The Existence of Six Million Poor People in Iran

The newspaper Sharq, referring to the statements made by Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday regarding the letter from the U.S. President to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, wrote: "Obama's letters have not gone unanswered. This is what can be inferred from Ali Shamkhani's remarks." The newspaper Te'adal, in its front page on Thursday titled "Nuclear Negotiations at a Crossroads of Extension or Sanctions," stated: "Although many news sources have reported on a premature agreement between Iran and the 5+1 in recent days, sanctions remain the Achilles' heel of the negotiations." Siamak Bagheri, a professor at the National Defense University, told this newspaper: "Signs and indications of extending the negotiations are visible, as the time opportunity to resolve the fundamental issues that have been the main knot so far has been lost." Concurrently, the newspaper Resalat quoted Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, stating: "Retreating from nuclear achievements is not rational." The newspapers Javan and Hamshahri also described the statements made by Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday as "a final warning to the 5+1" and quoted the President of the Islamic Republic as saying: "The internal problems of the 5+1 members have nothing to do with Iran." The newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, reporting that Hassan Rouhani "traveled to Baku on Wednesday in continuation of expanding relations with neighboring countries and in response to an invitation from the President of Azerbaijan, where he was officially welcomed by Ilham Aliyev." This newspaper also reported on its front page that Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, said: "Given the decrease in oil prices, the government is determined to prepare its bill realistically; therefore, the budget for 2015 will be a contractionary budget." The newspaper Jahan San'at reported on "the government's plan to reform labor contracts" and the possibility of "granting dismissal rights to employers." The newspaper Etemad reported that "the parliamentarians on Wednesday approved the generalities of a plan that the judiciary opposed; a plan to determine the responsibilities of the Minister of Justice." According to this newspaper, if the plan for "the implementation of part of Article 160 of the Constitution" is finally approved by the ninth parliament, "the Minister of Justice will be obliged to be accountable to the Islamic Consultative Assembly regarding all matters related to the judiciary's relations with other branches and his legal duties like other ministers." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported on the possibility of lifting restrictions on women's presence in stadiums by determining "specific stands and entrances." "The existence of six million poor people in Iran" is another report in the newspaper Shahre Vahdat, stating: "This is the latest statistic announced regarding the number of poor people in Iran, this time from the words of Ali Sharif Rouhani, Deputy of the Participation Development Office of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation." The newspaper Javan, in a report titled "Fireworks Against the Parliament with the Wood of the Fourth Minister," accused the newspapers and media supporting Rouhani's government of "destroying the parliament" and wrote: "The introduction of the proposed Minister of Science should be seen as a new opportunity for the reformist group that seeks to portray the principlist parliament as functioning in a party and factional manner and against public demands, exploiting those specific demands." The newspaper Te'adal dedicated its front page to Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, reporting that the leaders of the U.S. and China reached an agreement during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on a plan to control greenhouse gases and combat global warming. The plan includes the goals of the U.S. and China for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and 2030 and combating global warming through increased use of renewable energy. The newspaper Sharq reported that Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the commander of the police force, on Wednesday regarding the outcome of the acid attack case in Isfahan stated: "The suspect in this incident has not yet been arrested." According to this newspaper, the police commander said: "The Isfahan incident became a topic due to its coverage in the media. In the first six months of this year, we had 380 cases of acid attacks. This statistic includes not only individuals but also acid attacks on vehicles and objects, which are not all dangerous." Ali Shamkhani: In some cases, responses were given to the letters of the U.S. President. The newspaper Sharq, referring to the statements made by Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday regarding the letter from the U.S. President to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, wrote: "Obama's letters have not gone unanswered. This is what can be inferred from Ali Shamkhani's remarks." According to this newspaper, the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council reported on Wednesday that Ali Shamkhani, the representative of the leader and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in his weekly political meeting addressed to the managers and experts of the Secretariat and this council said: "The correspondence of the U.S. President has a several-year history, and in some cases, responses have been provided to these correspondences." Sharq also wrote: "Ali Shamkhani, in reaction to the last letter from Barack Obama, criticized the dual approach of the U.S. ruling body, stating that these approaches have clear contradictions in confidential correspondences and declared positions." According to this newspaper, Ali Shamkhani "considered the purpose of the correspondence merely as an action aimed at influencing the internal atmosphere of that country and regarding Iran's positions, he stated: The clear, transparent, and decisive positions of the Islamic Republic on the nuclear issue have been reiterated to the U.S. President, emphasizing the rejection of a symbolic enrichment program by the Islamic Republic of Iran." The newspaper Sharq noted that "it is said that the current U.S. President has sent four letters" to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating: "Although some sources refer to the number 'three', apart from the last letter which was reported by U.S. media, the previous ones were announced by Iran. The first letter was sent in May 2009 and was mentioned by the Supreme Leader in his Friday prayer on June 19, 2009." According to this newspaper, the second letter was sent in September 2009, after the swearing-in and confirmation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second term, in which "Barack Obama requested better cooperation between the two countries. At that time, [the website] Tabnak reported that based on some evidence, it is speculated that the U.S. President sought to open a path for the commencement of negotiations between Iran and the U.S." According to the newspaper Sharq, "the third letter was sent in January 2012, and Ali Motahari, a member of parliament, mentioned this letter in a conversation with Fars News Agency at the end of January 2012" and "the last letter was recently sent on the eve of the new round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 and was reported by three American publications: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Policy," and "Barack Obama referred to the common interests of Iran and the U.S. and mentioned matters regarding U.S. attacks against ISIS in this letter." This newspaper stated: "None of the three previous letters elicited the reaction that the fourth letter stirred in domestic circles, especially among American conservatives. