The Futility of Two Billion Dollars

The newspaper Aftab Yazd, while publishing a photo of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, described the statement from the former president's office as 'an escape instead of an apology' and wrote: 'The former president, in a statement regarding the purchase of bonds from an American bank and the squander of 2 billion dollars, instead of providing an explanation, became the accuser.' The newspaper Shargh also published 'Ahmadinejad's response to the 2 billion incident' on the front page of its Thursday issue, describing the content of this statement as: 'We paid the money, but the current negotiation team is to blame.' This newspaper emphasized that 'despite the fact that it has been established that Iran's dollars during Ahmadinejad's presidency were converted into American bonds, they continue to deflect responsibility.' It reported the emergence of 'Saeed Jalili's fingerprints' in this matter, stating: 'Investigations show that Saeed Jalili's involvement is also evident in this case. The same person who was responsible for the nuclear file and the secretary of the National Security Council, who has recently intensified his attacks on the government and the nuclear team. He recently stated that if he were president, he would not have signed the JCPOA.' According to Shargh, 'The issue was that during the previous government, Iran accepted the jurisdiction of an American court to adjudicate Iranian assets, and the court ruled against Iran; while according to a resolution by the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's presence in American courts is prohibited.' This newspaper cited the words of Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, who said, 'Perhaps permission was obtained in this case, but our entry into this judicial system and the acceptance of jurisdiction was a mistake that occurred without consulting the Foreign Ministry.' It wrote: 'The matter can be viewed in two ways; if the presence in the American court was authorized by the Supreme National Security Council, it means that Saeed Jalili, who was the secretary at the time, was aware and is at fault; and if it was done without the knowledge of the Supreme National Security Council, then there was still a violation.' Dariush Qanbari, a former member of parliament, in a note in the newspaper Etemad referred to 'the bitter irony of the futility of two billion dollars' of bonds purchased by the previous government in America, stating: 'Now one can make a more fair judgment about what has happened. On one hand, some were chanting slogans against imperialism, while on the other hand, they were pouring water into the mill of imperialism and ignoring national interests.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in its Thursday issue criticized the publication of news related to Omid Kokabi, a imprisoned physicist, accusing reformist figures, newspapers, and media of 'human rights document fabrication' to 'pressure the government.' This newspaper wrote: 'The fabrication of human rights documents to exert pressure on the ruling system is one of the other organized programs of these days by personalities and media affiliated with this current, as can be clearly seen by examining the behavior and positions of those associated with this spectrum in the months following the 2013 presidential election, that creating uproar to convince that the human rights situation in Iran is in a worrying condition is a major objective.' The newspaper Javan accused reformist media of 'insisting on publishing news about the health condition of Omid Kokabi' and referred to this imprisoned physicist as someone who 'has been in prison since 2010 for espionage and illicit financial gain and was recently transferred to the hospital.' This newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also attacked a journalist for asking Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i about the status of Omid Kokabi, stating: 'At a press conference of the judiciary spokesperson, a journalist from one of the chain newspapers asked Mohseni Eje'i in a leading question to address Kokabi's health condition and even suggested that he should be released from prison.' The newspaper Javan noted the widespread requests on social media for the release of Omid Kokabi, stating: 'As a result of the frenzy caused by this wave and aided by anti-revolutionary efforts, in a few days, a criminal and spy was transformed into a victim and a figure worthy of admiration.' This newspaper emphasized that 'the media uproars today, led and directed by the internal Western-oriented current and anti-revolutionary media, have never been able to achieve their goals as they should and compel the ruling institutions to change their behavior,' writing: 'The current goal of the Western-oriented current is to create uproars around one of the security criminals and attempt to pressure the judiciary through social media and stir public emotions.' The newspaper Iran, close to the government, in its front page titled 'Friday Will Determine the Majority' wrote: 'On Friday, the votes of the people in 21 provinces will determine the political inclination of 68 representatives in the tenth parliament,' and based on this, 'party figures and political activists from both factions have focused all their efforts in recent days on inviting the 17 million eligible voters.' Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, a reformist political activist, in a note in the newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh with the title 'Changing the Election Atmosphere' wrote: 'Typically, in elections that have gone to the second round, we have seen a turnout of 40 to 45 percent at the polls, but it seems that in the current parliamentary elections, which have gone to the second round in some constituencies, we are witnessing some differences compared to previous periods,' and 'citizen participation in this election is much higher than in similar elections.' The 'evidences' referred to by Mohammad Javad Haghshenas include 'the widespread and unexpected reception of reformist figures' who 'have recently traveled to rural areas to campaign for reformist and moderate candidates' and 'the impact of the seventh of Esfand elections, especially in Tehran, on the political atmosphere of the second round of elections, which has resulted in 'the current situation favoring the reformists.' The columnist of the newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh predicted that 'more than 60 percent of the remaining 68 seats will be won by reformists' and emphasized that 'the atmosphere is so favorable for reformists that we are witnessing deflective movements from some conservatives, who, believing their defeat in the second round of elections is certain, have sought to justify their failure by attacking the government.' Nasser Qavami, a reformist representative from the sixth parliament, however, told the newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh: 'The parliament should have 200 Ali Motahari to be able to fulfill its duty to the people.' This newspaper quoted Nasser Qavami as saying that although 'the reformist movement, with the cooperation of representatives from the moderate spectrum, managed to have more representation in the tenth parliament than they had imagined, it is unlikely that they will be as successful in the second round as to claim the majority of the next parliament.' Nasser Qavami also emphasized the necessity of Mohammad Reza Aref's candidacy for the presidency of the tenth parliament, stating that in this case it will be revealed whether 'those who won votes through the Hope list will truly remain reformists or will forget where and how the people's votes were cast for them after sitting in one of the green chairs of the Baharestan building.' Conservative newspapers have continued to prefer to pass the second round of parliamentary elections with silence and indifference, while the newspaper Kayhan has written: '140 conservative candidates entered the parliament in the first round of elections, and it is expected that this number will reach 180.' Kayhan simultaneously in its front page quoted Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating: 'The import of goods that have domestic counterparts is absolutely prohibited.' 'The paper promise of practical sanctions' is also the chosen headline of the newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, close to the Stability Front, from the statements of the Supreme Leader on Wednesday. The newspaper Qanoon reported 'a medical error leading to death in Arak' with the headline 'The leg broke, his heart stopped,' stating that two weeks ago on Friday in a public hospital in Arak, 'a 74-year-old man underwent surgery for a broken leg, but due to a mistake, the doctors operated on his right leg instead of his left, which ultimately cost him his life.' Farshid Es-haghi in a report for the newspaper Qanoon wrote: 'In the operating room, while the specialist was absent, the senior orthopedic resident of the hospital took the scalpel and performed the surgery on the patient's leg, but unexpectedly and in a perhaps unprecedented mistake, the resident operated on the patient's right leg instead of the left. This mistake caused the patient to be transferred to the ICU and fall into a coma,' and 'after nearly 9 days, he lost his life.' The newspaper Qanoon noted that the son of this patient works as a guard in the same hospital and emphasized that 'the public hospital in Arak does not have a favorable status in terms of facilities and medical services,' writing: 'The series of medical errors in various cities and hospitals across the country is an endless series, part of which is natural and part of which is irreparable and unforgivable.' 'Flying with Bound Wings' is another report in the newspaper Qanoon about the crash of an F-7 aircraft of the Air Force near Naein in Isfahan province. This report criticized 'the negligence regarding the status of the military aviation fleet,' emphasizing that 'most of the military aviation fleet currently used by the Iranian army is from past decades and has lost its effectiveness.' The newspaper Jahan San'at in a report titled 'Praise on the Walls of the City' referred to 'graffiti' as 'the art of street protest,' writing: 'Just a few days after the murder of Setayesh Gharishi, her face can still be seen in the city; a face that has been drawn on the city walls by street artists as a sign of sympathy and protest.'