Request for Official Recognition of 'Cyrus Day'

The government-aligned newspaper Iran has reported on its front page that during Federica Mogherini's visit to Tehran, the EU's foreign policy chief and the President of the Islamic Republic emphasized the 'enhancement of Iran-Europe relations.' According to this newspaper, after the meeting, Hassan Rouhani stated that 'Iran and the European Union will become major trade and economic partners in the region through expanded cooperation,' and Federica Mogherini noted that 'Iran's trade and economic relations with the EU have increased by 43% over the past year, and many European banks are ready to start their activities in Iran.' The Iran newspaper also highlighted Rouhani's emphasis on 'Iran's readiness for human rights cooperation with Europe,' quoting him as saying, 'Today, there are countries in the region that have not experienced democracy and free elections and impose strict measures in the name of Islam that conflict with human principles and citizens' rights, especially women's rights,' and 'The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to have extensive cooperation with the European Union in promoting citizens' rights in regional societies.' The newspaper also reported that during the negotiations between Mohammad Javad Zarif and Federica Mogherini, 'the two sides discussed in detail the need for humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria, combating terrorist groups, and examining political solutions,' and 'the EU's foreign policy chief traveled to Riyadh after negotiating with Iranian officials to discuss Syria with Saudi officials.' The newspaper Shahrvand dedicated its front page to Mogherini's meeting with Rouhani in Tehran, reporting under the headline 'Saving Syria through Tehran' that earlier, 'Mogherini held a two-round negotiation with Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, which, according to published news, focused on Syria and ways to end the crisis in that country.' This newspaper noted that 'Iran and the EU have experienced very tumultuous relations in recent years,' stating that 'the EU, influenced by various motivations such as developing economic and energy relations, increasing investment in Iran, enhancing its influence in the region, impacting the Middle East peace process using Iran's influence and position, combating terrorism and fundamentalism, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and establishing a multilateralism system instead of US unilateralism in the Middle East, is trying to expand its political relations with Tehran.' The newspaper Shahrvand reminded that Iran is also 'trying to expand its relations with Europe to benefit from the EU's economic influence in international trade, utilize its political and international power in resolving international crises, attract European foreign investments considering the country's needs, use new technologies and knowledge from EU members in various issues, and leverage its political-economic power against the US to mitigate the political and economic pressures from Washington, especially regarding the nuclear issue.' However, the newspaper Kayhan, in a different assessment, emphasized that 'the victories of resistance in the region brought Mogherini to Tehran,' writing that 'while the resistance axis in the region has the upper hand and developments in Iraq and Syria are fundamentally happening in favor of this axis, Mogherini came to Tehran to ensure the EU does not fall behind this rapid trend and engaged in consultations with our officials.' Kayhan, which is published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, rejected the possibility of 'a second JCPOA for regional issues,' stating that 'now that the Iraqi army and resistance forces have reached the gates of Mosul and the remnants of terrorists in Aleppo are nearing their end, Mogherini has come to Iran and implicitly requested the implementation of the JCPOA model to resolve regional issues,' but 'Ms. Mogherini knows better than anyone that her American friends have fundamentally not adhered to their commitments under the JCPOA, and expecting the creation of a second JCPOA for regional issues is an absurd and unreasonable expectation.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in its Sunday issue, published a note titled 'Zionist Bahai, the new human rights officer in Iran,' strongly attacking 'Asma Jahangir,' the new UN human rights reporter on Iran. This newspaper noted that Asma Jahangir will soon start her work as the successor to Ahmed Shaheed, stating that 'it would be better for the Foreign Ministry and the Judiciary to get out of their inaction and explicitly announce that they will not recognize her and will not allow her to enter Iran.' The author of the note referred to 'Asma Jilani Jahangir as a 'Pakistani opposition figure' and wrote that 'she, who has been a lawyer, was imprisoned for the rebellions in Pakistan between 1983 and 2007,' and 'due to organizing large protests in Pakistan against the program of Islamizing the country, she effectively joined the ranks of anti-Islam Muslims.' This newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also expressed concern that 'Asma Jahangir has many ties and friendships with Shirin Ebadi' and wrote that Asma Jahangir 'in 2006 published a report stating that Bahais in Iran are systematically and governmentally persecuted.' The author of the note, Sadegh Parsa, also expressed concern about the possibility of 'human rights discussions' between Iran and the EU or other countries, writing that 'these events signal the beginning of a new wave of human rights issues against Iran; a wave that is to be reported by a jailed Bahai who has renounced Islam, and the consultants for this new Zionist and Masonic project are focused on women's rights, minority rights, and religious rights.' The newspaper Javan also reported in its Sunday issue that a memorandum for establishing 'small and independent homes for disabled individuals and orphans in Kerman' between Iran's Welfare Organization and 'the Berlin-based Lebenzhilfe Institute' was described as 'German influence over Iranian disabled homes.' This newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards stated its reasons for opposing this memorandum, writing that 'firstly, our country is a hub of service actions, and as much as it has backwardness in production, thanks to oil money, it is at least self-sufficient in the service sector,' and on the other hand, 'having a German NGO sitting at a table with an Iranian government agency to sign a memorandum does not seem justified, especially when our society's people are willing and ready to provide humanitarian assistance due to their religious beliefs, and many countries around the world have