The Fate of the Clean-Handed Government

The newspapers Shargh, Etemad, Aftab Yazd, Ghanun, Ebtekar, Iran, Arman, Afkar, Ebrar, Jahan San'at, Shahrevand, Mardomsalari, Farhikhtegan, Donya-ye Eghtesad, Tejarat, Jahan Eghtesad, Kar va Kargar have dedicated their front page or one of the main headlines of their Tuesday issue to the news of "the arrest of Hamid Bakhaei, the executive deputy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the tenth government." The newspaper Shargh published the news of Hamid Bakhaei's arrest with a design by Shahab Jafarnejad and the headline "The Fate of the Clean-Handed Government" on its front page, depicting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad between his two imprisoned deputies, Hamid Bakhaei and Mohammad Reza Rahimi. This newspaper pointed out the existence of multiple cases against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and emphasized that "the cases of Mr. President" are still open in the judiciary and the Article 90 Commission of the Parliament, while detailing the cases of Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Hamid Bakhaei, his two imprisoned deputies, and published a list of officials from Ahmadinejad's government who have been arrested, summoned, or tried on charges of "financial corruption" or cases related to the "deviationary current" since 2011. Aftab Yazd newspaper noted that immediately after the news of the arrest of Ahmadinejad's executive deputy, "the project to sideline Hamid Bakhaei also kicked off on Tuesday," writing: "Abdolreza Davari, a close associate of Ahmadinejad, reacted to Bakhaei's arrest by stating that he does not consider him an active member of the Velenjak office, saying: 'My relationship with Bakhaei was not very close, and I never discussed this matter with him.'" According to this newspaper, Morteza Tamaddon, the former governor of Tehran, also expressed "ignorance" about Bakhaei's arrest and even told reporters: "I am not closer to Ahmadinejad than you journalists." Newspapers close to the principlists, including Jam-e Jam, Kayhan, Resalat, Hamshahri, and Khorasan, preferred not to publish the news of Hamid Bakhaei's arrest at least in their headlines or front-page photos. Kayhan, after the official announcement of the arrest of Ahmadinejad's executive deputy, wrote that "it had repeatedly warned about Bakhaei's suspicious background and his influence in the tenth government," and the newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also wrote: "Justice has caught Bakhaei too." Newspapers close to the principlists, including Javan, Siasat-e Rooz, Kayhan, and Resalat, in their front page or main headline, while publishing reports about the parliamentary elections in Turkey, welcomed the fact that the Justice and Development Party lost its absolute majority in parliament, with Resalat writing in its main headline: "Secular Islam in Turkey is paralyzed." Etemad newspaper, referring to the fact that "these days, critics of Hassan Rouhani are seeking to take to the streets, from nuclear critics to sports field critics," reported that "the Irovan Seminary" in Tehran invited people to gather to implement "the memo of the will" of Ayatollah Khomeini and to confront the potential entry of women to watch the Iran vs. USA volleyball match in front of Azadi Stadium. Ebtekar newspaper reported on the entry of Chinese workers into the Iranian job market, describing it as "a raid by Chinese workers on the Iranian labor market." Ghanun newspaper, in a report titled "Baskets that have no fruit," referred to the high prices in the market and the decrease in people's purchasing power, writing: "The weight of fruit in Iranian households' baskets is getting lighter every day." "Endless renovations of Azadi" is the title of a report that, along with a photo of Tehran's Azadi Tower, was published on the front page of Shahrevand newspaper. This newspaper wrote: "Renovation and organization of the area around Azadi Tower, the symbol of Tehran, has begun for the third consecutive time in the last 10 years," and "fifteen years after identifying an issue in the historical building of Azadi Tower in Tehran, namely water infiltration into the underground levels and foundation of this building, members of the Tehran City Council, officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Cultural Heritage Organization held a new meeting to organize Azadi Square and address the problems of Tehran's symbol." Jahan San'at dedicated its front page to Kayhan Kalhor and the refusal to issue a permit for his concert, quoting this internationally renowned Iranian musician and master of the kamancheh as saying: "I will no longer perform in Iran." According to this newspaper, "Kayhan Kalhor was supposed to take the stage in Iran on June 9 after a long time, but the permit for this program was not issued by the places administration, and the police's places administration refrained from issuing the permit due to what it deemed 'security considerations.'" "The Fate of the Clean-Handed Government"; a long list of cases against Ahmadinejad's deputies and associates. The newspaper Shargh published the news of Hamid Bakhaei's arrest