The Naked Refugee Dilemma of Officials

The Iran newspaper has dedicated its front page on Monday to the "Large Gas Producers Summit in Tehran" and reported: "The grand gas summit will open on Monday with the presence of leaders from producing countries." The front page photo of the Etemad newspaper is dedicated to Vladimir Putin, and this newspaper has reported with the headline "The Tsar of the East in the Heart of Tehran": "Seven presidents have come to Iran to participate in the gas producers' summit, among whom Vladimir Putin's presence has attracted all eyes." The Etemad newspaper in its front page with the title "Money Laundering with Permission" wrote: "Babak Zanjani claimed in court on Sunday that his financial operations and money transfers were approved by a resolution signed by three ministers and the head of the Central Bank of the ninth government." Afshar Soleimani, former Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan, in the editorial of the Bahar newspaper titled "Whose Side is Moscow On?" described the news regarding the possible delivery of S-300s coinciding with Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran as news that has "no benefit" for Iran, stating: "Currently, the repetition of the issue of S-300 delivery by Russian officials, who have always been faced with contradictory statements and protracted interactions, brings no benefit to Iran other than provoking reactions from the US and Israel and increasing the sensitivity of regional Arabs, which strengthens their military capabilities. It is likely that before Iran receives the S-300 from Moscow, Israel and opposing Arabs will become bolder with much greater military capabilities." Elaheh Kolayi, a reformist figure and professor of international relations at Tehran University, in an interview with Bahar newspaper during Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran emphasized the "tactical view of the Russians towards their relationship with Iran," stating: "As we have witnessed over the past years, it can be expected that changes in Russia's relations with the US will also affect these relations. In examining Russia-Iran relations, one can never ignore the US factor." Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, in the editorial of the Iran newspaper regarding the "solution to the Syrian crisis" wrote: "The Syrian crisis has entered a new path with recent developments and the holding of the Vienna I and II conferences, and for the first time, faint glimmers of hope are being observed for ending one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies of contemporary times." The Bahar newspaper reported the approval of "increased executive powers for the Basij" in the parliament, stating that the approval and speeches of representatives supporting this amendment were influenced by the statements of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Karami two days ago "regarding the role of the Basij in countering influence." This newspaper also reported that Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, emphasized that "whatever the result of the elections, we will accept it," stating: "No one has the right to disrupt gatherings." Mehran Karami in the editorial of the Farhikhtegan newspaper titled "War or Media Interaction" wrote: "Contrary to professional standards, some media have turned into a platform for accusations and exposing each other instead of operating within the framework of the country's regulations and defending their colleagues within these laws." This newspaper also pointed out several mistakes in the "documents" claimed by the Mehr news agency against journalists and posed questions to this news agency, emphasizing based on current laws in Iran that "a journalist cannot be deemed guilty for publishing public, non-confidential, and unclassified news." The Javan newspaper reported that Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Sunday during a speech at the Resistance Economy Vanguard Conference called on the government to pay attention to the economic plans of this force, stating: "If the government pays attention to our proposals and plans in the field of resistance economy, the result will be different." The Arman newspaper in its front page on Monday reported the gradual beginning of "the separation of government supporters from reformists" and quoted Gholam Ali Dehghan, the spokesperson for the Moderation and Development Party, stating: "In the elections, we will partner with Ali Larijani." The Hamdeli newspaper followed up on reports about "child selling in Tehran," emphasizing the existence of the phenomenon of "buying and selling newborns around hospitals in southern Tehran," stating that while Fatemeh Daneshvar, the head of the social committee of Tehran City Council, confirmed this news, Hossein Sajedi-Nia, the commander of Greater Tehran Police, said that "no information regarding the extent of child buying and selling has reached the police." The Shargh newspaper in its front page titled "The Naked Refugee Dilemma of Officials" reported the disclosure of a 100 billion tomans corruption case by the head of the country's inspection organization. The front page photo of the Shahrvand newspaper today is dedicated to the "AIDS Bus" that has started its activities in western Tehran fifteen days ago. This newspaper wrote that one of the missions of this bus is "to identify HIV-infected individuals neighborhood by neighborhood." The Bahar newspaper reported on the approval of "increased executive powers for the Basij" in the parliament, stating that the approval and speeches of representatives supporting this amendment were influenced by the statements of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Karami two days ago "regarding the role of the Basij in countering influence." Earlier, the Abrar newspaper in its front page on Saturday published a warning from Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Karami, a former representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC and the current secretary-general of the Society of Clerics in Tehran, regarding the "enemy's infiltration" and the "repetition of the sixth parliament," quoting him as saying: "The enemy has plans for these two elections; Basijis should be vigilant so that a parliament like the sixth parliament does not come to power, which caused the Leader of the Revolution to suffer." The Bahar newspaper in its Sunday issue emphasized the impact of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Karami's statements on "the urgent approval of the amendment to the fourth chapter of the IRGC's bylaws regarding the Basij," stating that this amendment "was approved with 151 votes in favor, two votes against, and six abstentions from a total of 199 representatives present in the session, marking the most significant event of the day in Baharestan, especially given that the coincidence of this proposal with the Basij week and the recent positions of the head of this organization towards the government doubled its importance." Kazem Jalali, the head of the Research Center of the Parliament, stated regarding this matter: "Part of this amendment to the bylaws pertains to the Basij Organization, and the most important aspects relate to establishing and stabilizing the Basij's position in relation to demographic positions in cities and provinces and in all government agencies and part of the private sector." The Bahar newspaper quoted Kazem Jalali stating that the parliament's approval pertains to part of the "IRGC's bylaws" regarding the Basij and the establishment of a "Coordination and Support Council