosted Jack Straw as the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Iran after the Islamic Revolution, and now "the four-year lock on the embassies of the two countries was opened with the visit of another Foreign Secretary during Rouhani's government. Although the complete restoration of this severed relationship and its elevation to the level of ambassadorial exchange, as both sides have stated, will take several months." The newspaper Iran also wrote that the British Foreign Secretary, who arrived in Tehran at the head of a political-economic delegation on Sunday morning, participated in the reopening ceremony of his embassy, referring to the "reopening of the embassies of England and Iran as a key step towards better relations between the two countries." This newspaper also reminded that "the protesters who climbed the walls of the British Embassy four years ago and sometimes expressed their excitement by destroying objects and breaking the walls of this embassy have now left the cost of repairs on Iran's shoulders," although currently, the British government states that "it did not want to insist on the issue of compensation before restoring full diplomatic relations with Iran, and the Foreign Office hopes that this issue will be resolved in the future, covering all repair costs for the embassy in Tehran." The newspaper Iran quoted Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, regarding compensation to the UK, stating: "First, the embassies must be activated, and then issues such as damages can be placed on the agenda for discussion," and they "must announce their estimate of damages, and then our experts will review this issue in a process that is also time-consuming. Just as in the early 1980s, our embassy in London was damaged, and this damage was compensated by London." This newspaper also reported on a gathering of 40 protesters in front of the British Embassy, quoting one of the protesters as saying: "On the day of the French Foreign Minister's visit, we were also told that the Supreme National Security Council had ordered that no gathering be held. Who is the Supreme National Security Council? Its head is Mr. Rouhani and the heads of the three branches. They also set the law. Did you think we or the people set this law?" The newspaper Jahan San'at emphasized the "reopening of the British Embassy without the presence of Iranian officials," stating: "Philip Hammond entered the British Embassy amid tight security measures, and not only was no Iranian official accompanying him at the reopening ceremony, but journalists were also not allowed inside the embassy. Nevertheless, dozens of journalists and camera operators from domestic and foreign news outlets gathered in front of the main gate of the British Embassy and the surrounding streets, including Istanbul Square in Tehran, to monitor the events." This newspaper reminded that "in Azar 1390, some people, under the guise of university students, attacked the British Embassy in Tehran and forced it to close. This emotional behavior made other countries stationed in Tehran consider leaving, and some even packed their bags. Countries like Canada were among the first to enter this path." Jahan San'at also reported that Mohammad Javad Zarif, on the sidelines of the "Scientific Meeting on Nuclear Negotiations and Political Science" at Allameh University in Tehran, stated regarding the reopening of the British Embassy: "We have differences of opinion and viewpoints with some European countries, including the UK, but we believe that in an interactive environment based on open eyes and realism, these issues can be discussed, and we feel that we can proceed seriously and precisely." The hardliners' reaction to the reopening of the British Embassy; Kayhan's attack, Javan's warning. The newspaper Kayhan criticized the diplomacy of Hassan Rouhani's government due to the "reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran," referring to it as "reverse diplomacy in the reopening of the British Embassy." This newspaper wrote: "It has not been a week since the Supreme Leader's strategic statements regarding the hostile policies of America and its master, England, that the spy house of the old fox was reopened against the will of the revolution's well-wishers and the majority of the people and without regard for the law of the Islamic Consultative Assembly." Kayhan also wrote that "hours before" the reopening ceremony of the British Embassy, "security and police forces were present around the embassy to prevent potential protests from students and people who were against the return of British diplomatic officials to Iran, causing extensive traffic in the streets leading to the embassy." This newspaper also reported on the "hatred of drivers" passing through Ferdowsi Street towards the reopening of the British Embassy and quoted a "young passerby who is a social issues researcher" (without mentioning his name) as saying: "The reopening of the embassy is not important; what matters is that officials behave cautiously towards this place and its people to prevent incidents like those in 2009 or afterwards." Kayhan simultaneously described the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran as a "reward" for the UK by the government.