The Outrage of Unemployment

The newspaper Qanoon has reported under the headline "The Outrage of Unemployment": "According to statistics published from the examination of the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 across the country, broken down by different seasons from 2002 to 2017, this rate reached its highest point in spring 2017; so much so that the seasonal unemployment rate for young people in the age group of 15 to 24 was reported at 28.8 percent this spring. Previously, the highest seasonal unemployment rate for young people in spring was in 2001 with a rate of 30.6 percent." The newspaper wrote, "Last year, despite the government’s announced statistics that 600,000 jobs were created, due to the increase in the job-seeking population in the country, the unemployment rate has again increased compared to before." Qanoon also stated: "Unemployment is one of the major problems we face in the country, and as evidence shows, this issue has become larger over the years instead of being resolved," while "once entering university guaranteed a future for every young person and promised entry into the job market, in recent years, despite the increased number of university entrants, education does not guarantee finding a suitable job for individuals." The newspaper emphasized that "the issue of unemployment, in addition to the economic damages it causes to the country and families, also represents a kind of social and psychological harm, leading to many disasters in these areas." The newspaper Etemad described the statements of several members of the 10th Parliament regarding the transition from a presidential system to a parliamentary system as "an attempt to amend the constitution" and wrote: "Comments from several representatives close to Ali Larijani have brought the issue of constitutional change and the establishment of a parliamentary system back to the media." According to this newspaper, "Two days ago, Ezzatollah Yousofian-Molla, a member of the independent faction's board, stated that a number of representatives intend to write a letter to the Leader for him to instruct the President to review the constitution," and this comment "alongside remarks from other figures such as Mohammad Javad Kolivand and Jalil Rahimi Jahad-Abadi about the features of the parliamentary system, which were all published by the House of Representatives news agency, has made the issue more serious." Etemad reminded that six years ago (October 24, 2011), the Leader of the Islamic Republic first raised the possibility of establishing a parliamentary system during a trip to Kermanshah, stating: "Today, our system is presidential; that is, the people directly elect their president; so far, it has been a very good and experienced method. If one day in the distant or near future - which probably will not happen in the near future - it is felt that instead of a presidential system, for example, a parliamentary system is desirable, as is common in some countries of the world, there is no problem; the Islamic Republic can convert this geometric line to that other geometric line." This newspaper pointed out that now, six years after the Leader's remarks, the issue of replacing the presidential system with a parliamentary system has returned to the media, quoting Ezzatollah Yousofian-Molla, the head of the internal regulations committee of the Parliament, as saying: "The current conditions do not meet the needs. If the Parliament wants to interact with the government, it must make numerous concessions; currently, the Parliament sees many issues," adding that "the issue of Parliament's oversight with current laws and regulations means getting involved with the government, and many consider interaction to mean that questions and impeachments should not be raised," but "if a government is formed from within the Parliament, any flaws and faults should be pursued by the Parliament." Mohammad Javad Fathi, a member of the 10th Parliament's judicial committee, however, rejected the transition from a presidential to a parliamentary structure, stating to Etemad: "Establishing a parliamentary system means that there would be no president and the Parliament would appoint a prime minister, which conflicts with the political structure of our system with democracy," noting that "the way representatives are elected to the Parliament does not occur within a completely democratic framework, and the Guardian Council has a kind of influence on the entry of representatives into the Parliament. Because in this case, representatives who have passed through the Guardian Council filter will select the prime minister, and this would not be compatible with democratic principles." The newspaper Shargh also published a report regarding the statements of several representatives about the necessity of changing the presidential system to a parliamentary one, raising the question of whether this renewed proposal is meant to ensure that "the president is not elected by the people?" This newspaper pointed out that "the focus on the parliamentary system has suddenly become a priority for the House of Representatives news agency," emphasizing that "the discussion of this issue in the current conditions of the country, especially during a period when there has been relatively good relations between the government and the Parliament, is surprising." Shargh also identified the representatives advocating the transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system as being close to Ali Larijani, stating: "However, the reformists present in the Parliament emphasize that advocating for a parliamentary system in the current political turmoil of Iranian society is a regression in democracy and believe that direct democracy in a directly elected presidential system is more respected than in a parliamentary system." Abdolreza Hashemzadeh, the senior president of the 10th Parliament, emphasized that "it should be seen from which faction, party, and political group the proposal and emphasis on the parliamentary system is coming," adding that "this issue itself will reveal other realities." The newspaper Jahan San'at dedicated a photo to the visit of the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces