The Man Behind Kayhan

The newspaper Sharq published a portrait of Hassan Shayanfar on the front page of its Wednesday issue, referring to him as "the man behind Kayhan" and wrote: "Hassan Shayanfar, the head of Kayhan's research office, in a detailed interview with Fars News Agency, shared his memories of cultural and media figures from past decades; narratives that are always traceable in the editorials and reports of Kayhan." According to this newspaper, Hassan Shayanfar stated: "Media outlets like Kayhan and Fars play the role of 'bad cop' to push the opposition of the revolution towards Rouhani and Khatami, and the result of this movement goes into the bowl of the Islamic Revolution." Sharq also published parts of Shayanfar's remarks about Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, and Saeed Hajarian, quoting him as saying: "Saeed Hajarian was looking for 'absorption and assimilation,' but 'we see that the policy of absorption and assimilation had the opposite effect.'" Hassan Shayanfar, who is referred to as one of the figures behind forced confessions and 'repentance production,' also mentioned that the night before the trial of Abbas Maroufi, the manager and editor of the magazine 'Gordon,' told him: 'You should confess to the mistake you say you made. The public opinion will surely welcome this incident.' Sharq also published parts of Shayanfar's statements about journalists and media activists from the 80s, quoting the man behind Kayhan as saying: 'The infiltration we see today did not happen overnight; it has occurred over time, especially after the years of the Sacred Defense. It has reached a stage that has taken sleep from the wise leader of the revolution. We hope officials wake up and control the infiltration movement; otherwise, the event that should not happen will happen.' The newspaper Ebtekar, with the headline 'Repeating the Epic of the Second Step,' wrote: 'At 8 AM on Thursday, the campaign period for candidates in the second round of the 10th Majlis elections ends. Evaluations indicate a strong and organized presence of reformists and government supporters in the form of the Hope List.' According to this newspaper, 'On the opposing front, the principlists have not only abandoned their supported candidates from the first round, but some principlist candidates also prefer not to emphasize this faction's support for themselves based on their experience from the first round.' The newspaper Ebtekar also published 'the comprehensive coalition list of reformists for the second step,' which includes the names of candidates supported by the coalition in cities where elections have gone to the second round. The newspaper Hamdeli also reported with the headline 'Repeating the Rain,' implicitly referring to Mohammad Khatami's message for citizens to participate in the second round of the Majlis elections, and reported on 'the nationwide invitation of reformist parties and personalities to the public to complete the epic of March 7' in the voting on the 10th of Ordibehesht. This newspaper simultaneously emphasized in its front page that 'principlists have changed colors,' writing: 'Apparently in the second round, some principlist figures do not want to be recognized as principlists among voters, so they have changed colors and have used reformist elements, such as prominent figures of this movement or turquoise colors in their posters.' According to the newspaper Hamdeli, in the electoral districts of Maragheh, the principlist candidate Mohammad Ali Hosseinzadeh used a photo of Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the reformist policy-making council, next to Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij, for advertising. The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh also reported with the headline 'The Principlists' Silent Light' quoting Abolqasem Raoufiann, a principlist figure, stating: 'Some candidates no longer wish to be supported under the title of the Coalition Council (of principlists) because they lost the result in Tehran 30 to 0.' Only two days before the second round of the Majlis elections, nearly all newspapers close to the principlists, including the newspapers Resalat, Javan, Hemayat, Siyasat Rooz, and Jam-e Jam, did not mention this election on their front pages. Among the newspapers close to the principlists, Kayhan, in its Wednesday issue and on the eve of the second round of elections, preemptively attacked the elected representatives of the 10th Majlis, calling them 'agents.' This newspaper, in a report titled 'Agents,' wrote: 'The reformist faction wants to form a command room to use the representatives as agents and signing machines, to the extent that the elected representatives even do not have the right to refrain from signing names they do not deem appropriate.' This newspaper pointed out that 'on Friday, the second round of the Majlis elections will be held. The reformists are trying to show the parliament as already under their control through psychological and media operations, and even to secure positions for the presidency and secretaries.' It wrote that the reformists are trying to 'take the reins of the next parliament into their hands and control affairs from a command room outside the parliament,' and thus 'the members of parliament will practically be signing machines that act according to the orders of that command room and nothing more.' Yadollah Javani, former head of the political office of the IRGC and current advisor to the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, wrote in a note titled 'The Government's Responsibility for the Happiness and Afterlife