The 'Industry Soldier' Plan

The newspaper Etemad has dedicated a photo to Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, reporting that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has appointed this senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the 'new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.' The newspaper Siyasat-e-Rooz, referencing the text of Ayatollah Khamenei's decree for Baqeri's appointment, states that 'the Commander-in-Chief's expectation from the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces is revolutionary action.' It recalls that 'Major General Mohammad Baqeri is the brother of Hassan Baqeri (Gholam Hossein Afshordi), who was the first head of intelligence and operations of the IRGC.' Baqeri himself is noted to have a high level of expertise in intelligence and operational matters and is currently active in the same capacity at the Armed Forces General Staff. The newspaper Siyasat-e-Rooz also mentions that Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, along with Mostafa Izadi, was promoted to the rank of Major General, and that he has been known as 'Afshordi' in his university and family circles, but is recognized as 'Baqeri' in his work environment. The newspaper Arman features a photo of the heads of the three branches of government on its front page, reporting under the headline 'Untold Stories of the Heads of Powers in the Conference Hall' that during a nationwide judiciary conference on Tuesday, 'the heads of powers discussed topics such as political crime, the embassy attack case, and how to deal with large salary slips.' According to this newspaper, Hassan Rouhani, in his remarks at the judiciary conference, stated: 'The people want to know how the judiciary deals with those who acted independently and against the law and national security by attacking an embassy,' and 'how the execution of the sentences for these independent individuals will be communicated to them,' emphasizing that 'every country is responsible for ensuring the security of foreign embassies.' The President stressed that 'if our people are well-informed about such issues and know what the judiciary has done, the trust of the people and global trust in the judiciary will increase accordingly,' adding that 'we are not looking for others to applaud us, but it is important for us to demonstrate Islamic justice to our conscience and to global public opinion.' The Arman newspaper also reports that Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the 10th Majlis, spoke about the JCPOA at this conference, stating: 'The system chose this path with open eyes,' but the West and the U.S. are 'aiming to undermine the country's power,' and we must pay attention in 'the judiciary and security sectors that the enemy is targeting the central government's authority, so if necessary, we must consider new mechanisms.' Larijani noted that 'the West, in addition to undermining the political and security power of the country, is also seeking to disrupt the economic situation in the country,' stating: 'They want no investment to take place. Therefore, we must see the political and economic factors behind the artificial crises and pressures. The will of the judiciary officials in this regard will lead other security and economic sectors to pay more attention to this issue.' Larijani emphasized that 'they do not mind the fire they have ignited between Iran and Saudi Arabia,' stating: 'They may say things on the surface, but it is not bad for them if this conflict continues.' The newspaper Hemayat also highlighted the remarks of the head of the judiciary at this conference, quoting Sadegh Larijani as saying: 'A powerful judiciary is in everyone's interest; the efforts of the judiciary are in the path of evolution,' and 'the judiciary does not intend to compromise with offenders, and in this regard, last year, 50 judges were dismissed from the judiciary.' The newspaper Shargh also focused on part of Rouhani's remarks, quoting the President as saying: 'The people want to know who the planners of the oil money embezzlement were.' The newspaper Javan, close to the IRGC, reported under the headline 'The New American Deception: Iran's Support for Hezbollah,' stating: 'Maintaining the structure of past sanctions' and 'efforts to impose new sanctions' are 'the dual objectives of the U.S. in the post-JCPOA era.' This newspaper pointed out that the White House spokesperson stated: 'We ask Iran to stop supporting Hezbollah because this not only threatens national security and is considered support for terrorism but is also not good for Iran's interests,' emphasizing that 'this is the latest condition set by the Americans for Iran to benefit from global trade markets.' This IRGC-affiliated newspaper noted that 'after the full implementation of commitments by the Islamic Republic of Iran, American officials have begun to speak about the need for Iran to change its behavior regarding some disputed issues, and by reopening other cases such as human rights violations in Iran, Iran's support for terrorism, and missile discussions, they are trying to both prevent the lifting of past sanctions and continue to block investment growth in our country while organizing new sanctions against our country.' The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page to Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, reporting that the government spokesman, during his visit to Shargh newspaper, announced the government's determination to prevent the receipt of irregular salaries and 'close legal loopholes.' Kayhan, on the other hand, in its front page, introduced Hassan Rouhani's brother as the reason for the appointment of Ali Sedghi as the CEO of Bank Refah Kargaran, quoting: 'The appointment of a 234 million manager was under pressure from Hossein Fereydoun.' According to this newspaper, Nasser Sarraj emphasized that 'the CEO of Bank Refah had a heavy case when he was the CEO of Bank Melli,' stating: 'During Hossein Fereydoun's time, he insisted that this person become the head of Bank Refah, while I opposed it.' The newspaper Etemad has dedicated a photo to Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, reporting that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has appointed this senior commander of the IRGC as the 'new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.' The newspaper Shahrvand has reported on the possibility of implementing the 'Industry Soldier' plan instead of military service in barracks, stating: a plan for 'Industry Soldier,' which is being prepared in the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, is going through its study phases and will soon be presented for decision-making to Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the Law Enforcement Force. This newspaper, referring to the reaction of the President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce to the 'incident of the death of 19 soldiers at Barracks 05 Kerman,' stated: 'The President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and Industries hopes that with the implementation of this plan, soldiers will work in factories and industrial units instead of being divided in barracks after completing training courses.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan has a report about 'the bloody attack on the emergency personnel in Bushehr,' stating that 'the attack by the companions of a man who was killed in a traffic accident ended with one of the emergency personnel being injured while they insisted on transporting the corpse.' Alireza Pourshams, the Deputy Operations Manager of the Bushehr Emergency Management Center, told this newspaper that this attack occurred during the rescue operations for the victims of a traffic accident in which two passengers of a motorcycle lost their lives, and the emergency personnel were trying to revive one of the deceased individuals at the scene when a young man insisted on transferring the corpses to the hospital by ambulance, injuring one of the rescuers named Ali Asadi in the face before fleeing. This newspaper reminded that 'the conflict between patients, their companions, or the companions of the deceased with emergency personnel is not a new issue, and the approval of new laws to combat it has not been very effective.' The newspaper Abrar reported that once again the price of 'dollar has exceeded 3500 tomans.' Mohammad Kashti Ara, the head of the Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union, stated that the shock from the UK's exit from the European Union was controlled, but 'in the domestic market, however, the increased demand for currency has led to the exchange rate rising to 3,500 tomans, and this issue has prevented the price of gold coins from decreasing.' The newspaper Iran reported on 'the announcement of the cause and culprits of the soldiers' bus accident,' stating: 'The driver's inability to control the vehicle and excessive speed accounted for 50 percent, the negligence of the Niayriz Road Maintenance in creating appropriate barriers accounted for 25 percent, and the bus company was also found to be 25 percent responsible for not monitoring the bus in this accident.' This newspaper quoted Kasra Sirousi, the commander of the northern Fars highway police, stating: 'Brake failure is not the cause of the accident because the bus braked several times, but due to excessive speed, the brakes also failed.'