The Fate of the JCPOA in Iranian Newspapers

Iran's state-affiliated newspaper has highlighted the government's and parliament's response to the U.S. Senate's resolution, stating: "While 99 U.S. senators unanimously approved the extension of 10-year sanctions against Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson reminded the U.S. President of the consequences of such a resolution becoming law. Parliament representatives have also prepared an urgent proposal to ban imports from the U.S." The newspaper reports that after the U.S. Senate representatives overwhelmingly voted to extend the Iran sanctions law, which prohibits investments over $20 million, particularly in Iran's oil and gas industries, for another 10 years, Bahram Qasemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, deemed it "an action contrary to the JCPOA and the country's commitments under international law" and stated that "the Iranian Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the U.S. government's behavior in this regard and will provide a complete report to the JCPOA monitoring board for decision-making and appropriate action." The newspaper Aftab Yazd published a photo of Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Javad Zarif on its front page with the headline "These Difficult Days," stating: "The approval of the 10-year sanctions extension in the U.S. has pleased domestic hardliners and increased attacks on the government and the negotiating team." The newspaper emphasized that "Hassan Rouhani, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Ali Akbar Salehi will be more than ever in the crosshairs of their opponents' attacks today," and noted that "after the extension of the 10-year sanctions by the U.S., government opponents may incite public groups against the nuclear men of the government with their media propaganda." Journalist Mohammad Sadegh Javadi Hozar told Aftab Yazd: "Opponents of the government are trying to undermine the biggest achievement of Rouhani's four-year government, which is this international agreement that led to a reduction in global pressures against Iran. They want to destroy the consensus and national agreement that had been achieved around the JCPOA. If this happens, it would be a defeat for Rouhani's government and a victory for hardliners." Aftab Yazd also quoted Hamid Boutalebi, the political deputy of the president's office, stating: "If the JCPOA is a multilateral commitment, it cannot be unilaterally responded to by the violation of one member." The newspaper Arman, in a note about "how to deal with the 10-year sanctions," recalled that "the D'Amato law, related to the imposition of global sanctions linked to Iran's nuclear activities based on UN Security Council resolutions, is known as a piece of paper" and wrote that "the extension of investment restrictions in Iran's oil industry can be seen as contrary to the spirit of the JCPOA based on win-win and a concession benefiting the anti-Iran propaganda of American hardliners and wealthy Saudi and Israeli lobbies and some provocative actions benefiting the Iranophobia project by domestic worried circles." Fereydoun Majlisi, in a note for this newspaper, pointed out that "the Iranophobia project is advanced based on some verbal slogans and sometimes inscribed on walls against Iran. They consider slogans as a declaration of position and official and public program," and wrote: "Iranophobia is the main tool of hostile aggression against Iran and should not be incited and fed from within." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also headlined "Leaving the JCPOA," stating: "The U.S. Senate approved a 10-year sanctions plan with a majority of 99 out of 100 and sent it to Obama for signature, a plan that, if signed by Obama, would certainly violate the JCPOA." This newspaper emphasized that "Iran has prepared various options for responding to it," stating that "the parliament's urgent plan to resume nuclear activities" is one of these options. The newspaper Kayhan described the U.S. Senate's resolution to extend the 10-year sanctions as "America's final blow to the JCPOA" and wrote: "Previously, the government and the nuclear negotiating team had been warned multiple times about America's unreliability and bad faith, but contrary to expectations, they unilaterally implemented the most significant non-reversible commitments of our country after signing the JCPOA." Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Kayhan, explicitly attacked Hassan Rouhani, writing: "Some respected officials did not only settle for exaggerating the nuclear agreement and its executive document - the JCPOA - but also introduced the JCPOA as the shining sun, the miracle of the century, the great victory, etc., and responded to any criticism with slander and insult to critics," and now "when we put those exaggerations and insults together and compare them with the current results of the JCPOA, we reach the definite conclusion that the respected government has faced a grave mistake in both cases." The newspaper Hamdeli reported with the headline "How Did the Accounts Become in the Name of the Head of the Judiciary?" that Abolfazl Abutalebi, a member of the Legal Commission of the 10th Parliament, confirmed the existence of bank accounts in the judiciary in the name of "the head of the judiciary" and stated: "This issue dates back to 20 years ago when Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi