Tehran Fire Operations Official: We Have Become Victims

One of the officials in charge of fire operations emphasized the 'ineffectiveness of firefighting equipment' and told the newspaper Jahan San'at: 'We have become victims.' This fire operations official in Tehran, in response to the question 'How is your equipment and facilities for extinguishing fires?', said: 'Which equipment? We had equipment and this happened? This is my hat as the responsible person. They don't have the heart to buy us a standard hat worth 300,000 tomans. The equipment in Tehran is only better compared to the counties; compared to the world and modern facilities, it is nothing.' The newspaper Shargh, dedicating a photo to the ongoing rubble removal and search for the missing in the heart of Tehran, reported under the headline 'Plasco Still in Smoke': 'The latest reports from the ruins of Plasco indicate that firefighters have managed to recover four more bodies from under the rubble, but it is still unclear whose bodies they are,' although 'it is clear that the bodies do not belong to firefighters.' The newspaper reminded that 'previously, the head of the Tehran Criminal Court had announced that the families of seven citizens had reported that one of their family members was missing in the Plasco building.' Shargh also wrote: 'Hours before these bodies were recovered, the security of the area had expelled journalists and asked them to leave to preserve the dignity of the bodies. Journalists are expelled whenever firefighters become suspicious of something, and in the past three days, journalists have been expelled multiple times, but only once was it officially announced that a body had been pulled from the rubble.' Gholamreza Havaei, the former director general of national building regulations at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, also told this newspaper: 'The three triangles of the municipality, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, and the building operators, the manager, and the board of directors of the building are considered the main culprits of the Plasco incident according to national building regulations.' The newspaper Shahrvand, in a report titled '10 Seconds of Pleading Under the Rubble', wrote: '80 hours filled with anxiety and dread passed when at 11:50 PM on Sunday night, bitter news from the most painful incident in Tehran was published. The bodies of four more victims were discovered from among the rubble of the still burning Plasco building. Four victims, three of whose identities remain unknown; it was only known that they were not firefighters. The victims were ordinary people who had become trapped together down there. Now the victims of Tehran's most tragic incident have reached seven.' One of the service workers of the Plasco building, who closely knew Habib, Qasem, Mohsen, and Haidar, the four missing workers of this building, told the newspaper Shahrvand: 'On Thursday, it was one o'clock in the afternoon. Two hours had passed since the building collapsed when one of my colleagues' mobile rang. Coincidentally, the phone was in my hand. I answered; I couldn't believe it, it was Haidar. He was crying and said: 'We are in the engine room. Please, save us.' This worker said: 'Haidar was crying and pleading. My hands were shaking. I told him not to worry, we are coming to save you. Our entire conversation lasted less than 10 seconds. The call was immediately cut off, and I went to find the others. I told them about it. But I heard Haidar's voice. I heard his pleas. At least I know they were alive until one o'clock. I don't know what happened after that. It is very hard for me to know that I spoke to Haidar and saw his tears. I can't bear it. Haidar's voice is constantly in my ears. I wish we could do something for them. I wish we could save them. Poor families are suffering every moment.' The newspaper Aftab Yazd reported on the 'controversial SMS incident', stating: 'Despite some claims that after the collapse of the Plasco building, messages were sent from the trapped individuals, there is no evidence for this.' Ismail Doosti, a member of the Tehran City Council, told this newspaper: 'This issue is strongly denied. After all, how can a 17-story building collapse with a mountain of iron, soil, and brick, and the trapped individuals be able to send messages in such conditions? I personally followed up on this issue with the firefighters present at the scene, and they denied it as well.' The newspaper Etemad reported in a piece titled 'Battle in the Mountain of Fire' that 'the announcement of missing persons from Plasco is still ongoing. Four days have passed since the fire and collapse of Plasco, and there is no room to drop a pin in Baharestan police station. Since 8 AM, a number of relatives of the missing have come to report their missing at the police station. Alongside them, shopkeepers have brought their business licenses and production workshop documents to report the missing safes and their belongings.' According to this newspaper, a special section has been set up inside Baharestan police station for families to report missing persons who were in the building that day and have not been heard from since. 'Some of the missing are workers whose families live in small, remote towns. They too, when trying to contact their loved ones, encountered the message 'the number you are trying to reach is not available' and have been following the news through television or radio without reaching any conclusions. Now, after several days, they have come to Tehran and found the site of the incident to seek news. They have pleaded in front of the special forces for several hours to be allowed in. After entering, they found neither a body nor anyone who could provide news about their loved ones.' The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz dedicated its headline and photo to accusations against Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of Hassan Rouhani, for the second consecutive day. This newspaper reiterated the statements of Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesman for the judiciary, who said on Sunday: 'The connection of Rasoul Daniyalzadeh, who has been arrested due to over 2 trillion tomans in debts to banks, with Hossein Fereydoun is clear.' It wrote: 'While the case against Daniyalzadeh has been formed and this major bank debtor and his political friends will soon face trial, some news indicates that another major bank debtor, who also has a 'clear connection' and has received billions of tomans in special loans through this connection, has fled and sought asylum.' Vatan-e-Emruz wrote: 'Shabdoost Malamiri, whose name has been mentioned alongside Rasoul Daniyalzadeh since the beginning of the exposure of the granting of billion-toman loans, recently fled the country and is now reported to be under the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.' Meanwhile, the newspaper Qanoon described Hossein Fereydoun and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the brother of Hassan Rouhani, as 'an ill-fitting patch' and wrote: 'The controversies surrounding Hossein Fereydoun have nothing to do with Hassan Rouhani.' This newspaper wrote: 'Hassan Rouhani, in the early days of his presidential campaign, entered the field with the banner of fighting corruption, favoritism, standing