for the Basij at the highest level in ministries and executive agencies to support the Basij's programs for their realization in these agencies." This newspaper emphasized that "in a sense, the amendment to the fourth chapter of the IRGC's bylaws regarding the Basij creates the opportunity for this organization to position itself regarding current national issues, whether political, economic, or cultural, and even its presence in decision-making processes in a more lawful and robust manner than before." Mohammad Saleh Jokar, a supporter of the parliament's approval on Monday, told the Bahar newspaper: "The aim of this amendment is to reform the organization, structure, missions, and duties of the Basij Organization," as "it has been nearly 30 years since the previous bylaws. At that time, we were in the defensive and wartime, so most of the Basij's missions were related to defensive and military training and presence in various battlefronts, but today the threats have changed and have a soft aspect, and based on this, the Basij's missions are also changing. Additionally, the Basij has entered into various cultural, social, and economic dimensions." This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the ninth parliament related another aspect of this bylaws to providing conditions for the membership of various sectors in the Basij, such as doctors, professors, and engineers, stating: "In this amendment, the aim is to provide constructive actions and address the needs of deprived areas, so that an amendment can be considered for this issue." Mohammad Saleh Jokar emphasized that "the requirements of the day and the needs of the Basij for its activities necessitate that such a law be provided for the Basij," stating: "All amendments are not limited to these few points, and there are significant changes that will hopefully be reviewed in the Basij committee meeting on Tuesday to be approved in the plenary session as soon as possible." This representative also responded to the question of whether the bylaws would provide the Basij with independent decision-making powers in the country, stating to the Bahar newspaper: "Such powers have been held by the Basij, but in this amendment, the areas of activities and missions will be redefined and legalized; that is, the Basij previously had a defensive and military aspect, but today, given the diversity of the Basij's missions through the recommendations of the Supreme Leader or the decisions made by the organization itself, we want to legalize it in the parliament. In other words, the Basij's executive powers will be updated compared to the past." "War or Media Interaction"; Accusations by Mehr News Agency against Journalists Mehran Karami in the editorial of the Farhikhtegan newspaper titled "War or Media Interaction" wrote: "Contrary to professional standards, some media have turned into a platform for accusations and exposing each other instead of operating within the framework of the country's regulations and defending their colleagues within these laws." The editorial writer of this newspaper pointed out the publication of accusations against detained journalists in the Mehr News Agency, stating: "Considering the course of the case in security and judicial authorities and the necessity of respecting the rights of defendants before any crime is proven, publishing it in an official media can create suspicions in society, one of which is playing with the reputation of citizens; but since the editor-in-chief of the 'Farhikhtegan' newspaper is one of the detainees in the recent case, it is appropriate for this news agency, which claims to have access to information in the case, to answer some questions in this case to assist the investigations." The Farhikhtegan newspaper pointed out that "the mentioned news agency introduced two lists as payment proposals in July and February 2014, signed by an individual who has lived outside Iran for years and is working in one of the foreign media, where one list contains 13 names and the other 16 names, and of course, the names have been blacked out with a marker, which with a little attention can be identified, and probably almost all these individuals have lived abroad for years." The question from this news agency is whether the individuals that this news agency claims received dollars and euros from some individuals abroad live in Iran and work in domestic press and media or are they living abroad? The second question is whether the detained individuals are among those who received money from abroad or not? The Farhikhtegan newspaper also wrote: "There is also a technical error in this report" as "the report of this news agency contains two tables in English that introduce several individuals for payment of fees or salaries or any other title. One states: 'My first proposed list for July 2014, which contains 13 names below it.' The other is titled 'Second list dated February of the same year'; whereas in the order of the months of the Gregorian calendar, February is the second month and July is the sixth month, and the first payment should have been made in February and the second payment in July, and for such a mistake, a convincing answer should be provided." The editorial writer of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, referring to the remarks of Hassan Rouhani, who said: "Some media act as secret police for each other," wrote: "This issue is not ambiguous that journalism in Iran is one of the least demanding and most vulnerable civil institutions that unfortunately becomes a victim of political competitions and factional games, and it is necessary for the media in the country to refrain from fueling media wars and losing people's trust in accurate and professional information dissemination, to value their professional rights and avoid entering into fruitless disputes that result in confronting state institutions and creating divisions among the country's managers; so that, as the system's officials, especially the Supreme Leader, have repeatedly emphasized, they do not create the ground for foreign political, cultural, and spiritual infiltration in the country." The Farhikhtegan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief Ehsan Mazandarani, alongside Eisa Saharkhiz, Afrin Chitsaz, and Saman Safarzadeh, are among the journalists detained in recent weeks, wrote: "Those who, despite difficulties, remain in the country with love and dedication and engage in journalism deserve greater respect and appropriate treatment to enhance the safety of the system, and various laws, especially the law on access to information passed in 2013, which has recently had its executive regulations issued, recognizes these rights for media and journalists, and a journalist cannot be deemed guilty for publishing public, non-confidential, and unclassified news." The IRGC Commander: The government should pay attention to our economic plans; the result will be different The Javan newspaper reported that Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Sunday during a speech at the Resistance Economy Vanguard Conference called on the government to pay attention to the economic plans of this force, stating: "If the government pays attention to our proposals and plans in the field of resistance economy, the result will be different." Mohammad Ali Jafari spoke about the IRGC's economic activities and their connection with Hassan Rouhani's government, stating: "The economic conspiracies of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution have been thwarted with vigilance, insight, and jihadist work in the field of resistance economy."