was the head of the judiciary. At that time, there were accounts in the judiciary that were used for banking deposit matters. The problem at that time was that despite a large amount of money circulating in these accounts, banks did not legally pay any interest for these accounts," and "this led Ayatollah Yazdi to write a letter to the Supreme Leader, mentioning the financial problems of this authority, and requested that the necessary permission be issued for the payment of interest for the relevant accounts, and he also agreed to the payment of interest to the judiciary." Abolfazl Abutalebi, a member of the 10th Parliament's Legal Commission, pointed out that "the interest accrued to the judiciary's account was considered unowned property, which was made possible to be paid to the judiciary with the permission of the Supreme Leader," and stated that at that time "for more assurance and legal hierarchy, the matter was also approved by the Money and Credit Council, but the legal problem in implementing this resolution was that banks could not pay interest on accounts named after the judiciary, so it was proposed that the accounts be opened in the name of natural persons to resolve this issue. Thus, since that time, these accounts have been in the name of natural persons until the time of Ayatollah Shahroudi when it was decided that the accounts be in the name of the head of the judiciary." The newspaper Arman reported quoting Haidar Fattahi, the prosecutor of the city of Pardis, about the arrest of "the main suspect in selling a cemetery, a mortuary, and a library in Boumehen," stating: "This individual has acted to transfer national lands to private individuals by altering the minutes of the council of the district." According to this newspaper, the prosecutor of Pardis introduced the arrested suspect as "a member of the Boumehen district council" and stated: "This individual, by altering the minutes of the district council, which specified the transfer of significant amounts of national lands to become a cemetery, mortuary, and library, has engaged in land grabbing." Haidar Fattahi stated: "This suspect, taking advantage of his position in the Boumehen district council and based on connections with some executive factors, has proceeded to transfer and sell these lands to private individuals, ultimately converting these lands from public use to multiple private villas." The newspaper Etemad reported on its front page with the title "Tehran-Riyadh Oil Ceasefire," stating: "What stood out in the family photo of OPEC members after the meeting on November 30, 2016, in Vienna was the side-by-side stance of the oil ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Neither of them hid their satisfied smiles." Sara Masoumi, in this report, emphasized that "in recent years, the political, regional, economic, and perhaps ideological differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia have made reaching a common understanding in OPEC difficult," and wrote: "The reality of the oil market and economic crises ultimately imposed themselves on the stark non-oil differences of OPEC member countries, and as a result, major oil producers were forced to leave political differences, especially regional ones, behind closed doors and make decisions looking at common interests." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat has a report about "the wave of worker migration" and wrote: "According to a World Bank report, nearly one and a half million workers migrate from Iran annually, and this trend is on the rise, so that in 2013 more than 1,604,000 workers (specialists) migrated from Iran, indicating a 23.5 percent increase in labor migration from Iran compared to 2010, with the UAE and the U.S. reported as the most attractive destinations for Iranian labor." This newspaper simultaneously quoted Mohammad Akbarnia, the director of the job placement office of the Ministry of Labor, stating: "In the first seven months of this year, 350,000 job seekers registered in job placement centers, of which 110,000 were women and 240,000 were men. This occurs while global statistics indicate that labor migration from Iran has been on the rise." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat quoted "a labor relations expert" stating: "The emigration of educated labor from Iran is a significant economic loss for the country, as a large budget has been spent on educating these individuals, and with the departure of educated workers, capital waste occurs." The newspaper Aftab Yazd, in a note titled "Who Holds the Axe?" wrote: "For several days, Tehran's billboards have been hosting a new slogan from the municipality, a campaign emphasizing the necessity of preserving the environment and trees," but Tehran citizens ask, "Who is responsible for the cutting of trees in Tehran?" This newspaper recalled "the nighttime cutting of trees on Vali Asr under various pretexts, the cutting of thousands of trees in Chitgar Forest Park, and the demolition of the city's gardens under the title of the garden tower resolution," stating: "The question here is whether these slogans are truly directed at the citizens of Tehran, who face million-toman fines for cutting and drying a single tree according to the law, or are these slogans directed at the urban management authorities sitting behind desks, managers who have set records for the destruction of gardens in Tehran."