Subsidence and Destruction Awaiting 2500-Year-Old Heritage

The newspaper 'Jahan San'at' warned in its Monday issue about the 'subsidence and destruction' of Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rustam, two '2500-year-old' heritages of Iran and the world, stating: 'An annual subsidence of 54 centimeters in Shiraz not only threatens historical sites but also endangers the lives of the people. The cracks in the ground near Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rustam are undeniable. The historical Marvdasht is on the brink of disaster.' In a report on the condition of Persepolis, the newspaper noted: 'On the road from Shiraz to Marvdasht, the first thing that catches your attention is the dryness of the land. It seems like it hasn't rained here for years. The ground is cracked, and there is not a single tree. A few kilometers down the road, a number of small houses and shops have turned green, yet they seem to lack any vitality for life. Drought is a scourge for Marvdasht and Shiraz, and the 'long-term drought has left its marks both on the lives of the people and on the historical sites of Shiraz.' Masoud Rezaei-Monfared, the director of the Persepolis complex, believes that 'the crisis in Marvdasht is no less than that of Lake Urmia, and the indifference of officials is the main reason for the accelerating subsidence in Fars.' He told 'Jahan San'at': 'We cannot say everything is fine and dandy; a disaster is occurring here,' while 'he has repeatedly shouted that not only the thousands-of-years-old Persepolis but the lives of the people of Marvdasht are at risk, yet no one is listening.' The director of the Persepolis complex pointed out that 'the level of groundwater and extraction from wells has risen from three meters to 300 meters,' stating: 'What they did was install meters on the legal wells, but is our problem the legal wells when we have more than 10,000 illegal wells in Marvdasht?' According to 'Jahan San'at', 'Fars province has the highest annual subsidence rate in the world at 54 centimeters. The depth of water wells in Marvdasht has increased from 10 to 300 meters. Hundreds of illegal wells are swallowing the region's groundwater daily without realizing the damage they are causing to the province (Fars) and even to themselves,' just as 'the danger of land rupture and subsidence and the creation of massive sinkholes is lurking in Fars province, especially Marvdasht. Vast agricultural lands within the vicinity of Persepolis are a disaster for this historical site.' The newspaper emphasized that 'the current situation of Persepolis and other historical sites in Fars province is a microcosm of the larger issue. It is true that drought has devastated Shiraz and climate change has affected the lives of many people, but with a precise and timely plan, today's situation could have been prevented.' Keyhan, in its front page on Monday, quoted Mohammad Ali Jafari saying: 'If the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization, we will consider the U.S. Army as ISIS.' The newspaper reported: 'The publication of news about Donald Trump's decision to implement the sanctions law known as CATSA, one of the main points of which is to label the IRGC as a terrorist organization, has met with a strong reaction from the commander of the IRGC.' Keyhan, which is among the newspapers opposing nuclear negotiations and the 'JCPOA', simultaneously described Hassan Rouhani's remarks about the JCPOA on Saturday as 'self-soothing' and wrote: 'Just as the mother of sanctions is on the way, unfortunately, there is still talk of nostalgia and the properties and memories of the mother of negotiations, but contrary to this self-soothing approach, the fate of the agreement is tied to chance, as someone with Mr. Zarif's characteristics says: the chance of the nuclear agreement lasting is 50 percent.' Meanwhile, the newspaper 'Javan' dedicated its front page to Mohammad Ali Jafari with the headline 'Step Back 2000 Kilometers', quoting the IRGC commander as saying: 'If the new U.S. sanctions law is implemented, this country must move its regional bases to a radius of 2000 kilometers from the range of Iranian missiles, and the U.S. Army will be equivalent to ISIS for us.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Ali Jafari stated in a meeting of the IRGC Command Council: 'The Islamic Republic of Iran intends to resolve regional issues outside the negotiating table; there is neither anything to negotiate nor any party for it.' The newspaper 'Iran', close to the government, dedicated its front page to the statements of the spokesperson of the judiciary regarding the limitations on Mohammad Khatami, quoting Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i as saying: 'I am not aware of the details; the special prosecutor did not deny this issue and said that the limitations are still in place as before. The same previous limitations were established by the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council and not by the council itself, and a letter was sent to the enforcers; this time, a letter has also been sent to the enforcers, and the previous orders have been extended.' Simultaneously, the newspaper 'Arman' reported that 'on Sunday, the parliament and the corridors of the parliament were filled with positions taken by some representatives opposing the imposition of restrictions on the reformist president.' This newspaper noted that 'two lawyers of the former president, as well as Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a representative from Yazd in parliament, had reported the imposition of these restrictions,' writing