Seizure of Over a Thousand Luxury Cars in Tehran for 'Cruising'

Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council during Ayatollah Khomeini's leadership, emphasized in an interview with the Arman newspaper that "women can be candidates for the Assembly of Experts." Reactions to the statements of Saeed Jalili, the former head of the negotiating team, have caught the attention of some newspapers, including Iran newspaper, which published Ali Akbar Salehi's response to Jalili's "distortion of nuclear reality" on its front page. Etemad newspaper also reported on the reactions of Ali Shamkhani and Ali Akbar Velayati to these statements with the headline "Defenders of Negotiation, Shield of Agreement." Abrar newspaper pointed out the issuance of Security Council resolutions and the imposition of sanctions during Jalili's leadership of the negotiating team in the previous government, stating: "Mr. Jalili, you may have forgotten, but the people remember." However, Kayhan newspaper accused Hassan Rouhani's government on its front page of "disrespecting the Constitution." This newspaper also stated in its editorial that Hassan Rouhani and the members of the nuclear negotiating team "are not in a position to bypass the Constitution." Citizen newspaper reported that since the beginning of this year, "the traffic police have seized 1,087 luxury and special cars due to cruising and sent them to the parking lot." The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, called for the establishment of a "national information network" and emphasized that "a national information network is a prerequisite for a clean internet." This newspaper also quoted Ezzatollah Zarghami, the former head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, stating: "The leadership's stance on cyberspace showed that his remarks have gone beyond advice and guidance." Zarghami emphasized that "policy-making, proper management, effective support, and comprehensive supervision are the minimum duties of the government" regarding "cyberspace." The Law newspaper reported on the "price war over domestic cars," stating: "The long-standing dispute over car pricing by the Competition Council, which has always been protested by automakers, has entered a new phase." According to this newspaper, "On one side, Ahmad Nematbakhsh, the secretary of the Automobile Manufacturers Association, reported that two letters had been sent by Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, to the Competition Council requesting the removal of cars from the list of monopolized products," and "on the other hand, the second term of the six-year activity of the Competition Council is set to begin soon, with the first agenda being the consideration of the request for a price increase by automakers," and now "it remains to be seen what will happen to car pricing." Mousavi Bejnordi: Women Can Be Candidates for the Assembly of Experts Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council during Ayatollah Khomeini's leadership, emphasized in an interview with the Arman newspaper that "there is no prohibition for women to be in the Assembly of Experts." This newspaper referred to Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi as a "jurist and legal scholar" and quoted him as saying: "My opinion is that there is no prohibition for women's presence in the Assembly of Experts. We cannot say that gender is a criterion in the Assembly of Experts; they must be knowledgeable experts, where does it say that gender must be male?" Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi also told Arman newspaper: "I believe that a woman can become a source of emulation. Because in a source of emulation, we want a jurist and the most learned. We currently have female jurists; I do not say they are the most learned, but it is possible that a woman may become the most learned tomorrow. It is a matter of reason that the wise should refer to the ignorant, and what difference does it make? Gender is not a criterion that one must refer to a man, and if a woman becomes a great jurist, she can be emulated." This member of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Islamic Republic in the early years after the revolution stated: "From the beginning when I went to the Supreme Judicial Council (in 1982), I said women can become judges. Over time, it became the case that women can become judges. There are many women in the judiciary who have judicial qualifications and are engaged in judging. The reality is that gender has never been a criterion for virtue in Islam. The criterion for virtue in Islam is knowledge and piety. The criterion for virtue is ethics, and gender is not a criterion; now, someone who has ethics and piety, whether male or female, should not be discriminated against. Now in universities in all fields, I must say that girls are ahead of boys. We have theoretical lessons like philosophy where they understand, comprehend, and express opinions. They may even raise objections." Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi, however, attributed the role of women in these years to "the revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini" and said: "I think this is one of the blessings of the revolution and the open-mindedness of Imam Khomeini. When he sends a delegation to Gorbachev, it is calculated that a woman is also sent. A cleric and an academic are sent." According to Arman newspaper, Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi emphasized regarding the term "man" in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic that "the word man in Arabic means personality. I was born in Najaf and completed my studies in the Najaf seminary. When Arabs want to say that a certain person is one of the scientific personalities, they say 'men of science'; if they want to say he is one of the virtuous personalities, they say 'men of virtue.' In fact, man and men in Arabic mean personality and personalities. They do not take it to mean male. Our Constitution has also taken a comprehensive view; otherwise, it would have said 'from men' and why did it not say so?" Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi explained the reason for using "man" during the drafting and approval of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, stating: "They wanted to silence some who raised objections that women cannot, and on the other hand, to interpret correctly to mean personality. From political men means that political personalities can become president; now it can be a man or a woman," adding that if "one refers to the text of the discussions, it becomes clear that it does not mean male." However, Arman newspaper quoted Mohammad Mousavi Bejnordi as saying: "While I have great respect for the Guardian Council, they must approve. They are the interpreters of the Constitution. If there is ambiguity in the Constitution, according to the Constitution, the Guardian Council must interpret it," but the intention of the Constitution is not gender; "otherwise, they would have said from men, they should say from political men why use the Arabic word." Reactions of Officials and Senior Figures to Saeed Jalili; 'Shield of Agreement' Against 'Nuclear Distortion' Iran newspaper, close to the government, reported on its front page about Ali Akbar Salehi's response to "the distortion of nuclear reality" by Saeed Jalili, stating: "While the former nuclear negotiator claimed that Iran's right to enrichment was recognized in his final negotiations with 1+5, Salehi emphasized that the