benefited and continue to benefit from the humanitarian services of the Iranian people.' The newspaper Javan also noted that 'these days, the unusual reception of foreigners in providing services to Iranian citizens since the JCPOA agreement and the wave of memorandums and contracts between civil institutions in various executive levels with foreign countries, especially those countries that are parties to the JCPOA, has drawn the attention of experts and monitoring institutions.' The newspaper Hemdeli, in its editorial, referring to the increasing attention and commemoration of 'Cyrus Day,' raised the question of what to do with Cyrus the Great. Valiollah Shojaipourian in the editorial of this newspaper emphasized that 'one of the harms of the last two centuries of the political and social history of the country has been the effort to create a national-Islamic dichotomy and the superiority of one over the other in society,' writing that 'some intellectuals seek to exaggerate historical heritage against Islamic heritage, while traditional Muslim conservatives also seek to dominate Islamic heritage over Iran's historical legacies, to the extent that some have sought to destroy ancient buildings and national monuments in various historical periods,' while 'it is possible to honor both Islamic values, norms, and figures and also to be proud of the country's thousands of years of history and culture.' The editorial writer of Hemdeli pointed to 'the one-dimensional approach and irreconcilability between national symbols and Islamic symbols' among policymakers, writing that 'this erroneous mindset has led to the formation of two different poles at certain times, while experience and history show that the coexistence and compatibility of these two approaches will yield better and more rational outcomes for both areas,' and 'Islam and Iranian identity as two important and effective wings are not rivals to each other; rather, with intelligent and purposeful planning, we can use these two important elements to establish significant goals in the fields of history, culture, civilization, and ethics.' This newspaper reminded that 'November 7 is celebrated as the day of honoring Cyrus, known as Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid king,' and while 'this day is not officially registered in the national calendar, lovers of the Iranian land and many cultural heritage activists, while commemorating this national day, are demanding the official designation of this day as Cyrus Day in Iran's national calendar.' The newspaper Hemdeli wrote that 'despite the developments of recent years and the reception of the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it seems that naming a day after Cyrus is not out of the question, and if the tenth parliament and cultural authorities of the country take action on this important matter, it will not only close the path to destruction and dichotomization over some issues but also, with more attention to the memory of Cyrus and national-symbolic elements, will pave the way for the reconciliation and harmony of religion, history, culture, and art in society and will close the door to meaningless dichotomies.' The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page quoting Mohammad Atrianfar, stating: 'Rouhani's extension is a national interest.' Mohammad Atrianfar, a former member of the Kargozaran Sazandegi Party, in an interview with Etemad, rejected the possibility of Rouhani being disqualified by the Guardian Council in the upcoming elections, stating: 'From a legal perspective, I have an argument that disqualifying the incumbent president by the esteemed Guardian Council is impossible. This means that from a legal standpoint, the evaluation of the president's qualifications during his tenure, as long as his presidency is intact, is not valid by the esteemed Guardian Council. In terms of argumentation, several points can be made regarding this issue. The president in office has the people's vote and the leader's endorsement. Therefore, as long as this vote and endorsement remain in effect, the president is qualified, and his qualifications are not subject to doubt, dispute, or denial.' This newspaper quoted Mohammad Atrianfar regarding the possibility of a president's qualifications being compromised under current laws in Iran, stating that there are only three ways for that: 'the Supreme Court's ruling on the president's performance conviction,' 'political incompetence' by the parliament with the leader's endorsement, and the third way is that 'the leader, from a position above the law, deems the continuation of the incumbent president's work unwise and withdraws his endorsement.' Mohammad Atrianfar told Etemad that 'none of these three possibilities have occurred or will occur regarding Mr. Rouhani; therefore, this absolute impossibility exists concerning the incumbent president, and the Guardian Council cannot raise any doubts about his qualifications.' The newspaper Arman reported that with a new resolution from the 'Specialized Council for the Transformation and Promotion of Human Sciences of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council,' the term 'sexual' is being removed from the 'forbidden' status in Iran's official discourse. According to this newspaper, on Saturday, during the 124th session of the Specialized Council for the Transformation and Promotion of Human Sciences of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, the academic field of 'Family and Sexual Health' was approved, and Gholamali Haddad Adel, the head of the Specialized Council for the Transformation and Promotion of Human Sciences, stated that 'some of the sensitivities raised regarding the title of this academic field should be addressed, and the term 'sexual' should be removed from the forbidden status, and scientific discussions aimed at reforming sexual issues in the scientific community should be promoted; thus, the exact phrase 'sexual health' should be included in the title of this academic field to highlight the crucial role of this topic in strengthening families.' The newspaper Shahrvand has highlighted the statements of the Minister of Justice and several members of the tenth parliament regarding 'ineffective executions.' This newspaper quoted Mostafa Pourmohammadi as saying, 'The volume of death penalties in recent years has been ineffective,' and 'the amount and instances of the death penalty should be reviewed.' Simultaneously, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, the secretary of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told this newspaper regarding the 'draft to reduce the death penalties for drug traffickers' that 'the death penalties for drug traffickers have not yet been presented to the parliament's presiding board.'