Significant Increase in Violence in Iran

The newspaper Hamdeli has expressed concern over the increase in violence in Iranian society with the headline "People, Have Mercy on Each Other." The paper points out that the number of horrific murders, particularly involving children, has reached a level where no internet search is needed to find them. It cites cases such as the assault and murder of 11-year-old Abolfazl in the Customs neighborhood of Tehran, the brutal murder of two sisters aged 19 and 24 in Tehranpars by their father, the arrest of rapper Hamid Sefat as a suspect in the murder of his stepfather, the death of 8-month-old Benita after her father abandoned a stolen car, and the murder of 6-year-old Atena in Parsabad Moghan, among others. Hamdeli also mentions that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, spoke on Sunday about the "significant increase in violence" in Iran, emphasizing that "horrific murders in Iran have increased compared to last year." Masoud Rafiei Taleghani, the editor-in-chief of Hamdeli, in an article titled "People, Have Mercy on Each Other," wrote: "For years, a group of concerned individuals in this country has been shouting; violence in Iran is skyrocketing, it has no boundaries, no overseer, no one takes responsibility for it, it has no organization or system, there is no program to combat it, and it is continuously increasing, yet there is no timely and appropriate decision to prevent and treat our violence crisis." The author emphasized that "it seems violence is becoming institutionalized in all of us; in our words, in our literature, in our songs, in our driving, in our walking, in our dressing, in our conversations, in our parenting, in our teaching, in our engineering, in our medicine, in our cities, in our homes, and in short, everywhere, violence has left a bitter image of itself. It seems that violence is settling into our collective essence and has no intention of leaving." The editorial writer of Hamdeli stated, "The chains of violence in Iran are complete and lack nothing; everything is ready for more violence." He wrote: "I believe that with this kind of politics, cultural work, and the kind of oversight we currently have, we cannot achieve anything. Structures must be renewed, and people must engage in self-criticism and dialogue with themselves." The warnings from security and military officials of the Islamic Republic regarding the holding of a referendum for independence in Iraqi Kurdistan are among the main headlines of Tuesday's newspapers. For instance, the newspaper Sobhe No, in its front page titled "Last Warning," wrote: "Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran's National Security Council, announced that current borders will not be recognized after the separation of Kurdistan." This newspaper, close to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, emphasized that "contrary to the insistence of the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and his supporters for independence from Iraq, all regional and international parties, including the central government of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the European Union, have officially declared their opposition to this referendum and considered it contrary to the Iraqi constitution and the interests of the Kurds." According to Sobhe No, Ali Shamkhani stated: "Any damage to the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq will lead to a serious review and change in the existing cooperation between Iran and the region," and "Iran will only recognize a unified, integrated, and federal Iraqi government." The newspaper Shargh, in a report about "Iran's Reaction to the Kurdistan Independence Referendum," wrote: "As we approach the time of the Kurdistan Region referendum, the equation becomes more complicated," and among other things, "Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the National Security Council, is one of the Iranian officials who has repeatedly expressed Iran's opposition to this action in the past two months as the issue of the referendum has become more serious. This time, he reminded the region that the current borders will only remain intact with a unified Iraq, and if the Kurdistan Region separates from Iraq, all border crossings in this area with Iran will be closed." This newspaper quoted Ali Shamkhani as saying: "Border agreements are only valid with the central government of Iraq, and the separation of the Kurdistan Region from the government will mean their closure," and the Islamic Republic "does not consider holding a referendum to be in the interests of the Kurdistan Region and opposes it." Ali Shamkhani, who is the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the Supreme National Security Council and the secretary of this council, also stated: "Border agreements are only valid with the central government of Iraq, and the separation of the Kurdistan Region from the central government of Iraq will mean the closure of all common border crossings," adding that "the separation of the Kurdistan Region from Iraqi territory will mean the end of all these agreements, and after that, Iran will seriously reconsider its approach to ensuring the security of the common borders in its approach to countering the presence and activities of Iranian anti-revolutionaries who transit in areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, behaving in completely different ways than in the past." Shargh also reported that Massoud Jazayeri, the senior spokesperson for