with a design by Shahab Jafarnejad and the headline "The Fate of the Clean-Handed Government" on its front page, depicting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad between his two imprisoned deputies, Hamid Bakhaei and Mohammad Reza Rahimi. Ahmad Gholami, the editor-in-chief of Shargh, in an editorial titled "Bakhaei and the Theory of Power for Wealth Preservation," pointed out that Ahmadinejad's government was "the epitome and mirror of the policy of reaching wealth from power," writing: "It is not surprising that the close associates and managers of Ahmadinejad's government have ended up in prison due to financial, legal, and mismanagement reasons. They wrote and spoke about something they did not possess; the spirit of benevolence, the pleasant scent of service, and also integrity." The editorial writer of Shargh emphasized: "At this rate, Hamid Bakhaei will neither be the first nor the last of Ahmadinejad's managers to be summoned and possibly imprisoned, but it is astonishing that Ahmadinejad's government has been more accused and recognized as guilty than any other government." Ameneh Shirafkan also wrote in a report titled "The Fate of the Clean-Handed Government" in the Shargh newspaper: "The news of Hamid Bakhaei's arrest is a simple reminder of the chain of corruption in the ninth and tenth governments; a government that, according to its president, was supposed to be a government of the clean-handed, but in reality took a path contrary to integrity and has now left behind a multitude of corruption and violation cases and a list of arrested officials that are published intermittently in the media." Shargh noted that "the performance record of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's justice-oriented government is being reviewed by the judiciary these days," writing: "Recently, Mohammad Reza Rahimi went to Evin, and now the lottery has fallen to Hamid Bakhaei," while "many close associates of Mashai and Bakhaei have been imprisoned and have served their sentences for one or two years; those who have become known as the deviationary circle." This newspaper pointed out that "Mr. President's cases" are also open in the judiciary, writing: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not yet appeared in court, but a complaint against him is being pursued. Most of the complaints filed against Ahmadinejad's government in the Article 90 Commission relate to the embezzlement of public funds during the trip to New York and the involvement of some family members of officials. In addition to the formal complaint of the parliamentary board against Ahmadinejad, some group and personal complaints against the president of the ninth and tenth governments have been initiated in the judiciary; from complaints about the importation of gasoline during Ahmadinejad's government and the carcinogenic nature of imported gasoline to complaints from rural and Bakhtiari nomads against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," while "this must also include the new statistics on the half-million rent-seeking and familial employees hired during Ahmadinejad's government and the three thousand students who were granted scholarships on a preferential basis." Shargh reminded that "Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court summoned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president, to court; the date for the hearing of the complaint against the president was set for December 5, 1392, about six months after the notification and four months after the end of Ahmadinejad's eight-year term, but Ahmadinejad neither went to court that day nor on subsequent days." In the report of the Shargh newspaper, in addition to Hamid Bakhaei and Mohammad Reza Rahimi, several officials from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government have been introduced who have been arrested, summoned, or tried between 2011 and now. This list includes Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, deputy of Esfandiar Rahim Mashai during his presidency of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, Mohammad Royanian, deputy of inspection of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, former CEO of Persepolis Football Club and head of the Transport and Fuel Management Headquarters, Saeed Mortazavi, head of the Social Security Organization, Masoud Zaribafan, head of the Martyrs Foundation, Azadeh Ardakani, former head of the National Museum of Iran, Alireza Amiri, former CEO of the Kish Free Zone, and Nematollah Poostindouz, CEO of the National Copper Company of Iran and former CEO of the Saipa automotive group, as some of the officials from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government who have been arrested or tried on charges of financial corruption, transferring money abroad, or similar financial accusations in recent years, and most of their cases are also open in the judiciary or the General Inspection Organization. This newspaper also mentioned Bahman Sharifzadeh, head of the Mashai-Ahmadinejad electoral headquarters in the 2013 elections, and Hojjatoleslam Abbas Amirifar, secretary-general of the Society of Valiant Preachers, as