Suspension of Student Admissions in 160 University Majors

The newspaper Etemad, in its front page on Saturday, titled "Rouhani at Halfway", addressed the second anniversary of the June 24 elections and published a survey of political figures regarding the performance of Hassan Rouhani's government. Most political figures in the Etemad survey evaluated Rouhani's foreign policy successes as significant, while his domestic policy record was deemed weak. The newspaper Arman reported, citing Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, that "the preliminary ruling in Mehdi Hashemi's case has been confirmed, and he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, dedicated its front page to the "Russian account of the slow negotiations", stating: "Nuclear negotiations continue, but the obstacles to reaching an agreement are so numerous that Russian officials have expressed concern about the worrying slowness of the process." The newspaper Shahre Vandeh reported on the suspension of student admissions in 160 majors, noting that alongside the nationwide entrance exam, Mohammad Farhadi, the Minister of Science, announced the continuation of the review and revision of university majors in Iran by the Higher Education Expansion Council. Shahre Vandeh also dedicated its front page to the "Celebration of Working Children", emphasizing that the existence of working children was previously "denied" and stating: "On Friday, the Harandi Stadium in Tehran became the scene of a large gathering of all working and street children in Tehran. Most of them are members of large, populous families living in the southern and peripheral areas of Tehran, and the poverty caused by addiction or the disability of their fathers has sent them to the streets instead of school." The newspaper Ghanoon dedicated its front page to a report on the exploitation of children for drug distribution, stating: "A day spent alongside working children in Tehran reveals the full-scale exploitation of children, who have recently engaged in drug trafficking or have been used as drug mules." This newspaper also reported the number of working children in Iran as "over 1 million and 700 thousand", citing the latest information from the Statistical Center of Iran, which indicates a high rate of children being employed on the streets. Children who sometimes earn high incomes and are exploited by individuals with malicious intents. "Rouhani at Halfway"; Etemad's survey on the performance of the eleventh government. The newspaper Etemad, in its front page on Saturday titled "Rouhani at Halfway", dedicated its coverage to the second anniversary of the June 24 elections and the publication of a survey of political figures regarding the performance of Hassan Rouhani's government. The newspaper wrote: "Hassan Rouhani now differs significantly from the man who attracted attention in televised debates with his blunt and sharp language, entering the second year of his presidency at a time when he has experienced many events he never imagined." The newspaper named "foreign policy" as the top priority of Hassan Rouhani's government, stating that in foreign policy, he "chose the best options based on his experience", but now "on the verge of entering the third year, his selected negotiators are engaged in intensive negotiations while his critics are holding more intense street protests against him." Etemad referred to "economy" as the second priority of Hassan Rouhani and noted that the Iranian economy "was damaged during those eight years, and it was said that it was left in ruins". It wrote that in the past two years, inflation has been controlled, but his "domestic policy" has been "neglected". After the "gift of the parliament to his government at the beginning of its first year, which was the dismissal of a minister [Reza Faraji Dana, Minister of Science], a flood of questions and warnings followed for his ministers, and the parliament became a second home for them. It was a tough job. The legislation he inherited from various regions to the government's major headache, which was subsidies, could neither be implemented nor ignored." Nasser Imani, a principlist political activist, emphasized that Rouhani's government "does not have a clear record in domestic policy" and told Etemad: "In domestic politics, there are several indicators, the most important of which is political activity in society and how much the government has been able to organize political activity in society and promote it. In this area, there is no clear record or effort from the government. The government has been more involved in other issues than addressing the issue of parties and organizing political activities." He pointed to the "issue of gatherings" and said: "Except for one or two cases, no permits have been issued by the government for any gathering, which itself is one of the important indicators in domestic politics. Even recently, we have seen that some student speeches and gatherings have faced opposition from the relevant authorities." Fayyaz Zahed, a reformist political activist, also emphasized that "the government needs a thorough house cleaning" and told Etemad: "Whatever the government has achieved in foreign policy and with the employment of a capable minister has managed to solve Iran's problems in the region and the world and brought the Iranian nuclear file to a point that has had a positive outcome, but in domestic policy, we see that the government's performance bears no relation to its electoral slogans and promises." According to Fayyaz Zahed, despite the fact that "the state of domestic politics has changed significantly compared to the previous government and is not comparable to the previous period, more is expected from Rouhani's government, and when talking about a government with a moderate approach, it is expected that the government will put in more effort in this area." Jala Jalali Zadeh, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and a political activist from Kurdistan, evaluated the performance of the eleventh government and said: "If I were to express my opinion without any reservations, I must say that in my opinion, the government's record in domestic politics has not been positive. Because the government has not been able to fulfill its slogans and promises in this area." According to Jala Jalali Zadeh, Rouhani's government "has acted very weakly in defending political and social freedoms and also in defending and promoting civil society and establishing civil institutions", which has caused "many of the social base of the government, who voted for Rouhani with such demands, to become disillusioned and hopeless." The newspaper Etemad quoted Jala Jalali Zadeh as saying: "The government should not forget that for the remaining two years and the next election period, it needs more support from the people and, of course, this section of its social base. Also, on the other hand, if it wants to continue to receive support from influential political forces, whose support played a significant role in Rouhani's victory two years ago, it must inevitably make more efforts in this area," although "one cannot overlook the existence of obstacles that cause obstruction in the government's work, but the government must show more resistance against its radical and extremist opponents