Surprise Invasion of Hunters with 160 Boats to Ashouradeh

The newspaper Ettela'at in its Sunday issue, ten months after the statements of the spokesperson for the judiciary regarding the prohibition of publishing images and statements of Mohammad Khatami in Iranian media, has published an interview titled "A Chat Between the Editor of Al-Safir and Mohammad Khatami." In this conversation, Khatami expressed concern about the regional situation and stated regarding internal problems in Iran: "Domestic problems cannot be solved except through dialogue and respect for democratic principles." The newspaper Shargh quoted Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr, the Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry, reporting on a "meeting with Ahmad Shahid," the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. The Director General of Legal Affairs at the Foreign Ministry of Iran, however, reiterated the rejection and opposition to Ahmad Shahid's visit to Iran, emphasizing that "since Mr. Ahmad Shahid took an unprofessional and biased position from the beginning of his work and acted outside the bounds of reporting duties, accepting him as a professional reporter has not been possible for us." The newspaper Kayhan in its Sunday issue published a text titled "Where Do the Footprints of American Startups Lead?" repeating previous accusations against Nasrollah Jahangard, the Deputy Minister of Communications, and named the "Sharif University of Technology" as one of the "three leading centers recognized as startup accelerators" and part of the "structure of influence," accusing several professors of this university with abbreviations of facilitating for "American influence" and "repairing the social structure of the sedition." "Single-Digit Inflation" is the headline of the newspaper Etemad in its December 15 issue, which stated: "The news of single-digit inflation in January was reiterated by Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy and Finance, on Saturday. The single-digit inflation is expected to soon be accessible in point-to-point inflation and will also bring the annual inflation to the single-digit threshold." Morteza Nabavi, a prominent conservative figure, in an interview with Etemad stated: "I do not know how achievable the unity of conservatives is." The newspaper Arman warned in its headline about the "danger of a tsunami of reformist lists," stating: "Colorful lists, common names, smiles of satisfaction on the faces of those whose names are on the lists, all of these will not help the reformists win in the parliamentary elections and may instead increase their chances of defeat." The newspaper Arman also reported with the headline "I Was Scheduled," stating: "On Saturday, it was reported that some hardliners are trying to prevent Mostafa Moein from speaking at the University of Arak by installing banners." This newspaper wrote: "In previous days, the speeches of Mousavi Lari in Qarchak, Azar Mansouri in Yasouj, and other reformists in various cities had been disrupted, and this time it was Mostafa Moein, the former Minister of Science, whose speech hardliners were preparing to cancel. It was thought that some would stop this method after the defeat in the 2013 presidential election or perhaps after the successes of the nuclear negotiation team of the eleventh government, but apparently, this is not the case, and with each passing day, they insist more on such behaviors." The newspaper Bahar in a report titled "The Greats in the Crosshairs of Hardliners" wrote: The Secretary-General of the Martyrs' Society attacked Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Hassan Khomeini, Hassan Rouhani, and Mohammad Khatami under the pretext of their influence in the Assembly of Experts. The newspaper Shahrevand reported that "the number of victims of influenza in Kerman has reached 16." This newspaper quoted Nozar Nakhaei, the Deputy Health Minister of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, stating: "In the past month and a half, about 100 people have been hospitalized due to influenza in this province, of which 16 have lost their lives." The newspaper Shahrevand also reported on a group invasion of hunters to Ashouradeh, stating: "On Friday morning, 160 boats along with a large number of hunters invaded the prohibited hunting area of Ashour in Ashouradeh and hunted ducks and cormorants. The hunters, who initially entered the free hunting area, disrupted the tranquility of Ashouradeh by entering the prohibited hunting area of the island, making it unsafe for birds." The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page to "Sima Shadkam" next to the tomb of "Saria Rasoulzadeh," one of the schoolgirls who lost her life in the fire at the Islamic Revolution School in the village of Shinabad, on the third anniversary of the incident. Sima Shadkam told Aftab Yazd: "I wish I hadn't gone to school that day." This newspaper also wrote: "After more than two years since the Shinabad incident and the unfulfilled promises of the tenth government, finally, with the coming to power of the eleventh government and the follow-ups by Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the Vice President, and two lawyers of the affected students, all injured students eventually received full compensation." The return of Mohammad Khatami to the press: The newspaper Ettela'at in its Sunday issue published "A Chat Between the Editor of Al-Safir and Mohammad Khatami," in which the former reformist president stated: "Domestic problems cannot be solved except through dialogue and respect for democratic principles." Since February 2015, when Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson for the judiciary, announced in a press conference that media "do not have the right" to publish any image or material of Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, and threatened to deal with "violating" media, Iranian newspapers had not published any interviews with Mohammad Khatami, and most even avoided mentioning his name. Thus, the interview published in Ettela'at is the first printed interview of Khatami in Iranian newspapers after the onset of this prohibition. According to Ettela'at, "Talal Salman, the editor of the most reputable newspaper in Lebanon, Al-Safir, recently traveled to Iran for interviews with officials and had an unscheduled meeting with Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, for a chat." Although "this meeting was not arranged for an interview, the result of this friendly conversation was published in Al-Safir, Lebanon." The editor of Al-Safir pointed out that some call Mohammad Khatami "liberal and have launched propaganda attacks against him," and in this conversation asked the former reformist president what impact the JCPOA would have on civil society in Iran, especially since there is a movement that seeks alignment with the West. Khatami emphasized in response that "we must accept that sanctions created problems, and in any case, what is important is that the government has the right policies and programs for after the sanctions and their removal, but I believe that dynamism and activities will flourish significantly, and this dynamism depends on the programs that the government will present. Some internal problems may arise, but these problems can only be solved through dialogue and respect for democratic principles." Khatami stressed that "we have long faced insecurity and instability from