Silent Earthquake in 20% of Iran's Territory

The newspaper Bahar, in its front page report titled "The Threat of Ansar Hezbollah Regarding Women's Entry into Sports Stadiums" with the subtitle "Fire at Will is Not Fire Without Control," wrote: "The signing of a lengthy petition against the presence of women at volleyball matches can be considered the first action of those who interpret the Supreme Leader's order of 'fire at will' solely for themselves. Those who prepared and organized this petition are individuals who have directed their uncontrolled fire towards many since the early 1990s." The newspaper stated that this group, in their latest threat, has borrowed from both the 'Mim clause' of Ayatollah Khomeini's will and the new decree of Ayatollah Khamenei as 'fire at will' to show that they have reached a level of mastery in appropriating the statements made by the leaders of the regime for their own benefit and narrow-minded, entirely detrimental perspective. Bahar also noted that the protest and warning from Ansar Hezbollah regarding women's entry into stadiums comes at a time when what has actually occurred is a 'limited, controlled, and demonstrative presence' of a small number of women from this land to watch their favorite sport, and contrary to what they believe, women still face numerous problems in achieving this minimal demand. The newspaper Etemad also approached the Secretary of the Coordination Council of Hezbollah, asking why this group did not protest until 2014 when women were allowed to attend volleyball matches. Hossein Allah Karam responded: 'The presence of women in stadiums is not the main issue. The main issue is the direction and related corruption that needs to be addressed. Previously, the police would announce that we were capable of controlling the corruption and immoral behaviors that might arise due to the excitement of the match. This issue was contained until 2014 and had not become political.' However, 'when it became political, it somehow exceeded that containment, and we witnessed that the margins overshadowed the main issue. The main issue was the presence of women in stadiums, but the margins, which could create corruption due to excitement, are what matter.' Hossein Allah Karam told Etemad journalist Mahshid Setoudeh: 'Since 2014, we have completely moved towards politicization regarding women, where some see themselves as responsible for creating freedom for women and say we must move towards occupying stadiums. These claims are unacceptable and utterly false.' The newspaper also quoted him saying, 'Fire at will is against the officials, not women,' and 'they will comply with the ruling issued by the judiciary regarding their complaint against the Ministry of Sports and Youth and do not want to take any harsh operational action.' The newspaper Shargh also referred to the 'warning from the Coordination Council of Hezbollah,' which announced that 'the entry of women into stadiums is illegal and un-Islamic,' noting that while conservative factions distanced themselves from the petition against women's presence in stadiums in recent days, Hossein Allah Karam clarified on his Instagram that he took full responsibility for the petition and defended it strongly. Simultaneously, Hamid Ostad, Secretary of the Coordination Council of Hezbollah in Mashhad, also told Shargh that 'our original work has been based on the Mim clause of Imam Khomeini's will, which the Supreme Leader has also added a supplement to, which was the same linguistic discussion. It remains the same now, and there is another interpretation of the Mim clause that has placed a responsibility on revolutionary and Hezbollah forces to not wait for orders.' The Secretary of the Coordination Council of Hezbollah in Mashhad emphasized that 'wherever it is felt necessary, we will intervene,' telling journalist Mahsa Jazini from Shargh: 'Our discussion is about enjoining good, and it does not differentiate between government and non-government. Since the Supreme Leader provided a complete explanation, we proceed with the linguistic discussion and do not go beyond this. Regarding the issue of women and stadiums and the petition that Mr. Allah Karam prepared in complaint against the Ministry of Sports, our view is the same.' Hamid Ostad stated, 'We have no problem with the gathering of men and women,' but 'the harmony of women, the voice of women, and the appearance and hijab of women and their mixing is problematic. There are other issues as well, such as the fact that the enemy also has infiltrators inside, which may be the first step.' The newspaper Hamdeli published a report on 'Experts' Reactions to Ansar Hezbollah's Interpretation of the Supreme Leader's Statements,' noting that this group's interpretation is a 'street interpretation of fire at will.' This newspaper pointed out that in the petition that Ansar Hezbollah is collecting signatures for, it is addressed to the head of the judiciary, stating that if this body does not address the issue of women's entry into stadiums, 'they will intervene in a fire-at-will manner.' It wrote: 'While after the Supreme Leader's statements, conservatives called 'fire at will' a spontaneous cultural activity that contradicts illegal actions, Ansar Hezbollah in its petition speaks of another understanding of 'fire at will,' indicating 'street and field presence, possibly accompanied by violence.' The newspaper Khorasan reported with the headline 'Rumors from the Parliamentarians about Cabinet Changes,' stating: 'Speculations and analyses regarding the list of 20 ministers of the twelfth government have reached the residents of Baharestan as well.' This newspaper quoted Parvaneh Salahshouri, a member of the Hope faction in the tenth parliament, saying: 'Making changes in the cabinet falls within the president's duties, but I believe at least half of the cabinet should be changed.' Khorasan also noted that 'Fatemeh Zolqadr, another member of the Hope faction, also called for a 30% share for women in the cabinet and the application of positive discrimination in favor of women in cabinet formation,' but emphasized that 'we must wait and see how much of his cabinet Hassan Rouhani will change