the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, stated: "The referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan is a ground for the emergence and creation of new conflicts in the region and Iraq, which will bring numerous damages, especially for the Kurds of this country, causing them many problems," and "everyone must strive to prevent this destructive movement." Simultaneously, Nazim Dabbagh, the representative of the Kurdistan Region in Tehran, announced in an interview with the newspaper Etemad that "the regional government is reviewing proposals sent by Turkey and Western powers, and if it feels that there are necessary guarantees in these proposals to secure the rights of the Kurds, it will forgo holding the referendum under the current conditions." Nazim Dabbagh, listing several instances of disputes between the central government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, stated: "When they approved the constitution in Baghdad, they promised to resolve the issues of disputed areas by 2007, and it was agreed to allow the holding of referendums for autonomy in various areas. One of the main points that the Iraqi government has never been willing to cooperate on is the issue of the Peshmerga. The Peshmerga was one of the main Iraqi forces after the American invasion, and no one can ignore the effects of the Peshmerga's actions. The Peshmerga played a pivotal role in maintaining Iraq's unity and saving Iraq, but unfortunately, the Iraqi government has not helped the Peshmerga and has not done anything significant. Even the central government of Iraq delayed paying the salaries of the Peshmerga forces to the point that ultimately, the U.S. government allocated $423 million in aid for the salaries of the Peshmerga." The representative of the Kurdistan Region in Tehran emphasized that "the main issue that led to the region's decision to hold a referendum is not the dispute with Tehran and Ankara, but the lack of trust between Erbil and Baghdad," stating: "Holding the referendum does not mean that only one referendum will be held; it does not mean that we will get a positive result and everything will be over the day after the referendum. The Kurdistan Region intends that the stage after the referendum should be negotiations and agreements that will take place between the Kurdistan Region and the central government of Baghdad and neighboring countries. This process may take a long time, a month, a year, two years, or more." The newspaper Shahrvand, in a report titled "The Camp of Confusion," has reported on the behind-the-scenes collection of street children and the confusion of families whose children have been detained in the organization of street children. According to this newspaper, officials from NGOs in the field of child labor held a meeting on Sunday at the Yaser Center regarding the emergency plan for collecting children, attended by the governor and the director of welfare. This comes as approximately 300 street children have been collected from the streets of Tehran and organized in three centers: Yaser, Ba'athist, and Martyrs of Afseriyeh. The newspaper emphasizes that "children who are kept in the Yaser center are deprived of visiting their families," stating: "Information behind the scenes of the emergency collection of street children indicates that government officials are seeking to fully privatize welfare centers and even orphanages," and among other things, the governor of Tehran stated: "It is better for us that NGOs take responsibility for organizing street children." Zahra Nejad Bahram, a member of the Tehran City Council, said in the Sunday meeting: "Being enlightened is not about writing false reports; being enlightened is about taking a part of the work ourselves. NGOs should each take responsibility for managing a few children." According to this newspaper, Fatemeh Ashrafi, the director of the Institute for the Support of Refugee Women and Children (Hami), criticized the methods used in collecting street children during a joint meeting with the governor of Tehran, stating: "The first path that comes to the minds of those involved regarding foreign nationals is their deportation. We have encountered cases where children have been detained regardless of their age and residency status, and the subject has been handed over to the camps. Mr. Governor! This camp does not have the necessary facilities to care for these children. That area is a temporary quarantine for those who have entered illegally for any reason." The newspaper Shahrvand also quoted Eisa Farahdi, the governor of Tehran, as saying: "The laws regarding foreigners are higher laws, and we are obliged to implement them," and "if we do not organize the children of foreigners, these thousand children will become ten thousand." The newspaper Etemad published the statements of the spokesperson for the judiciary regarding detained journalists, stating that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, on Sunday, in response to a question about the charges against detained journalists Sasan Aghaei and Yaghma Fashkhami, said: "In general, I can say that these are security charges, and they are still in the prosecutor's stage, and no indictment has been issued." The spokesperson for the judiciary did not refer to the details of the charges against the two detained journalists, and while labeling their charges as "security-related," the officials of the Islamic Republic deny the existence of "political prisoners" and refer to political and civil activists in prison as "security suspects."