two clerics close to Ahmadinejad and Mashai who were arrested for a period, writing: "Abbas Ghafari was also one of the close associates of the deviationary current who was arrested for sorcery and jinn evocation." Shargh also reminded that Ali Akbar Javanfekr, one of Ahmadinejad's media figures, was sentenced to one year in prison for printing materials contrary to Islamic principles and for publishing images contrary to public decency, and also three years of prohibition from journalistic activities, and that "Abdolreza Davari, one of the main media figures close to the central circle of the Ahmadinejad current, was arrested on charges of attributing false statements to officials and spreading lies." The call of the "Irovan Seminary" to confront the presence of women in stadiums. Etemad newspaper, referring to the fact that "these days, critics of Hassan Rouhani are seeking to take to the streets, from nuclear critics to sports field critics," reported that "the Irovan Seminary" in Tehran invited people to gather to implement "the memo of the will" of Ayatollah Khomeini and to confront the potential entry of women to watch the Iran vs. USA volleyball match in front of Azadi Stadium. In part of the "memo" of Ayatollah Khomeini's will, it is emphasized: "Destructive freedoms must be prevented. And from what is considered haram in Sharia and what is contrary to the path of the Islamic nation and country and against the dignity of the Islamic Republic, if it is not firmly prevented, everyone is responsible. And the people and the Hezbollah youth, if they encounter one of the aforementioned issues, should refer to the relevant authorities, and if they neglect, they are obliged to prevent it themselves." According to Etemad newspaper, the invitation of the Irovan Seminary "is set for ten days later and coincides with the holding of the national volleyball team match between Iran and the USA, and in it, 'the people are asked to gather on June 19 to protest and confront the presence of women in the stadium and to prevent the officials of the Ministry of Sports from doing so in front of the 12,000-seat Azadi Stadium.'" This newspaper noted that the main inviter is "the Irovan Seminary of Tehran," and the name "Ansar Hezbollah" was also mentioned as another inviter in this announcement, writing: "A person who introduced himself as Heydarzadeh and as an administrative employee of the Irovan Seminary confirmed the news of the invitation to the gathering in a call with Etemad newspaper, saying that this seminary has taken action to publish this invitation letter." This official from the Irovan Seminary, in response to the question of whether "a permit has been obtained from the Ministry of Interior for holding this gathering or not," did not provide a clear answer, saying: "We do not go anywhere empty-handed. The person responsible for this work is a man named Ghobani, who is not present now, but certainly, arrangements have been made in this regard with the authorities. We have contacts in the governorate and the district office in this seminary." Etemad quoted this official from the Irovan Seminary as saying: "The presence of women in this gathering is not only free but necessary; these women must come and protest against this event." Regarding whether Ansar Hezbollah is aware of this program, he told Etemad: "How can Ansar Hezbollah not be coordinated?" Nahid Molavi, a reporter for Etemad newspaper, wrote that after confirming the issuance of such an announcement by the Irovan Seminary, she tried to contact Abdolhamid Mohtasham, the secretary-general of Ansar Hezbollah. The calls were unsuccessful, but in a call with the public relations office of Ansar Hezbollah, it was confirmed that this group is not aware of this gathering. Members of the public relations office of Ansar Hezbollah told this newspaper: "If they want to hold a gathering or program, they will inform in their media and will fully enter the field." One member of the public relations office of Ansar Hezbollah told Etemad newspaper: "Our positions regarding the entry of women into stadiums are clear. In the previous government, this issue was raised once, and the scholars stood against it, and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi also said that this issue is our red line, and in the last issue of the Yalthararat magazine, this issue was mentioned, and the officials have been warned, and when the officials do not address this issue, the believers themselves will enter the field, and this event is not far-fetched or strange." Etemad newspaper wrote that the announcement by the Irovan Seminary to confront the potential presence of women in the 12,000-seat Azadi Stadium was published while "no institution or organization has officially announced that a permit has been issued for the presence of women in the stadium, and this issue is shrouded in ambiguity." This newspaper reminded that "recently, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women’s Affairs," in an interview with Shargh newspaper, stated that efforts have been made for women's presence in the stadium and that some approvals have been obtained in this regard, but several...