against lies and foolishness. After reaching the presidency, he also adhered to his promises. Everyone acknowledges that undoubtedly, the president acted in this regard in the best possible way, and none of his opponents have been able to question Rouhani. However, for a long time, some have been trying to attach an ill-fitting patch to Rouhani's presidency. A patch that may more than the enemies of Rouhani, be able to incapacitate the diplomatic sheikh and present a distorted image of the president among his social supporters. The matter is that Hossein Fereydoun, not in his legal capacity as Rouhani's special assistant, but in his real capacity as 'Fereydoun', carries accusations that could benefit the opponents of moderation and Rouhani himself.' The newspaper Qanoon noted that Hossein Fereydoun's case is being pursued in two lines, stating: 'The first case relates to Hossein Fereydoun's educational credentials, and the second case pertains to his connection with one of the recently arrested individuals, namely Rasoul Daniyalzadeh. Daniyalzadeh is a major bank debtor who was arrested by the IRGC. He is being pursued and arrested due to his failure to pay 2.6 trillion tomans in overdue debts to Bank Mellat, and now 'an unfortunate connection between Fereydoun and someone like Daniyalzadeh, if proven, could cause irreparable damage to the moderation stream and undermine part of Rouhani's discourse.' This newspaper described the 'equation' of Hossein Fereydoun with Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei or Ali Kordan, two figures close to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's previous government, as part of the actions of opponents of the eleventh government, but wrote: 'Public opinion is waiting for the president and the government to respond to these claims if they are not true, and if they are, not to follow in the footsteps of Ahmadinejad and his allies and to consider the red line not around their surroundings, but the people, and to send the accused to court themselves; because the supporters of the president do not want the accusations against a person like Fereydoun to be attributed to Hassan Rouhani, as this deception is the new weapon of the enemies of moderation.' While reformists had previously remained silent about media attacks on Hossein Fereydoun, in the Tuesday edition of the newspaper Qanoon, some figures from this faction have also warned Hassan Rouhani, including Mohammad Javad Haqshenas, a member of the central council of the National Trust Party, who said: 'The media accusations against Hossein Fereydoun were initially raised in cyberspace and then in second-tier media aligned with that group, and over time, the news was announced in official media and platforms, gradually taking on a more serious tone. These events, close to the elections, could negatively impact public opinion.' Abdullah Naseri, a member of the central council of the Baran Foundation, also emphasized that 'the president should clarify,' saying: 'The media opposing Mr. Rouhani are working towards putting pressure on him and creating doubt about his presence in the elections or reducing his vote share. It seems that the emergence of these statements in the media is more of a media and psychological war against the government than a serious legal issue, and if there were serious discussions in this area, the judiciary would have acted as it has in similar cases, which is, of course, the public's expectation of the judiciary.' The newspaper Hamdeli reported on 'the possibility of the Expediency Council returning to a legal presidency,' stating that after the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, discussions about replacing the presidency of the Expediency Discernment Council and speculations surrounding some individuals have emerged in the media. 'In this context, the mention of some names for the presidency of this high advisory council in the media and domestic political circles has created the impression that the selection of the presidency of the Expediency Council, which was delegated to a 'real person' due to the personality and capabilities of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, would continue. However, the presidency of the council at the time of its formation was held by a 'legal person,' namely the president. This newspaper reminded that in the year 1987, Ali Khamenei was the 'president' when the decree for the presidency of the Expediency Council was issued, just as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani received the presidency decree in 1989 while serving as president. Although this presidency continued during the presidencies of Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rouhani, now with the passing of Hashemi Rafsanjani, the likelihood of issuing a decree for the presidency in the name of Hassan Rouhani has increased. Hamdeli wrote: 'Mostafa Mirsalim, who has been a real member of the Expediency Council since 1996, did not consider the possibility of delegating the presidency of the council to a legal person, namely the president, to be out of the question.' The newspaper Javan, close to the IRGC, attacked and accused Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and quoted Mohammad Javad Larijani as saying: 'Jahangir, a Pakistani, is following in Ahmad Shahid's footsteps and is preparing her reports based on information provided by anti-revolutionary groups against the Islamic Republic of Iran; a person whose long-standing animosities with the Islamic Republic of Iran earned her the title of 'wicked.' This newspaper also reported that Mohammad Javad Larijani, as the 'Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic,' criticized Jahangir's report in a letter to Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stating: 'I do not consider Ms. Jahangir's actions to be professional at all, and its continuation will undoubtedly lead to a decline in the credibility of that council from an official reference to a political entity. At the same time, out of respect for you, I have asked my colleagues in the Human Rights Headquarters to prepare a clear and unambiguous response to the claims made by Ms. Asma Jahangir, which is attached.' The newspaper Javan noted that Asma Jahangir is the fifth special rapporteur appointed by the UN regarding Iran, writing: 'Ms. Jahangir, recognized as a human rights activist, is considered one of the leaders of the 'Lawyers' Movement' in Pakistan, who has been imprisoned twice in 1983 and 2007. She served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from 2004 to 2010 and has repeatedly criticized Iran for what she calls violations of the rights of Bahá'ís.' This newspaper reminded that 'before Jahangir, Ahmad Shahid held this position from 2011 until the end of 2016, and before him, Canadian Morris Danby Capito and Salvadoran Reinaldo Galindo Pal were active against the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1986 to 1995 and finally Spanish Andres Aguilar from 1984 to 1986.' The newspaper Shahrvand reported on a medical error in Isfahan, stating that 'a two-year-old child's left hand was operated on instead of the right hand.' A two-year-old child underwent surgery on the left hand at one of Isfahan's hospitals, but the result of this surgery led to the protest of the child's guardians.