and whether the resistance of individuals like Ashna or Nahavandian will diminish from the wave of these changes.' The newspaper Donya-ye Eghtesad in its front page titled 'The English Model of Cabinet Formation' wrote: 'With the upcoming deadline for determining and introducing the twelfth cabinet, commenting on the cabinet composition has become a recurring topic in the country's expert space. It is even heard that the president will review the list of candidates for ministerial posts after Ramadan. According to some experts, there are gaps in the process of determining the harmony of the cabinet in the country. These gaps are addressed in developed countries by employing think tanks.' This newspaper wrote that 'over the past five decades, a new method has been used to outline the composition of the executive pyramid in various countries. Based on this mechanism, countries such as the UK, the USA, Japan, China, and Germany, during cabinet changes, form a purified team free from political motivations and composed of specialists from various fields to optimize the cabinet's efficiency. The experts of this think tank first outline the most important priorities and challenges of each ministry for the upcoming period. Then, by surveying previous ministers and private sector experts in interaction with government ministries, they identify the most important characteristics of an efficient ministry and each former minister's proposal for holding the ministerial position.' Donya-ye Eghtesad stated that 'these proposals, after consultation with the think tank members, are provided to the head of the government in the form of a list of proposed ministers. The final ministerial option is also determined through an interactive mechanism between the head of the government and the think tank members.' This newspaper did not explicitly mention the existence of such a mechanism for determining the ministers of Hassan Rouhani's twelfth government but at least advised the president to utilize such a model for determining the ministers of his future government. The newspaper Iran reported on the warning from the UN resident representative in Iran about the 'silent earthquake in 20% of Iran's territory.' According to this newspaper, 'on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification, Gary Lewis, the UN resident representative in Tehran, warned that 20% of the country's land is on the desert belt, introducing this phenomenon as the 'silent earthquake of the century,' stating: currently, 18 provinces and 97 cities in Iran are affected by desertification, and many people refer to this desertification as the silent earthquake of the century.' Gary Lewis, at a meeting of the Forests and Rangelands Organization on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification, said: 'Currently, many countries around the world have gathered and reached an agreement to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals. Goal 15 of this agenda also relates to life on Earth and specifically asks all countries to make efforts to combat desertification.' The newspaper Iran also quoted Khodakaram Jalali, head of the Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed Management Organization, stating: 'In Iran, there are about 32.5 million hectares of desert land, which covers 20% of the entire country. Therefore, the per capita desert area in our country is 4300 square meters, while the global per capita desert area is 2000 square meters, which is more than double that of the world, and this issue makes our responsibility to address desertification heavier.' The newspaper Etemad, in its front page titled 'The Forgotten Ones,' has a report about the neglect of the situation of the survivors of firefighters and other victims of the Plasco fire 150 days after the collapse of this building in the heart of Tehran. The family of Nasser Mehrvarz, a firefighter who lost his life in this incident, and whose two other brothers are also firefighters, told Etemad: 'Neither the municipality, nor the foundation, nor the fire department have called us even once after the incident to ask about our well-being,' adding that 'now that the municipality is changing, no one is thinking about us. So far, the fire department and municipality have taken no steps for us. The municipality has paid half of the blood money and said that it will pay the rest in the future. We have long told both the municipality and the fire department to do something for the martyrs' graves. They haven't even built a canopy there to block the sun. The families of the martyrs have to sit on hot stones and mourn in the scorching heat.' Masoumeh Shojaei, the wife of Ghasem Shojaei, one of the guards who perished in Plasco, also told Etemad's journalist Hediyeh Kimiaei: 'My husband's salary was determined to be 800 thousand tomans, and they will start paying it from Farvardin. But I have a 2-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter that I have to support; with 800 thousand tomans a month, nothing can be done.' The wife of Mahmoud Hosseini, another guard who died in Plasco, said: 'They only gave us one million and eight hundred thousand tomans before the New Year, and nothing else has happened since. The salary that comes from my husband's pension for me and his two children is 500 thousand tomans a month,' and the brother of Hossein Rouhani, another firefighter who died in the Plasco incident, said: 'The municipality paid half of my brother's blood money to his wife and is also paying his pension. But this is not enough. My brother's little daughter is not yet six years old, and his mother has suffered severe depression after this incident. She can't even do her daily tasks.' Etemad simultaneously reported that 'a gathering of some residents of the Agh Dareh Central village in the area of the Agh Dareh gold mine has led to clashes and injuries.' This newspaper noted that '17 workers were whipped last year, and this year 13 people from the surrounding villages seeking work were injured,' stating: 'No explanation has yet been published regarding the violence of the residents' gathering in Agh Dareh and the reasons for the injuries of several of the protesters.'