outside, and we have seen examples of it in the war with Iraq and then in Takfiri movements." He stated: "According to the constitution, we should not sacrifice freedom for security, and the opposite is also true. If there is no foreign intervention, we can resolve all issues internally through dialogue." According to Ettela'at, Khatami, in response to the question, "Are you not worried about Iran after the nuclear agreement?" said: "No, God willing, issues will be resolved appropriately, but we must be vigilant. Our negotiating partners may play games, but the implementation of this agreement guarantees the interests of all, and I hope everyone will be satisfied and benefit from its results." The former president of Iran also stated: "In my opinion, the situation in the region is not good, and of course, mistakes have been made by all parties. But we think that the seeds of differences were sown during the presidency of former President George W. Bush in the region and grew." Khatami told Al-Safir: "When two fierce enemies like the US and Iran can negotiate and resolve their differences, why can't we, as the inhabitants of the region, resolve our differences?" According to Ettela'at, Khatami referred to Israel as the "Zionist regime" and stated that Israel and "hardline movements rooted in previous decades exploit this issue. I regret that the Arab Spring turned into autumn. Everyone wanted flourishing, democracy, and justice, but quickly forces mobilized against them. The only country that managed to gain a relative benefit from the current situation was Tunisia." Ettela'at also quoted Khatami as saying: "As a Muslim, I have no right to say that the world must follow me, or we will fight it, and this applies to my enemy as well. The dialogue of civilizations was an attempt to find a solution to this problem." The Director General of the Foreign Ministry of Iran announced; "Human Rights Meeting with Ahmad Shahid": The newspaper Shargh quoted Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr, the Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry, reporting on a "meeting with Ahmad Shahid," the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. The Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry referred to the meetings of delegations from the Islamic Republic with Ahmad Shahid, stating: "Delegations that go to participate in Human Rights Council programs meet with him on the sidelines of the programs, or sometimes our representatives in Geneva and New York also meet with him and try to enlighten him." The newspaper Shargh noted that "the model that Ahmad Shahid has of human rights is more of a European model, and this, considering the conditions of the Middle East and neighboring countries of Iran, can seem like an ideal model." However, the Director General of Legal Affairs at the Foreign Ministry of the eleventh government commented on Ahmad Shahid's reports regarding the role of human rights in Iran, stating that "the discussion is completely political; the ideal model is not presented at all. If he compares the human rights situation in Iran with other countries fairly, he will reach a different conclusion and may acknowledge that our country truly deserves neither a resolution nor oversight." Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr, in response to the question from Zeynab Ismaili, a reporter for Shargh, asking, "If the issue of human rights in Iran becomes a topic like nuclear negotiations, how prepared is the Human Rights Department of the Foreign Ministry for such negotiations?" said: "We are completely ready. We are people of dialogue, and this is rooted in our civilization. We are not people of accusations and disputes. Of course, in response to accusations made against us, we defend ourselves, but we are people of dialogue and interaction, and I am very hopeful that one day we will be free from the unjust oversight that has been established." The Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry regarding the possibility of Ahmad Shahid or observers from international organizations visiting Iran stated: "Since Mr. Ahmad Shahid took an unprofessional and biased position from the beginning of his work and acted outside the bounds of reporting duties, accepting him as a professional reporter has not been possible for us," but UN reporters in other areas such as "the right to drinking water" have been allowed to travel to Iran, and "this year an invitation was sent to the food rights reporter who is supposed to come to Tehran in 2016. Ahmad Shahid is not the first reporter assigned to Iran, and there have been previous reporters who came to Iran and saw the situation closely and provided very positive reports. They may have also made recommendations." Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr regarding whether, if the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran changes, "might you accept the next reporter more easily?" said: "I don’t know and I make no predictions. Perhaps by then this unjust oversight will be removed." This official of the Iranian Foreign Ministry also stated that "our constitution in the field of human rights is very progressive, and legally we do not have any specific problems, and if you compare our human rights situation with some countries, it is very advanced," and the Charter of Citizen Rights, which "the Legal Vice Presidency of the President has been responsible for drafting, is one of the very commendable actions of the government, and we have had close cooperation with that area. We have obtained the laws related to the citizen rights of some countries through our representations and provided them to this vice presidency, and specialists in that area also conducted comparative studies of countries in the drafting of the charter." However, regarding the "universal periodic review" of human rights at the UN, the Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry told the newspaper Shargh that "the Islamic Republic of Iran has submitted its periodic report to the Human Rights Council twice, in 2010 and 2014, and accepted about 65% of 291 recommendations." The Director General of Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry regarding some of the "recommendations" of the members of the UN Human Rights Council in the periodic review of the human rights violations case in Iran stated: "In our country, some of these recommendations may contradict our constitution or our religious principles, which we reject, while accepting the rest. This mechanism is very fair and constructive because it reviews all countries without exception, and other countries are also free in making their proposals." According to the newspaper Shargh, Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr emphasized that "no country can claim to be an ideal and complete country in the field of human rights. Human rights are relative in all countries," stating: "There are certain issues that from the perspective of the West are considered human rights violations, and it is not just about Ahmad Shahid, but those issues are part of our culture that cannot be ignored and are among the areas that if recommended to us, we will also reject. For example, the issue of homosexuality is one that if it is not legally recognized in some countries, it is considered a human rights violation. But neither in our religion nor in our societal culture is this topic acceptable in any way. Therefore, we firmly stand against it.