of the People' in the newspaper Javan: 'What has been neglected today is the responsibility of the statesmen regarding the people's paradise and hell.' The author of the Javan newspaper criticized the government, stating: 'Unfortunately, today a significant portion of the statesmen and system officials have no concern for the afterlife of the people and have no worries about whether the people will go to paradise or hell. They have forgotten that with the Islamic Revolution, the officials in the Islamic system, which was essentially religious in nature, established a government with a religious nature in Iran, and now they are officials and agents in a religious political system.' Yadollah Javani emphasized that 'in a religious-based government and state, officials and agents, just as they think about water and bread, security and welfare, civil liberties, and other citizens' rights, should also think about paving the way for people to go to paradise and blocking the paths to hell,' implicitly supporting the actions of the police to guide people to paradise and wrote: 'How is it that when a landslide occurs, the police mobilize to close the roads for the safety of citizens and open side routes for people's passage; however, if it was expected that the police would also play a role regarding the paths leading to paradise and hell, some would rise in opposition and raise the issue of the law.' The Javan newspaper also published a cartoon on its front page depicting government officials such as Ali Tayebnia, Abbas Araghchi, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Mohammad Javad Zarif holding 'what should I do' bowls, stating: 'The government formed a task force to reclaim $2 billion seized from America.' At the same time, the newspaper Etemad, while publishing a photo of Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araghchi on its front page, wrote: 'Some critics of the JCPOA have adopted a tactic of insult and mockery against members of the nuclear team under the pretext of seizing Iranian assets in America.' This newspaper also reported that the 'Justice-Seeking Student Movement,' an organization close to the principlists, held a meeting on Tuesday and presented the 'Golden Malle' student emblem to Abbas Araghchi. Etemad emphasized that 'the opponents of the post-JCPOA period are the same as the opponents of the JCPOA period,' referring to the statements of Gholamali Haddad Adel and Manouchehr Mottaki against the JCPOA. Simultaneously, this newspaper's front page titled 'The $2 Billion Task Order' wrote: 'Rouhani's cabinet on Tuesday outlined two serious actions to recover the $2 billion seized: first, 'forming a task force to address the issue and identify the factors involved,' and second, 'summoning the US interests section to the Foreign Ministry.' The newspaper Qanoon, in a report titled 'The Supreme Court Against the Supreme Court,' examined the legal dimensions of the ruling on the seizure of Iranian assets in America. Youssef Molaei, a legal expert, told this newspaper: 'After Iran's objection to the Supreme Court, this court did not accept our objection, and of course, it is in the process of review, and now I cannot think of a legal way to prevent the execution of the ruling, and we must consult with lawyers who are qualified to practice in America.' The newspaper Shahre Vahdat, in a report titled 'Who Made Cigarettes Rich Overnight,' referred to 'the price hike and stockpiling of cigarettes before the implementation of the parliamentary price increase bill' and reported that 'during the review of the 95 budget bill, the minutes of the parliament regarding the increase of 500 rials for each imported cigarette and 350 rials for joint productions and 100 rials for domestic productions had not yet been typed, and prices in the market increased by 30 to 50 percent,' and 'the price of each carton of cigarettes increased by about 400,000 tomans.' This newspaper emphasized that 'in the absence of precise oversight and lack of informational transparency, decisions like this create huge profits for some, to the extent that those who were informed of the price increase earlier were able to move several steps ahead of others and thus multiply their income from selling their products.' Qasem Ali Hasani, head of the union of wholesalers, told the newspaper Shahre Vahdat: 'While the government and parliament are pursuing a reduction in tobacco consumption through price increases, a significant portion of the cigarettes consumed in the country are smuggled; in other words, this decision will only lead to increased profits for smugglers.' The Shahre Vahdat newspaper announced the profit from cigarette smuggling to be 400 percent and quoted Mohammad Mehdi Mofatteh, one of the representatives of the 9th parliament, as saying: 'If we did not have smuggling, we could have increased prices and duties to raise consumer prices and reduce consumption, but when smuggling exists in the country and its volume is significant, increasing prices will only increase the profit margins for cigarette smugglers.' The newspaper Aftab Yazd dedicated its front page to Mohammad Mossadegh, the Prime Minister of Iran in the early 1950s, emphasizing that 'Mossadegh is coming to Tehran,' reporting that 'the city council of the capital is looking for a location to name after Mohammad Mossadegh.' This newspaper also quoted Gholamreza Ansari, a reformist member of the Tehran city council, stating: 'In Cairo, there is a street named after Dr. Mossadegh, but in Iran or at least in the capital, there is no street named after this influential figure in contemporary Iranian history.'