U.S. recognized Iran's right to enrichment in the Muscat talks." According to this newspaper, "One day after Saeed Jalili, the former head of the nuclear file, attended a meeting with members of the special commission on the JCPOA in Parliament and defended the achievements of negotiations under his responsibility, he directed many criticisms at the text of the JCPOA, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, who, along with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was a guest of the commission on Tuesday, responded to Jalili's remarks and emphasized that contrary to Saeed Jalili's statements, 'the right to enrichment was not recognized by the Americans in any of the 1+5 negotiations, but in the Muscat talks, the Americans recognized Iran's right to enrichment, and after that, the new government came and continued negotiations.'" This newspaper also wrote: "Saeed Jalili attributes the current achievements to his tenure, while Ali Akbar Salehi, shortly after the conclusion of the nuclear negotiations and the achievement of an agreement between Iran and the six negotiating countries, revealed for the first time the details of the secret negotiations in Oman during the previous government in an interview with the 13th issue of the Iran newspaper, explaining how after consecutive and fruitless negotiations between Iran and 1+5, he received permission from the Supreme Leader to negotiate with American officials in Oman. Negotiations that Asghar Khaji participated in as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and led to the acceptance of Iran's enrichment program by the Americans after several sessions." Etemad newspaper also published a photo of Ali Akbar Velayati and Ali Shamkhani on its front page, referring to them as "Defenders of Negotiation, Shield of Agreement." This newspaper reported that Ali Akbar Velayati, the advisor for international affairs to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, responded to Saeed Jalili, who stated that at least 100 of Iran's legitimate rights were waived in the JCPOA text, saying: "His opinions are the result of his own review." According to this newspaper, Ali Akbar Velayati also stated that "eventually, the group formed in Parliament to examine this issue is for this very purpose. It is the right of Parliament to do this, and we hope that ultimately they will reach a conclusion that is in favor of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Without a doubt, the representatives of the people have the right to express their views on matters related to the commitments of the Islamic Republic regarding the nuclear issue." Etemad also referred to the remarks of Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in the JCPOA commission of Parliament, quoting him as saying: "The JCPOA is neither a great victory nor a Turkmenchay." This newspaper also reported on Shamkhani's statement that "we have moved beyond the negotiation phase," stating: "This was the most significant quote that emerged from the special JCPOA commission meeting on Tuesday." Etemad wrote: Shamkhani's remarks on Tuesday were "perhaps the clearest nuclear stance of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council in the past two years," as he stated: "Now we must provide the executive guarantees of the JCPOA because going back is not in our interest," and this "is a clear message to representatives who, according to Shamkhani, must 'present their interpretation of the JCPOA without arbitrary handling and stopping in the past.'" Abrar newspaper also dedicated its front page and photo to a critical note by Mehrdad Khodir addressing Saeed Jalili, stating: "Mr. Jalili! You may have forgotten, but the people remember." This newspaper wrote: "Journalists can testify to what happened in the press conferences of the Supreme National Security Council. He would read a statement from a paper and that was it. Outside, experts like Mr. Ali Khorram, who spoke out in criticism, faced restrictions. Was it better for negotiations to proceed in a context of security and without explanation to Parliament representatives, which, of course, did not proceed, or for the trusted Foreign Minister to carry this out and the public opinion to be informed and supportive?" Abrar noted that "the system allowed the way of dealing with the nuclear issue by Saeed Jalili and Hassan Rouhani to be put to the people's vote on June 14, 2013," stating: "Thus, the 11th presidential election effectively turned into a referendum, and Saeed Jalili received only 4 million votes out of a total of 50 million eligible Iranian voters, which, even if only eligible voters are considered, is still less than 10 percent." This newspaper wrote: "In what language should the people of Iran say 'no' to Mr. Saeed Jalili and his policies that they did not? When the people are to bear the cost of decisions, they have the right to express their opinions, and fortunately, this opportunity was provided for two thoughts to confront each other, and the result was clear. Mr. Jalili can still speak on behalf of that 8 percent, but speaking on behalf of the system and the people requires a backing of social votes that he does not have." Kayhan: Rouhani and Supporters of the JCPOA Are Not in a Position to Bypass the Constitution Kayhan newspaper accused Hassan Rouhani's government on its front page of "disrespecting the Constitution" and simultaneously stated in its editorial that Hassan Rouhani, the President, and members of the nuclear negotiating team "are not in a position to bypass the Constitution." Hossein Shariatmadari, under the title "Repeated Excuses," wrote: "With all due respect to the esteemed President, the brothers on the negotiating team, and the government spokesperson, we find it necessary to state and emphasize that they are not in a position to bypass the Constitution and ignore this covenant resulting from the sacrifices and sufferings of the people." This newspaper emphasized that "the government's opposition to sending the JCPOA to Parliament, despite the explicit provisions of the Constitution, was met with widespread support and welcome from foreign and anti-revolutionary media," writing: "The government spokesperson stated in a press conference on September 8 that the government announced its official view that there is no need to present the JCPOA bill to Parliament and said that 'the Supreme Leader stated in his meeting that Parliament should not be sidelined from the JCPOA review process; his remarks are decisive for the government, so considering the JCPOA's review in Parliament, the government will provide any assistance that Parliament requests in this regard. Furthermore, according to the law, Parliament's review of the preservation of nuclear achievements has been entrusted to the Supreme National Security Council, which has thoroughly examined the JCPOA text, and its officials will soon announce the results of the council's sessions, and we hope that whatever is in the interest of the people will be realized.'" Kayhan noted that these remarks by Mohammad Bagher Nobakht and similar statements by Abbas Araqchi and Ali Akbar Salehi regarding "the government's opposition to serious parliamentary involvement in the JCPOA" have been described as "applause and whistles from anti-revolutionaries." The editorial of Kayhan on Thursday was also dedicated to a strong attack on the positions of the government and especially President Hassan Rouhani and Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, regarding the JCPOA.