Rescue Divers Enter the Streets of Shiraz

The Iran newspaper reported the denial of "nuclear statements attributed to Ali Shamkhani" regarding the "halt in the collection of centrifuges." Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, emphasized that the statements attributed to Ali Shamkhani about stopping the collection of centrifuges are "not accurate," stating: "The process of collecting centrifuges takes longer than other JCPOA matters and began after the JCPOA was announced due to the time-consuming nature of collecting some of the centrifuges." The Etemad newspaper also dedicated its front page to Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of Iran's negotiating team, quoting him as saying: "Let’s not use technical nuclear discussions as a tool for political games." The Iran newspaper, in its editorial on Thursday, reported a shift in the opposition's phase from "bulletin writing" to "rumor-mongering," noting the role of the opponents of the eleventh government in "spreading more dangerous forms of rumors," stating that by disseminating these rumors, they "play with the fate of the people today and tomorrow." The Javan newspaper published a report about the closure of music education in cultural centers in Tehran, reporting on the Supreme Leader's opposition to music education in these centers. The Javan newspaper also reported that the Supreme Leader, in a meeting with university presidents, stated: "Cultural work has been confused with concerts and mixed-gender camps." The Tehad newspaper, in a report titled "Concerns about Bread during Retirement," discussed "the reasons for the return of the elderly to the job market," stating: "Few household heads do not have concerns about providing for their families upon retirement; many of them must look for new jobs from the day they receive their retirement orders" because "retirement income does not meet their needs." The Shargh newspaper reported the possibility of candidacy for Mohsen and Fatemeh Hashemi, children of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The Qanoon newspaper, in a report titled "The Successful Operation of the Secret Police at the Press Exhibition," noted that "on Tuesday, a photo of a citizen visiting the Qanoon booth at the press exhibition was published in worried news agencies and then in the virtual space of news agencies." This newspaper wrote: "The story is that when Mohsen Hashemi entered the 'Qanoon' booth, one of the visitors approached him, and at one moment, his headscarf fell off, and the conservative media captured this unique historical moment, showing that both the government is incapable of managing the press exhibition without them and that in their absence, the national and Islamic values of society have been looted." The Arman newspaper, in its front page titled "22 Billion Euros of Fantasy," reported that "the Minister of Justice and the Central Bank Governor denied Babak Zanjani's claim." This newspaper wrote that on November 19, Babak Zanjani stated in court: "Since you forced me, I announce today that I have 22 billion euros in cash right now," but "they consider all of it false," as Mustafa Pourmohammadi, the Minister of Justice, stated on Wednesday: "Having 22 billion euros in cash, as Babak Zanjani mentioned, is a big lie, and the court is aware of all matters." The Shahrevand newspaper, dedicating its front page to the flooding of the streets of Shiraz, reported on the "entry of rescue divers into the streets of Shiraz" to assist vehicles that have drowned in these floods. The Bahar newspaper, in a report titled "Ali Larijani's Tribulations in Qom," wrote: "The pressures on the Speaker of Parliament continue," and his office in Qom "has recently become the main target of critics in Qom and has turned into a permanent gathering place for the opponents of the government in Qom." Denial of nuclear statements attributed to Ali Shamkhani The Iran newspaper reported the denial of "nuclear statements attributed to Ali Shamkhani" regarding the "halt in the collection of centrifuges." After the Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported on its front page on Wednesday, quoting Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, that "we halted the collection of centrifuges with a warning," the Iran newspaper reported the denial of statements attributed to Ali Shamkhani, stating: "The representative of the Supreme Leader and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council considered the quote attributed to him regarding the halt in the collection of centrifuges due to a warning to the Atomic Energy Organization to be incorrect." According to this government-aligned newspaper, Ali Shamkhani, denying the quote attributed to him regarding the halt in the collection of centrifuges due to a warning to the Atomic Energy Organization, stated: "Iran's commitments under the JCPOA are subject to legal and technical regulations and the observance of considerations approved by legal authorities, and the executive and supervisory bodies are seriously committed to adhering to these frameworks." This newspaper also reported that Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, regarding "the misunderstanding by some media of the statements of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council that the leadership warned officials about the collection of centrifuges," said: "Sometimes statements are made in the media that unfortunately are not accurate. A statement attributed to Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was raised in the media at a time when I spoke with Khosravi, the media assistant to Shamkhani, who clarified that the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council answered two journalists simultaneously, one regarding the Syrian issue and the other regarding centrifuges, and when Shamkhani stated 'that's right' in response to the Syrian question, the questioning media misinterpreted or, God forbid, intentionally misrepresented the statement differently." Behrouz Kamalvandi also stated: "The process of collecting centrifuges takes longer than other JCPOA matters, and due to the time-consuming nature of collecting some centrifuges, this process began after the JCPOA was announced. A significant part of the collection of centrifuges relates to active centrifuges, which we will specify immediately after clarifying the PMD issue; therefore, currently, only inactive centrifuges, which are significantly more in number, are being collected, meaning our focus is on collecting inactive centrifuges." The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization emphasized that "we do not intend to collect all active centrifuges; approximately 3,000 active centrifuges will be collected because over 10,000 centrifuges have practically not worked in recent years, and we are currently collecting these centrifuges slowly and carefully without subjecting them to the limitations that the agency has in mind." The Iran newspaper also reported, quoting Behrouz Kamalvandi, that "if we want to say when the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitment regarding centrifuges began, we