that the Hope faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly issued a statement regarding recent issues, which stated: 'In light of recent actions, we declare that this order contradicts Articles 20, 23, 36, and 37 of the Constitution, and all judicial authorities, based on Article 156 of the Constitution, are obliged to restore the public rights and promote justice and legitimate freedoms, and any action contrary to these goals will result in criminal and disciplinary prosecution.' According to this newspaper, Masoud Pezeshkian, the deputy speaker of parliament, also 'called for the resolution of this issue by the government and the Supreme National Security Council,' stating: 'It is unacceptable to tell someone they cannot attend meetings and gatherings while also claiming that we have democracy and freedom and criticize other countries. He added that he heard that the president also said some things in a roundabout way, and representatives also made remarks in this regard, and we will discuss this in the parliamentary leadership.' The newspaper 'Etemad' also published a report about 'the Hope faction's protests against the restrictions on the reformist president,' stating that on Sunday 'the representatives of the Hope faction submitted a written notice to the president, a factional statement, and a mid-speech statement and several remarks protesting the new restrictions against Mohammad Khatami.' According to this newspaper, 'the new three-month restrictions on the reformist president, which were finally confirmed after a series of confirmations and denials, became the basis for a written notice from Mohammad Reza Aref and 85 other representatives to the president as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, and in addition to this, the central council of the Hope faction also issued a protest statement regarding this issue after their meeting yesterday,' and 'besides these, Parvaneh Salahshouri, a representative from Tehran and the head of the women's faction, also took the opportunity of her mid-speech statement to protest this issue.' Additionally, Masoud Pezeshkian, in response to a question from the newspaper 'Etemad' regarding the actions of the Hope faction's committee on house arrest, said: 'Ask the spokesperson of the committee about this. There was supposed to be a meeting with Mr. Shamkhani. The meeting was held, but I do not know where it has reached.' This newspaper reminded that 'the committee to lift the house arrest of the Hope faction has been active since the second year of the faction's activity, and Elias Hazrati, Gholamreza Heydari, Kazemi, and Qasem Mirzaei-Neko are members of this committee who have had various meetings with senior officials about this matter.' Elias Hazrati, a member of parliament and the owner of the newspaper 'Etemad', while refraining from disclosing details of the committee's meeting with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told this newspaper that he does not intend to publicize the actions of the Hope faction's committee to lift house arrest. The Hope faction's committee in the tenth parliament was formed with the aim of working towards lifting the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mir Hossein Mousavi, who have been under house arrest since February 14, 2011. The newspaper 'Sharq' reported with the headline 'Trump's Shock in the Currency Market' that 'the dollar, after several months of stagnation, surged following Trump's remarks, crossing the four thousand tomans mark and even exceeding four thousand and ten tomans in trades on Sunday for a few moments,' while 'the bank dollar selling rate has also increased in recent months, reaching three thousand and four hundred and four tomans in the latest price.' This newspaper noted that 'the currency market had not been significantly affected by global political statements for a while,' writing: 'However, with Donald Trump's remarks, it took an upward trend, as the U.S. President described the JCPOA as 'terrible' and stated that 'it would have been better if it had never happened.' 'Sharq' also quoted Mohsen Ghaderi, a currency and gold market analyst, as saying: 'The market's movement is not that significant, and the dollar hasn't gone anywhere special. If the dollar was to move more dramatically, it should have increased by 200 to 300 tomans; therefore, it cannot be said that a shock has been introduced to the market.' However, in these 'two days, the upward trend of the dollar has been much sharper than in previous days.' Furthermore, 'the dollar has had a rising trend for a long time, and in these two days alone, it has increased by 50 tomans, which, compared to what happened during Ahmadinejad's era with fluctuations of 200 to 500 tomans, is considered a shock.' The newspaper 'Shahrvand' published a report titled 'Flying Men', stating: 'The men of Qaleh Rostam had no school, became skeleton workers,' and now 'in the two villages of Qaleh Rostam and Bidestaneh, many young men have been injured and left unemployed for months due to falls.' This newspaper referred to the incidents where several men from these two villages in Lorestan province lost their lives while working on the skeletons of high-rise buildings in Tehran and other cities, quoting the wife of one of the deceased workers from this village as saying: 'We always have to worry about our men. When the phone rings, our hearts sink. It's not a joke. In the past 10, 20 years, 8 or 9 people from our village (Qaleh Rostam) have fallen from skeletons and died, and 8 others from Bidestaneh. Many young men have also been injured and disabled.'