The Government's Game with the Central Bank

The newspaper Jahan San'at reports on its front page under the title "The Government's Game with the Central Bank" that "the likelihood of replacing Shapur Mohammadi with Valiollah Seif has increased." The newspaper also reports that "since the announcement of the single exchange rate of 4200 tomans in the country's economy, there has been no sign of this single-rate dollar in the market transactions," but "since the announcement of this rate, currency brokers and speculators continue their underground activities, managing their under-the-table currency transactions in the corners of streets and alleys." Jahan San'at writes, "These days, what has brought the economy to the brink of collapse is the numerous currency fluctuations; from the inability of government officials to control the unfinished currency chaos to the two-day decisions that have robbed everyone of sleep, and we are always waiting to hear about new restrictions in the currency transaction market." The newspaper emphasizes that "over the past months, the country's currency market has been subject to the repetitive and failed policies of government officials, and none of these policies have helped the government achieve its goals," stating that "the dollar, which rose from 3800 tomans last fall to 6000 tomans in Farvardin 97, is the result of ineffective policies that the government insists on repeating and has no intention of changing these hasty and unprincipled policies." The newspaper Etemad, in its front page on Tuesday, titled "End of House Arrest?" writes: "The end of house arrest is near. This promise comes from Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, and with this one sentence, he proves that Hassan Rouhani has not forgotten his promises in the twelfth government." This newspaper describes Hassan Rouhani's promises as "from keeping the hand that presses the filtering button to finding a key to unlock house arrest" and writes: "Winter 96 was accompanied by some openings in the process of visiting the house-arrested individuals, and figures like Ali Motahari also said that before Nowruz, the knot of this issue would be untied; this did not happen." After that, Eshaq Jahangiri, Rouhani's first vice president, spoke on March 18, 97, about the possibility of "ending house arrest in the new year" and said: "Good actions have been taken in the Supreme National Security Council." According to Etemad, now a month has passed since 97, and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht says: "We are in a situation where everyone must be together, and it is not good that we cannot use the capabilities of some personalities in the system for various reasons. Today, given the circumstances, we must be together, and the government supports the end of house arrest; I see the position of the president, and I wish part of society knew the government's efforts in this regard. That we witness the country benefiting from its children with the end of house arrest is close." Jalal Jalalizadeh, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, wrote in a note in this newspaper: "One of the positive effects" of ending house arrest "is the resolution of some political problems and concerns that have previously arisen among various factions." The author of the note, without mentioning "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" and his close associates, refers to them as the cause of the country's problems and writes: "What and who created these problems has now become a problem themselves and are currently in prison. Those who have intensified tensions in the country even by going to prison. Ending house arrest can bring the reformist movement closer to the government and also alleviate the concerns that have arisen in the past regarding the reformists." The newspaper Shargh, in a report titled "Contradictions of the Discovery of Reza Shah's Mummy," writes: "Despite the fact that since early yesterday morning, news agencies and virtual media have been focusing on the discovery of a mummy, the public relations of the shrine of Hazrat Abd al-Azim considers the news of the discovery of a mummy in this shrine in Shahr-e-Rey, which is attributed to Reza Shah Pahlavi, to be a rumor." This newspaper notes that Mostafa Ajorlou, the director of public relations at the shrine of Abd al-Azim in Shahr-e-Rey, said: "The discovered body is also a remnant of a natural body; no mummy has been found in this area; even its face was not recognizable, and the rumor spread about the remains of this body is merely fabricated by the virtual space." It emphasizes that "Ajorlou's statements confirm the discovery of a body. His denial is only about the mummy status of this body and, in any case, shows that during the development of this holy site, a body has been discovered, which the public relations of the shrine wants to downplay its importance." According to Shargh, even a member of the public relations of the shrine of Abd al-Azim reported that the excavations have been halted by the order of a higher authority and said: "Since Sunday, April 21, excavations have been stopped, and we do not know exactly from which section, for example, the Security Council, national security, intelligence, or Basij, individuals have come to that place and stopped the operation." This newspaper simultaneously quoted Mehdi Hajjat, the head of ICOMOS Iran, about the discovery of the mummy in Shahr-e-Rey and the possibility of it belonging to Reza Shah's corpse, stating: "As soon as a specialist archaeologist sees the corpse, they can determine the age of the corpse. If it is about 60 to 70 years old, there is a possibility that it belongs to Reza Shah, and further archaeological and historical research is needed. If it is older, it will also be studied by archaeologists like other historical corpses discovered." Mehdi Hajjat regarding whether the officials