must say that after the JCPOA, this work is actually done simultaneously with two issues: the Arak reactor and the exchange of yellowcake with enriched materials." This newspaper simultaneously reported on the U.S. reaction to the news of the "halt in the collection of centrifuges," stating that on Wednesday, "on one hand, a U.S. State Department official urged Iran to manage its timeline for fulfilling its commitments, and on the other hand, the White House spokesperson also announced that as long as Iran does not fulfill its commitments under this agreement, it will not benefit from sanctions relief." "Technical nuclear discussions" as a tool for "political games" The Etemad newspaper also dedicated its front page to Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of Iran's negotiating team, quoting him as saying: "Let’s not use technical nuclear discussions as a tool for political games." Hamid Baidi-Nejad, Director General for Political and International Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, in response to the question of "why, despite the confirmation of the JCPOA in various forums, there are still uncertainties regarding Iran's commitments domestically, and for example, there are different positions regarding the transfer of centrifuges to storage facilities," stated: "Both Iran and the 1+5 countries must implement measures now so that upon reaching the execution day, we are ready to enter the execution phase. In this regard, Iran must also prepare for the execution day, and in this process, we must change the number of our centrifuges according to the number specified in the JCPOA. Accordingly, I was surprised by the comments regarding Iran's commitments under the JCPOA because, in my opinion, we should not politicize issues like the JCPOA." This Iranian Foreign Ministry official stated: "It is natural that we must give our colleagues in the Atomic Energy Organization the necessary time to ensure that our activities at nuclear sites comply with what we have committed to in the JCPOA," but "if we continuously delay this necessary preparation, it will have two tangible effects: first, this issue will delay the implementation of the JCPOA because as long as we do not bring our nuclear program to the defined level in the JCPOA, the JCPOA will not be implemented. The second scenario is that we are not looking to postpone the implementation of the JCPOA, but we want to defer these actions to other times, which, if done, will cause significant technical and executive damages to the country." Hamid Baidi-Nejad stated: "Our actions regarding the centrifuges currently in Natanz are divided into three categories. A number of centrifuges are currently operational, and the figure of 5,060 will continue to operate. This number of centrifuges will not only remain untouched but will also continue to operate. Therefore, the discussion currently taking place regarding the collection of centrifuges is a misinterpretation, and the majority of our centrifuges will remain operational." According to this Iranian Foreign Ministry official, "The second part concerns the excess centrifuges over the 5,060 operational centrifuges, which are currently active and must be reduced in number under technical measures. These centrifuges must first be shut down and then carefully transferred to storage facilities," but "if we postpone the timing of this action to later days while also not wanting the execution day to be delayed, this transfer must ultimately be done in a short time. The third part concerns the centrifuges that are not installed and are in Natanz, and if we transfer the last two parts to storage facilities in a short time, they may be damaged because "these centrifuges have sensitive rotors, and if they are not carefully shut down and transferred to the storage location, they will suffer serious damage. Currently, our colleagues in the Atomic Energy Organization are ensuring that this transfer is done carefully and in a timely manner." The Etemad newspaper quoted Hamid Baidi-Nejad as saying: "Given the technical sensitivities, we should not politicize these discussions and should provide peace of mind for our colleagues in the Atomic Energy Organization so that they can carry out the necessary technical actions with calmness. Moreover, we are committed to our commitments simultaneously with those they have made, but we should not let these issues be subjected to political decision-making. Iran's commitments are completely clear, and we want to reach this point by the time of execution, and technical discussions should be entrusted to technical experts and scientists." Hamid Baidi-Nejad also mentioned that the Supreme Leader "in his remarks, in addition to the points he raised, referred to two documents published in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Supreme National Security Council, and until we reach complete assurance regarding the observance of the points raised by him, we will not enter the execution phase," but "given the discussions we have with the 1+5 and the progress of our discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the document finalized regarding Arak, we are generally in a positive process and are optimistic that we can reach the execution day of the JCPOA by early next year." The shift in the opposition's phase from "bulletin writing" to "rumor-mongering" Mohammad Noori, editor-in-chief of the Iran newspaper, also wrote in an editorial titled "This is not a normal rumor": "In the current situation of Iranian society, the spread of more dangerous forms of rumors is playing with the fate of the people today and tomorrow." The editorial writer of the Iran newspaper pointed out that "some political actors use it for destruction," stating that a few days ago, "the rumor mill of the hardliners' media claimed that important individuals close to Rouhani are under suspicion of infiltration and are also on the verge of arrest," and subsequently, "the second rumor" was published targeting "Iran's nuclear cooperation program with global powers." According to this newspaper, "the first rumor was pumped into the public opinion shortly after the arrest of four journalists and targeted some key members of the government. During this rumor, the hardliners' media claimed that important individuals close to Rouhani are under suspicion of infiltration and are also on the verge of arrest." The Iran newspaper emphasized that "the second rumor, which is legally and security-wise actionable, targeted Iran's nuclear cooperation program with global powers," stating: "This rumor was fabricated and propagated by some spokespersons of the hardline faction. The content of the rumor was that, by the order of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran halted the first phase of cooperation with the IAEA in the collection of centrifuges. A rumor that Ali Shamkhani and senior nuclear officials immediately denied and warned against its proliferation and continuation." This newspaper, however, reminded that "the scenario of the opposition network using the weapon of rumor has not been limited to the nuclear and security domains.