The Night of Suffocation

The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, with the headline "The Night of Suffocation," points out that as the Yalda night approaches, "the air emergency conditions in Tehran, Urmia, Tabriz, Isfahan, and several other cities continue." It states, "Despite the pollution index reaching 180 in the capital, only schools were closed." The newspaper notes that "in Tabriz, Isfahan, and Urmia, schools have also been closed," and mentions that "every year around this time, a crisis committee is formed for pollution and makes very important and effective decisions." While "solving Tehran's air problem requires long-term planning, for now, the only and most ridiculous solution is to close schools." The newspaper Asman Abidar describes "air pollution" as "the permanent guest of these days" and writes: "Considering Tuesday, the capital's air has been polluted for about two months, and this time the pollution wave is not limited to Tehran; Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Urmia, Ahvaz, Arak, etc., are experiencing polluted air, and apparently, the situation will not improve until Friday. On Friday, we must hope for wind to reduce these suspended particles from our cities so we can breathe a little easier." According to this newspaper, "when the air is polluted, emergency meetings are held for control, but there are few emergency meetings for prevention. On the other hand, when breathing becomes difficult, we think of nothing but traveling by private car, which protects us from outside air, and we constantly curse everything for making breathing difficult." This newspaper quotes Ahmad Taheri, the director of the air quality measurement network of Tehran's air quality control company, stating that multiple pollution measurement stations in Tehran "show that the index of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns is above 150, which is unhealthy for all segments of society, and a high concentration of these particles is observed, with a maximum of 180." The newspaper Asman Abidar also quotes Vahid Hosseini, the CEO of Tehran's air quality control company, saying: "Air pollution is not an issue that can be addressed temporarily, and everything is abandoned during the clean days of the year. It seems that the air pollution chick is counted at the end of autumn, and it is during this period that we remember the phenomenon of air pollution exists." The newspaper Hamshahri reports on its front page, quoting the emergency spokesperson, that due to the intensification of air pollution in Tehran, "cardiac arrests have doubled compared to last Sunday." In a field report from the emergency services of Shariati, Khomeini, Masihe Daneshvari, and Tarfeh hospitals in Tehran, emphasizing that its reporters' observations "indicate an increase in the number of patients visiting due to air pollution," it writes, "shortness of breath and frequent coughing accompanied by chest pain, eye burning, runny nose, headache, and a sense of rebellion are common among all those who are special guests of Tehran's emergency hospitals these days." The newspaper Jameh Farda, with the headline "Purple Pollution," features a photo by Mostafa Safari, a photographer from ILNA news agency, showing the widespread pollution over Tehran and states: "Shortness of breath causes three times the budgetary damage." The newspaper Etemad, in a report about the "salary controversy," notes that "the increase in the salaries of parliament members has faced numerous criticisms," stating: "The 70% increase in the salaries of representatives is not something that the public can easily accept because everyone knows that the amount received by parliament members does not end with the 5 million and 800 thousand tomans, as housing, vehicle, transportation, office expenses, etc., lead to multi-million tomans salaries, the amount of which is not transparent." According to this newspaper, some representatives argue for the necessity of salary increases, believing that parliament members should be on par with ministers according to the management law of public services, and since ministers' salaries are 10 million tomans, representatives should receive the same amount. A group of parliament members, citing that the costs of representation are high and they are forced to spend from their salaries to cover these costs, are demanding salary increases. Etemad emphasizes that there are differing opinions among representatives on this issue, stating that another group of the 10th parliament members "understands the bad economic conditions and existing public dissatisfaction and knows that now is not the time to defend salary increases for representatives," while some representatives believe that the discussion of salary increases is a diversionary issue aimed at discrediting the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Etemad quotes Elias Hazrati, the director of this newspaper, who is also a member of the 10th parliament, stating, "I assure the honorable people of Iran that not even one rial will be added to the salaries of representatives; in fact, we will not allow it to be added." Kayhan, on its front page, warns that "the 70% increase in representatives' salaries will blind the oversight eyes of parliament," stating: "The 70% increase in representatives' salaries, given that we are in the budget season and representatives must scrutinize the budget with keen eyes and correct its flaws, will blind the oversight eyes of parliament and impose crushing economic problems on the nation." This newspaper states that "in the past two days, news has circulated widely in the media that according to which representatives' salaries will increase by 70% to 10 million tomans," writing that so far "two parliament members have reacted to this news, one member stating that he doubts it will be the case and if true, he will not accept such a salary, while another member has stated that representatives' salaries are very low and is practically calling for an increase in these salaries to an amount that would cover the expenses of the parliamentarians." Kayhan implicitly identifies Ali Larijani, the head of the 10th parliament, as the cause of the potential 70% salary increase for representatives, stating: "The budget writing committee of parliament is a five-member group that operates directly under the parliament's presidency, managing the finances of the parliament," and "in this committee, Behrouz Namati, a member of the board of directors, and Hassan Zamani, the president's advisor, represent the board in a joint meeting with Mohammad Reza Tabesh, Mohammad Hosseini, and Abdolreza Misri, three members of the planning and budget commission, to discuss the parliament's budget and write the budget for the parliament's income and expenses." The newspaper Shargh dedicates its front page to the statements of the Attorney General of the Judiciary in Iran regarding "the role of some officials and their children in smuggling." This newspaper, while printing part of the statements of Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General, at a specialized conference of the police combating smuggling of goods and currency across the