The Case of the 'Bloody Chickens'

The newspaper Shahrvand has reported that 'following the publication of images showing the violations of a roadside restaurant, a case regarding bloody chickens has been opened. According to this newspaper, a few days ago, 'two images of a restroom filled with cleaned chickens were widely circulated. The images showed blood stains left on the ground, indicating that these chickens were washed at the same location. These images were published, but there was no trace or indication of where this incident occurred or which restaurant in which city or road it pertains to. It has only been mentioned in the news that the location of the images is a roadside restaurant.' Khosrow Sadeghniyat, the Director General of Environmental Health and Labor of the Ministry of Health, told this newspaper: 'We are very concerned that these images may be a smear campaign against the Ministry of Health; because what is seen in the images represents severe violations that we have not encountered before.' This official did not confirm or deny 'the existence of such violations' and stated: 'We have not seen violations of this severity at restaurants before, but now 'our investigations continue to identify the location where this violation occurred. We are waiting to trace this restaurant or this location so that we can take necessary actions.' The newspaper Hamdeli, close to reformists, has headlined: 'While for months prior to the 10th parliamentary elections, some media and political activists warned about the potential entry of 'dirty money' into the elections and its impact on this significant political event, now Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council and the main decision-maker regarding election oversight, says that the buying and selling of votes has become common in the country.' This newspaper reminded that 'the issue of dirty money entering elections became more pronounced when Mohammad Reza Rahimi, the first vice president of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, was imprisoned due to financial crimes and it was revealed that he distributed 1.2 billion tomans among 170 candidates and members of parliament during the eighth parliamentary elections.' The Hamdeli newspaper also reported that Ahmad Jannati emphasized in his statements on Sunday that 'one of the priorities of the Guardian Council is the 2016 presidential elections.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, dedicated its front page to Ahmad Jannati and his statements about the prevalence of vote buying, while simultaneously accusing Hassan Rouhani's government of planning to 'distribute justice shares in the election year.' This newspaper wrote: 'While according to the promises of the head of the Privatization Organization, justice shares were supposed to be distributed by summer 2016, it seems that these shares will be distributed in a special program in the election year starting from the New Year of 2017.' The Javan newspaper also accused Hassan Rouhani's government of preparing programs using state resources for the 2016 presidential elections and wrote: 'Previously, the first vice president had requested the completion of the first phase of the Tehran-North freeway project. In another news, the establishment of several dozen informational websites to cover and reflect the government's services has been planned, indicating the government's electoral mobilization for the upcoming months, especially the last three months of its term.' The Kayhan newspaper in its Tuesday issue wrote: 'The head of the CIA said at the Aspen Security Forum that Rouhani's nuclear agreement, which we consider to be a very moderate figure among active elements in Iran, has also been strengthened.' Kayhan then wrote: 'Government officials and institutions must respond quickly and clearly to these claims by the CIA head and block the enemy's temptation to exploit internal differences.' Meanwhile, the Arman newspaper dedicated its front page to Alireza Alavitar, a reformist figure, who stated: 'The government is weak in defending itself' and must 'use its information against the detractors.' This newspaper quoted Alireza Alavitar as saying: 'The opposition scares the government from using conceptualizers and intellectuals. The opposition intimidates the government from utilizing intellectuals and people who can conceptualize and communicate, and the government must set aside this fear and be assured that it needs these individuals and must form stronger think tanks for itself,' just as 'the opposition has formed think tanks with these characteristics, and as a result, the government cannot make progress without having a think tank.' The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front page to the late Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami and published 'a message from over 400 artists and cultural figures to Kiarostami's family.' Artists and cultural figures wrote in their letter to Bahman and Ahmad Kiarostami: 'We know how difficult it is to endure both the grief of losing a loved one and the transformation of this grief into a protracted struggle, and know that in enduring this anxious and ambiguous atmosphere, which unfortunately becomes more distressing by the moment, you are not alone. Regardless of the results of the medical investigations, the memories of justifications and cover-ups, and worse, the disregard for the emotional state of the bereaved and the disrespect to the name of Abbas Kiarostami will not be erased; although all of us are observers, concerned, and following the process of these investigations. See us alongside you in both the sorrow of your beloved's death and the death of dignities.' The Shargh newspaper in its Tuesday issue published an interview with Bahman Kiarostami and 'Brice Gaye,' the French doctor of Abbas Kiarostami, who stated: 'His medical history began with a polyp. A benign polyp, not malignant. Of course, we obtained this information based on what the Iranian doctors provided us, and I think they honestly explained what had happened; although they did not say, 'We made many mistakes,' and said, 'After the operation, we faced numerous consequences,' consequences that were not just one or two, but very unusual.' The Etemad newspaper quoted the Minister of Communications in its front page saying: 'The national information network will be launched during the government week.' According to this newspaper, Mahmoud Vaezi also stated: 'The registration plan does not include any of the phones currently available in the market.' The Sharq newspaper in its front page reported on the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry's protest against Mahmoud Abbas's meeting with Maryam Rajavi and wrote: 'Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, met with Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, at his residence in Paris on Saturday evening and briefed her on regional developments, especially the Palestinian issue.' The Etemad newspaper highlighted Hassan Rouhani's order to 'stop the employment exam in favor of women' and wrote: 'Hassan Rouhani's order was issued following the announcement of the comprehensive employment exam and the gender-discriminatory job titles and quotas set by executive agencies.' This newspaper reminded that 'out of the total of three thousand positions announced by government agencies, 961 job titles are exclusively for men, meaning 30 percent of total employment, and only 16 titles are allocated to women, while the remaining opportunities are shared between men and women,' noting that 'the jobs allocated to women are all in the second organizational ranks, while managerial or upper managerial ranks in this booklet are reserved for men.' The Tejarat newspaper focused on the resignation of Mohsen Jalalpour from the presidency of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and wrote in its editorial: 'The resignation of the head of the Iran Chamber - despite not being accepted by the board of directors of this institution - is certainly an important incident, even if the reason for this resignation is heart disease. Because what has exacerbated this pre-existing heart condition and forced Mr. Jalalpour to resign, according to him, is the pain caused by witnessing the dire situation of economic enterprises and the multitude of unemployed youth seeking work.' The Sepid newspaper reported that the CEO of the Kidney Patients Charity Association reacted to the news of dialysis patients' deaths in Ahvaz, reporting the death of 15 more dialysis patients in the first three months of 2016 in this province and stated: 'We are dissatisfied with the lack of accountability from the officials of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences and the Ministry of Health, and the deaths of these patients due to infections are not acceptable.' 'The migration of the middle class to the outskirts of cities' is a report in the Farheekhtgan newspaper about 'the social consequences of decreasing bank interest rates on housing.' Saideh Alipour, in this report, pointed out that 'at the beginning of July this year, the government finally lowered the bank interest rate in hopes of boosting production activities,' writing: 'The decrease in the interest rate on bank loans to 18 percent, before fulfilling the government's goal in the production sector, showed its effect in housing transactions, and many owners changed the form of their housing rent. Many who previously preferred to give their properties as full collateral and invest the money, reduced the amount of collateral or down payment due to the decrease in bank interest rates and instead increased the monthly rent.' The Farheekhtgan newspaper emphasized that 'although the decrease in interest rates can lead to economic growth according to some experts, it also disrupts lives beneath the surface of this city,' but 'there are many groups that are gradually being pushed from the heart of cities to the outskirts, and this noticeable and subtle increase in housing rent changes their way of life.'