of the shrine of Shah Abd al-Azim allow cultural heritage experts to investigate and excavate, said: "Allowing them does not make sense. If a mummy has been discovered, it is their duty to inform the Cultural Heritage Organization. The organization will also inform the research institute, and they will send an archaeological team from the Archaeological Research Institute for further investigations. They do not even have the right to move the corpse." Meanwhile, in a report by the newspaper Shargh, two cultural heritage officials in Tehran stated that they have not received any information from the shrine of Abd al-Azim. This newspaper published part of the memoirs of Sadegh Khalkhali about how the tomb of Reza Shah was destroyed and quoted him as saying: "The area around the tomb was surrounded by armed groups of the Fadaiyan-e Islam, and the guards were also watching the situation. Eventually, night fell, but we could not bury the tomb, even though we caused a lot of damage to it and turned it into a ruin. At around 10 PM, I left the tomb for rest. Shortly after, Mr. Haj Ahmad Agha Khomeini came to see the tomb and, in fact, to boost my morale, encouraged those stationed there and with this act made it clear that Imam (Ruhollah Khomeini) had no objection to the destruction of the tomb, and this greatly strengthened us." The newspaper Shahrvand also, with the title "The Confused Mummy of Rey," quoted Ahmad Abu Hamzeh, a Rey scholar, as saying: "If this discovered corpse is a mummy, it is definitely related to the first Pahlavi." This newspaper notes that "a mummy that was said to have been found in the western part of the shrine of Abd al-Azim in Shahr-e-Rey; exactly in the area of the tomb that was leveled to the ground in May 1979, and now in May, 38 years later, it has been found, and this single sentence that 'a mummy has been found in Rey, probably belonging to the first Pahlavi,' has become a news bomb and has led to dozens of questions and rumors." Ahmad Abu Hamzeh, the Rey scholar, told the newspaper Shahrvand: "The area where the operation was carried out had no other buried corpse. In the sources I have referred to, it is stated that no other mummy has been buried in that spot. Therefore, if this discovered corpse is a mummy, it is definitely related to the first Pahlavi, especially since that place has never been a burial site for mummies." He quoted sources in the shrine of Abd al-Azim as saying: "What I know is that friends in the shrine have said that a body has been found, and even Mr. Khalil Abadi, the head of the Cultural Heritage Committee of the Tehran City Council, has confirmed it. In this construction operation, they have dug 10 meters in that area. This is the same point where the original tomb of the first Pahlavi was located and was destroyed by revolutionaries early in the revolution. The seminary in recent days has been reconstructing exactly in that area. I suspect that given the revolutionary fervor of the people at that time, they only destroyed the tomb and did not search for the corpse, so if it is a historical corpse, it belongs to the first Pahlavi." This member of the Rey Studies Association emphasized that "the main issue is cultural heritage, not politics," stating: "This corpse, regardless of who it belongs to, must first be buried; another issue is that if it is historical, it can be a source of income for the shrine of Abd al-Azim," while "we bring artifacts from the Louvre to familiarize people with history in Iran, so a mummy of a king can also be a source and document from that historical period. The remaining heritage for people can be a pot or a corpse. This is also history, like the tombstone of Naser al-Din Shah, which is now kept in the Golestan Museum." The newspaper Shargh published statements by Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Hassan Rouhani, regarding the pre-sale of coins and quoted him as saying: "The total number of people who pre-purchased coins was 65,000, who bought several million coins, some of whom bought 25,000 coins at once." Eshaq Jahangiri also stated regarding the government's currency policy: "The government will not retreat from the new currency policy, and anyone who thinks the government will retreat from it does not know us or the government. Fortunately, the judiciary, the parliament, and security forces are on board to ensure this policy succeeds, and the entire system, including the Supreme Leader and the President, is united on this policy." The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, as saying: "The IRGC should not be disturbed by adversities, and the police should maintain their authority." Sadegh Larijani stated that "today the enemy has removed the option of military attack from their minds but has begun a multi-faceted confrontation with the Islamic Republic, which has several dimensions" and said: "On one hand, they are trying to infiltrate the structures of the system and create changes and deviations in the calculations and predictions of the officials of the Islamic Republic, making the country vulnerable, and on the other hand, they have placed disrupting the economic environment and business climate on their agenda, of which we have seen examples in the recent fluctuations in the currency market." The newspaper Javan also quoted Sadegh Larijani as saying: "We are closely monitoring all these enemy efforts, and the constant presence of the people in the scene and the vigilance of security, military, and police forces have always managed to maintain the country's security; as seen in the recent riots, the presence and vigilance of the people have dismantled the rioters' activities." Sadegh Larijani emphasized regarding criticisms and protests against the behavior of police officers that "we should not allow anyone to resist the legal actions of the police or insult an officer. The police should not retreat even one step."