provinces, quotes him as saying: "When we see that some officials and those who should be sincerely active in the fight against smuggling are either involved themselves or their children or those related to them are involved, how can we expect the fight to succeed?" According to Shargh, this is the second time in a year that the Attorney General has "criticized the anti-smuggling goods and currency headquarters again and highlighted its inefficiency" and "criticized the lack of representation from the President for this headquarters, stating that the headquarters for combating smuggling of goods and currency has not been successful." Mohammad Jafar Montazeri did not mention the names or identities of the officials he claims are involved in smuggling. According to Shargh, the Attorney General of Iran identified "the West" and "infiltrators" as the cause of increased smuggling in Iran, stating: "The West operates with calculated planning in think tanks, one of these actions being smuggling goods," but "we do not attribute all actions to the enemy; they create pathways, and we must not forget that their infiltrators in the country also facilitate their goals and programs, and some unwittingly, through their opportunism and profiteering, become facilitators of the enemy's objectives and plans." The newspaper Jameh Farda reports with the headline "1500 Toman Gasoline from Saturday," citing a "reliable source within the government" that gasoline prices will increase starting Saturday, December 22. An informed source in the government has reported that gasoline will become more expensive starting on the first day of winter, and from that day, gasoline will be sold at 1500 tomans per liter. The newspaper Jameh Farda does not mention the name of this "reliable source within the government" but writes that "previously, there had been rumors about an increase in gasoline prices, and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesperson, also implicitly confirmed this news and even mentioned the possibility of gasoline being offered at a price higher than 1500 tomans." Earlier, the newspaper Etemad reported on its Tuesday, December 21 issue about "rumors of 1500 toman gasoline from December" and wrote that according to information obtained from managers of the country's planning and budget organization, the government intends to raise gasoline prices to 1500 tomans and diesel prices to 400 tomans starting from the beginning of December. This newspaper noted that "apparently, the government made this decision based on the law regulating part of the financial regulations of the government and Article 1 of the targeted subsidies law," writing that "in 2016, during the review of the 2017 budget bill, parliament members reviewed and approved the revenue section of Note 14 of this bill, which stated that the government did not have permission to raise energy carrier prices in 2017, but at that time, parliament members allowed the government to present its proposal for raising energy carrier prices in the last months of the year." The newspaper Bahar, on its front page with the title "Red Line on National Days," has reported on plans to "remove national days" from the list of holidays in Iran. This newspaper poses the question, "What goal does the plan to remove holidays from the calendar pursue?" It writes that based on a plan presented by some representatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, if approved by parliament, "some other national occasions will no longer be recognized as holidays," but "what the representatives proposing this plan mention as their goal is to reduce holidays in the year, but interestingly, the proposal to remove holidays based on this plan only targets national days." This newspaper highlights the importance of national days in public joy and celebration, referring to holidays such as Nowruz, the 13th of Farvardin, the nationalization of the oil industry, and some similar occasions, writing: "Just as people participate in religious ceremonies, they also have a strong presence in their national occasions related to ancient Iranian rituals and wish that national occasions receive as much attention from the country's officials as religious occasions." The newspaper Bahar warns the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly that removing national occasions from the list of holidays "will present a counter-cultural image of the representatives in society," writing: "That religious institutions in Iran are indifferent to the joyful aspects of religion and only focus on the aspects of sorrow and grief in religious occasions, and in such circumstances, if these few joyful days are also removed from focus, it is unclear what will happen to the spirit and psyche of the Iranian people." The newspaper Shahrvand has a report about the reactions to "the Minister of Agriculture's response to the complaints of a northern farmer," stating that Mahmoud Hojjati, just a few hours after the publication of a controversial clip, announced in a statement that he had no intention of insulting anyone, let alone the distressed and hardworking farmer who is trying to convey the drop in prices of his annual crop (rice) to the authorities. This clip, which shows parts of Hojjati's visit to a rice processing factory in Gilan province, reveals that the Minister of Agriculture, in response to a question and criticism from a "displeased rice farmer" about the drop in rice prices, advised one of his companions: "Give him some of this bran to eat." According to this newspaper, "this sentence sparked protests that have now forced everyone to explain and justify it. Everyone provides reasons for Mahmoud Hojjati's behavior, from the Gilan Agricultural Jihad to the CEO of the company that Hojjati visited in Langeroud." The newspaper Shahrvand identifies this "displeased rice farmer" as Ali Abed Chafi and reports that this farmer has been banned from giving interviews, quoting Ismail Fadaei, the manager of the food industry factory where the controversial visit took place, stating: "As far as I am concerned, I am sure that Abed Chafi is not a liar and has not been pressured in any way." Fadaei told this newspaper: "I was present at that ceremony. The top agricultural official of the country came to our factory and patiently visited our product and listened to the farmers' concerns. The farmer himself is grateful to the minister for listening to his concerns," but "some insist on politicizing the issue. He informs 'Shahrvand' about the farmer's ban on interviews." Mohammad Sadegh Hassani-Jourabi, a representative from Rasht in parliament, also told the newspaper Shahrvand: "What was said to the farmer, if it came from the minister, is very upsetting. Bran is given to livestock and poultry in Gilan," but Shaygan Adibi, the manager of agriculture at the Gilan Agricultural Jihad, defended the Minister of Agriculture to the newspaper Shahrvand, stating: "Such language is unlikely to come from Mahmoud Hojjati's character, and he had no intention of insulting the Langeroud farmer. The media have misunderstood and politicized the issue. I have worked with Mr. Hojjati for years and know him well and believe in his words."