and fulfill the demands of the people in domestic politics." Elaheh Kolayi, a member of the sixth parliament and a reformist figure, also emphasized that "the successes of foreign policy do not encompass the entire capacity of the country" and told Etemad: "The lifting of the Security Council sanctions, which had been shaped in the years before the establishment of the government of prudence and hope, with an unrealistic view and based on delusions and calling the sanctions paper scraps, has been targeted as a priority in foreign policy in the past two years. Priorities that, although significant steps have been taken by the officials to achieve them, do not mean that what has been done reflects the real capacity of the country." According to Elaheh Kolayi, "One cannot ignore the significant and influential role of the eleventh government in solving international issues, and at the same time, one cannot reduce the government's efforts to the nuclear file," but "in the path of dynamic foreign policy, the government has not been able to create a new transformation as expected in improving relations with neighbors, building trust, and prioritizing cooperation with them," while "we have witnessed many problems in the past two years in transforming and creating dynamism in universities and in the field of foreign policy that cannot be overlooked." Ali Shakouri Rad, a reformist figure, also told Etemad: "The biggest project of the government in domestic politics was to dismantle the cold political atmosphere and restore political vitality in society, but unfortunately, the government has not been very successful in creating political vitality, and we see that some ministries are still pursuing the programs and policies of the previous government, and the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for ensuring security in domestic politics and should focus on healthy political activities, has practically been stalled in this regard, and we cannot evaluate the government's performance in this area as successful." This reformist figure, however, stated that "Mr. Rouhani himself has had a successful and acceptable performance in this area, but the government, in terms of the components that should be active in this area, has not been able to perform successfully," and among these shortcomings, "the President has tried to fill many of the existing gaps in this field, and for this reason, he continues to receive support from the reformist community." Mohsen Safaei Farahani, another reformist figure, described the days of Hassan Rouhani's government as "harder than the reformist government" and told Etemad: "Rouhani's government faces much harder days than the reformist government; if the reformist government faced a crisis every nine days, the Rouhani government struggles with a crisis every day. In this situation, it is natural that the government cannot meet the needs and demands in the field of domestic politics. In other words, as long as the government faces limitations in its powers, it cannot respond well in this area." He stated: "The government lacks the necessary tools in the field of domestic politics to take extensive actions, and its powers in this area are limited. In fact, the government is more responsible for executive tasks than for the domestic politics of the country." The newspaper Etemad quoted Mohsen Safaei Farahani as saying: "Hassan Rouhani may have made commitments in this area to his social base during the election, thinking that all organs would cooperate with him, but today we see that in practice, not only has this not happened, but some organs are also trying to obstruct and hinder the government's programs." The reflection of "the ten-year prison sentence" for Mehdi Hashemi. The newspaper Arman reported, citing Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, that "the preliminary ruling in Mehdi Hashemi's case has been confirmed, and he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison." According to this newspaper, the spokesman for the judiciary stated that "Mehdi Hashemi had 12 charges in the indictment, which the preliminary court merged," stating: "Mehdi Hashemi was acquitted of espionage, but some security issues such as embezzlement and bribery were ruled by the preliminary court, and the appeals court also confirmed it in accordance with Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code," thus "the sentence for Mehdi Hashemi in execution will be one of these that is higher, meaning he will practically serve 10 years." The newspaper Arman, while reviewing the news related to Mehdi Hashemi's "non-public" trial, which was first held on May 15, 2013, wrote: "Perhaps some, like Hamid Rasai, who were present at Mehdi Hashemi's trial, did not expect the verdict to be announced, as some of them had envisioned that no verdict would be issued for the son of Ayatollah Hashemi." Sadegh Zibakalam also wrote in a note in the newspaper Arman about the "reasons for the 10-year sentence", stating: "What is clear is that he [Mehdi Hashemi] must prepare himself to serve a 10-year sentence." The columnist for the newspaper Arman noted that "reactions to Mehdi Hashemi's sentence relate to what opinions people have about Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani", writing: "If you are a supporter of Mr. Hashemi, you certainly do not have an opinion aligned with those who oppose and criticize Ayatollah Hashemi. If you pay attention, the court ruling for Mehdi Hashemi was issued at a time when his trial was not held publicly due to the judge's discretion, and the public is not fully aware of the details of the charges against Mehdi Hashemi. Although the charges were announced in a list format in the media." Sadegh Zibakalam also wrote: "Few people are aware of Mehdi Hashemi's opinion regarding the issued sentence of 10 years, and it is also unclear what defense his lawyer has made. At this stage, the public is only aware that Mehdi Hashemi has been convicted and must go to prison. The society trusts the ruling issued by the judiciary, but on the other hand, it is also receptive to more explanations regarding this matter." The newspaper Etemad also reported that Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer, "says the ruling has major flaws and will request a retrial", adding that "Mehdi Hashemi has no problem executing the sentence." Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai emphasized that "the ruling is incorrect from our perspective, and for this reason, we will submit a request for retrial to the court. In our view, this ruling has many flaws," telling the newspaper Etemad: "It is not common for a ruling to be increased in the appeals court, but in Mehdi Hashemi's case, the sentence was increased in the appeals court. On the other hand, the ruling must be substantiated and documented, but this ruling has many flaws, and we will point out these issues in the documents we submit." Mehdi Hashemi's lawyer also stated: "Initially, Mehdi faced 12 charges, of which he was acquitted of 10, but it is incorrectly stated that the charges were merged, whereas this did not happen. On the other hand, when the accused is acquitted of disrupting the economic system, the charge of bribery cannot be raised, but the charge of bribery has been raised without it being in the indictment.