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republican senators and staunch critics of Barack Obama, reacted strongly," but Obama himself "in response to a question from CBS News about the fourth letter said: 'I prefer not to talk about my communications with the leaders of various countries. I have many different ways to communicate with various world leaders.'" According to the newspaper Sharq, in addition to the various reactions regarding the recent letter from the U.S. President to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, "the information base of the office for preserving and publishing the works of Ayatollah Khamenei" also published a note by Saadollah Zarei stating: "The third letter is directly related to the deadlocks of the U.S. in foreign policy, especially the cases related to Iran, and it is natural that Mr. Obama would write a letter to the Supreme Leader, whom the West considers the central point of the victories of the Islamic front, asking for reconsideration in this regard." The information base of the office for preserving and publishing the works of Ayatollah Khamenei also emphasized that regarding the third letter, the Supreme Leader has "left the hands of experts open to examine the issue, but ultimately pointed to a key point that history has repeatedly confirmed: The Iranian nation does not trust the U.S." Nuclear negotiations at a crossroads of "extension" or "sanctions." The newspaper Te'adal in its front page on Thursday titled "Nuclear Negotiations at a Crossroads of Extension or Sanctions" wrote: "Although many news sources have reported on a premature agreement between Iran and the 5+1 in recent days, sanctions remain the Achilles' heel of the negotiations, so much so that they could provide an excuse for extending the negotiations beyond December 3." This newspaper emphasized that "the negotiations have reached a critical stage after a decade," stating, "It seems that the nuclear team of the eleventh government has managed to gain the trust of the counterpart, especially the U.S., regarding its positive steps based on the framework of the Geneva agreement, but the important issue is Iran's trust regarding the lifting of sanctions. This is a matter that most experts and even senior diplomatic officials close to the nuclear teams have acknowledged." The newspaper also wrote that "RIA Novosti reported that Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia and the chief negotiator of this country in Oman, stated that the sanctions, their future, and how they will be lifted are almost the main issues in these negotiations." The newspaper Te'adal referred to "sanctions" as "the knot of the agreement" and wrote: "Lifting the sanctions has its own technical complexities and is time-consuming, but Iran emphasizes the commitment to the complete lifting of all sanctions by the 5+1, especially the U.S., and the signing of a document that explicitly refers to this commitment is essential." Iran also expects the 5+1 to "provide the conditions for recording and making any agreement and commitment binding within the framework of a comprehensive solution in the United Nations Security Council. It is clear that the Security Council resolutions issued against Iran in previous years can only be lifted and canceled by this council." The newspaper also reported on the "unexpected return" of the Iranian negotiating team, stating: "The Iranian nuclear team returned to Tehran yesterday, although everyone expected the negotiations to continue in Muscat, without prior notice, to continue the negotiations next week on November 18 in Vienna." Siamak Bagheri, a professor at the National Defense University, in evaluating the negotiations in Oman told the newspaper Te'adal: "The main factor locking the nuclear negotiations is the existing logic between Iran and the U.S., and the Americans, considering that there are many influences and pressures from Israeli lobbies, Arabs, and Congress on their decision-making system, are practically unwilling to lift the sanctions all at once." The newspaper Te'adal also quoted him as saying: The American logic "is based on the fact that they do not trust the Iranian side, believing that the Iranians do not fulfill their commitments," and therefore "they believe that sanctions should remain until we are sure that Iran's activities are within the framework of the NPT. Their other logic is that these sanctions imposed against Iran have brought Tehran to the negotiating table and can practically manage Iran's behavior, as other methods have not been effective, and this logic prevents the Americans from taking serious steps in this regard." Siamak Bagheri told the newspaper Te'adal: "Signs and indications of extending the negotiations are visible, as the time opportunity to resolve the fundamental issues that have been the main knot so far has been lost." The government's plan to reform labor contracts; the possibility of granting the right of dismissal to employers. The newspaper Jahan San'at reported on "the government's plan to reform labor contracts" and the possibility of "granting dismissal rights to employers." According to this newspaper, "the eleventh government is seeking to change labor law in favor of employers, a topic that even the tenth government could not handle," but now "the Ministry of Labor has a plan under review that will completely transform labor contracts." The newspaper Jahan San'at described the most important feature of the government's plan to reform labor law as "granting full dismissal rights to employers" in exchange for "converting all workers' contracts from temporary to permanent," quoting labor market experts as saying: "The imbalance between the supply and demand for labor and the high percentage of applicants entering the labor market have caused the conditions of contracts to change in favor of employers, and currently more than 95% of all labor contracts in the country are concluded temporarily for up to one year." This newspaper noted that "a significant portion of these contracts could be arranged permanently or at least for 5 to 10 years," stating: "Employers, to escape the pressures of labor law and to be in a position where they incur the least cost in dealing with the workforce, have tried to keep contracts temporary and short-term, as temporary contracts make it easier for employers to dismiss and replace workers in case of disputes." Jahan San'at reminded that officials from the Ministry of Labor have deemed it necessary to exit the labor market from its current situation and emphasized that by proposing "granting full authority to terminate labor contracts to employers" in exchange for converting "all workers' contracts from temporary to permanent," this ministry can create the necessary motivation for representatives of workers and employers to negotiate on this matter in a "win-win" deal. This newspaper also quoted Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, regarding the new Ministry of Labor program for reforming labor contracts, stating: "Only brief discussions have taken place in the Labor Relations Department with workers and employers."