to Tehran, stating: "Iranian and Turkish generals share a common position; opposition to the independence of Kurdistan." This newspaper wrote: "The positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the Kurdistan Region emphasize the preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity, and recently, this has been strongly emphasized. In this regard, it is expected that the Islamic Republic, Turkey, and Iraq will use all various tools to prevent changes to their borders and will attempt to pressure the Kurdistan Regional Government through diplomatic means or even through pressure tools such as closing land and air borders to force the officials of the Kurdistan Region to abandon their independence demands." Jahan San'at also emphasized in its editorial titled "The Dark Outlook of Kurdish Independence" that "undoubtedly one of the goals of the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran is to negotiate coordination to confront Kurdish independence demands." Meanwhile, the newspaper Iran, close to the government, reported on "a transformation in Tehran-Ankara relations" and described the result as "moving from hidden competition to open cooperation." This newspaper emphasized that "on the eve of Tehran hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two neighboring countries are experiencing elevated relations, and the reciprocal visits of the chiefs of staff of the Iranian and Turkish armies indicate the peak of military cooperation," writing that "the successful cooperation experience of Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara in the Astana negotiations and placing Syria on the path toward resolving the crisis and the coordinated positions and actions of Iran and Turkey in cooperation with Baghdad in confronting the independence referendum of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq indicate the formation of special relations at bilateral, regional, and international levels." Jafar Haqpanah, a regional affairs expert, told the Iran newspaper: "Turkey is trying to use the potential independence of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by creating competition, tension, and even war between the PKK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party to fend off its internal threat. That is, creating and strengthening the dichotomy between Ocalan and Barzani and the Barzani Party would be a favorable point for Turkey and operationally help fend off the military and security threat posed by the PKK; because a significant part of these forces are stationed in Iraqi Kurdistan from Qandil to Makhmour and Sinjar, and from this perspective, Turkey is much more vulnerable." The Iran newspaper quoted Jafar Haqpanah as saying: "The Iranian Kurdish opposition based in northern Iraq is not comparable in terms of influence, numbers, and media and political power with the Turkish Kurdish opposition based there. However, the reason our reaction is more severe seems to stem from the assumption that this project is a completely American-Israeli project. In these circumstances, it is predictable that our approach with the US as a significant influencer in the international system will differ from Turkey's approach, which has that dialogue. In any case, there, the logic is one of bargaining and exchange, but we do not define such a relationship with the US. Therefore, from the very beginning, we took the hardest position." The Iran newspaper dedicated a photo to "the deadliest shooting in American history" with a report titled "The Song of Death in Las Vegas," stating: "58 dead and 515 injured were the result of the 'lone wolf' shooting in Las Vegas at a music festival. ISIS claimed that Stephen Paddock, the perpetrator of the deadliest shooting incident in American history, was a soldier of this terrorist group who responded positively to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's call," but "the FBI has rejected this claim." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, wrote about the armed attack and the killing of at least 58 people: "America lost in the gamble of domestic terrorism." This newspaper stated: "In the deadliest shooting at a crowd in American history, an armed individual opened fire on the crowd present at a music festival in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of America, creating a bloodbath that killed 58 people and injured 515 others." Javan noted that "the armed individual, who had several weapons with him, was shot down by police," stating that "American media have said that this incident was not terrorist-related, but American users on social media have claimed that this is domestic terrorism." The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated a photo to Dorsa Derakhshani, an Iranian-born chess player and international grandmaster, stating that "the Iranian chess player who was expelled from the Iranian team for competing without a hijab in several international competitions has joined the US national team." This newspaper noted that "Dorsa Derakhshani, who participated in international competitions without a hijab, was expelled from the Iranian national team due to her hijab-free participation, and from now on will compete for the US national team," writing that Dorsa Derakhshani "is the second Iranian female chess player, after Sara Khadem al-Sharia, to have not only earned the title of women’s grandmaster but also achieved the title of international master at the age of 18 during the 87th Chess Congress, and has a record of winning the Asian Youth Chess Championship in 2012 and placing sixth in the World Youth Chess Championship in 2015 for Iran." Hamdeli quoted Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the head of the Iranian Chess Federation, in response to Dorsa Derakhshani joining the US team, stating: "Transfers of chess players between federations occur, and Derakhshani has effectively changed her federation from Iran to the US," as "this chess player has been present in the US for the past two years, and according to chess-playing regulations, a player who changes their country can compete for the federation of that country after two years, and Dorsa Derakhshani has taken advantage of this rule."