The Political Landscape of Reformists and Principlists Six Months Before the Elections

The front page of the newspapers Aftab Yazd, Arman, and Ebtikar features Mohammad Javad Zarif and his response to Saeed Jalili's remarks. Aftab Yazd reported on Zarif's 'important warning to Jalili and the opponents of the JCPOA,' quoting the Foreign Minister as saying, 'If you make noise again, I will expose the Almaty documents.' The newspaper Shahrvand also noted 'the Deputy Speaker of Parliament's criticism of Jalili,' reporting that Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi, addressing Jalili, said, 'If we had had these meetings in those six years, perhaps three resolutions against Iran would not have been issued.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan published a report on the political atmosphere six months before the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, stating, 'There are 165 days left until the 10th parliamentary elections. Reformists and Principlists are approaching a critical electoral juncture that seems unlikely to repeat the experiences of the 6th or 9th parliaments.' 'The children in the seats of their fathers' is the headline of a report in the newspaper Arman regarding the potential candidacy of several children of senior officials in the parliamentary elections. This newspaper mentioned Mohsen and Fatemeh Hashemi, children of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Farid al-Din Haddad Adel, son of Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Emad Khatami, son of Mohammad Khatami, and Zaher Tavakoli, son of Ahmad Tavakoli, as potential candidates for the parliamentary elections. The newspaper Etemad reported on the Minister of Education's promise to the families of imprisoned teachers, quoting Ali Asghar Fani as saying, 'I hope we witness the freedom of our colleagues with the reopening of schools.' The newspaper Shargh, while reporting on the increase in the dollar price in Tehran's currency market, stated that on Tuesday, the dollar 'stabilized at 3,500 tomans,' and 'although psychological expectations after the nuclear agreement were that the dollar price would significantly decrease in the market, the 300-toman increase in the dollar ended the optimism.' The newspaper Etemad also reported on 'Hashemi's call' for candidacy in the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections. According to this newspaper, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in a meeting with several members of the Central Council of the Society of Teachers and Researchers of the Seminary, stated that he 'will not only run for the Assembly of Experts but has also issued an electoral call for other intellectual and political forces, saying: 'Any intellectual and capable personality who has the ability to participate in these assemblies based on Islamic criteria and is within the framework of the system must participate as a candidate based on legal and religious duty.' The newspaper Etemad also wrote: 'The registration of political forces advocating change is underway. This is why it emphasizes 'every intellectual and capable personality.' It seems this 'change' will occur with the electoral entry of all. The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also dedicated its front page to the upcoming parliamentary elections, reporting under the headline 'Towards Elections with the Code Name Corruption,' stating: 'The scenario of introducing a corruption case every day until the night of the elections has recently become the electoral strategy of the government.' This newspaper also quoted Ali Shafiei, one of the representatives from Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts, as saying, 'Hashemi's leadership council will not be realized.' The representative from Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts also criticized Ali Mohammad Dashtgheib, a dissenting representative, saying, 'All I want to say about Ali Mohammad Dashtgheib is that he is like Sheikh Karroubi and his thoughts lack support,' but 'there is no indication that he is affiliated with any group. Although those who want to use every opportunity against the system will benefit from people like him, his overall performance, the notices he issued, and his actions in Shiraz indicate more than anything else, a lack of foundation and substance.' The newspaper Kayhan in its Tuesday issue referred to 'Iranian women's society' as 'the target of the American-British infiltration project,' stating: 'A group of teams linked to Eric Schmidt, senior managers at Google, have held various workshops under the title of job creation in the country, both in-person and virtually, and recently one of their leaders was arrested in the country.' The newspaper Arman reported that in the continuation of concert cancellations, 'Shahram Nazeri's concert in Tabriz' has been canceled. This newspaper noted that 'three other concerts in Iran were canceled,' stating, 'Shahram Nazeri's concert, which was scheduled for September 18 in Tabriz, will not be held for unspecified reasons,' and 'on the other hand, Ali Akbar Moradi's concert, a veteran tambour player, was canceled due to the lack of a permit from the police's public places department, and on the other hand, Reza Sadeghi, a pop singer, could not perform in Kerman.' The internal arrangement of the two reformist and principlist factions six months before the elections is discussed in the newspaper Farhikhtegan, which published a report on the political atmosphere six months before the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, stating, 'There are 165 days left until the 10th parliamentary elections. Reformists and principlists are approaching a critical electoral juncture that seems unlikely to repeat the experiences of the 6th or 9th parliaments.' This newspaper emphasized that 'it seems this time the roadmap for the parliament is in the hands of moderates from both factions,' stating, 'Despite losing their two effective parties over the past five years, the reformists seem to have a common position and approach towards the 10th parliamentary elections, so that the events of 2004 will not be repeated in 2015.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan wrote about the situation in the principlist faction, stating, 'Despite various parties, the principlists have lost their elders, which has led to fragmentation and divergence. This divergence, despite numerous meetings and gatherings, has not produced a clear outcome and still lacks an electoral coalition.' This newspaper noted efforts in both political factions for 'internal coalition' among aligned parties and groups, stating, 'With six months left until the 10th parliamentary elections, political currents in the country must each engage in electoral coalitions and determine which potential candidates they will turn into actual candidates.' The newspaper Farhikhtegan mentioned the parties and organizations of the Society of Combatant Clergy, the Unity Party of Islamic Iran, the Executives of Construction Party, the National Trust Party, the Imam's Line Forces Assembly, the Islamic Labor Party, the People's Democracy Party, the Iranian Voice Party, and the Moderation and Development Party as the nine main and active parties close to the reformists. This newspaper referred to 'the strategic committee of reformists and the advisory council' as two coordinating bodies in the reformist faction and mentioned the newly established 'Unity Party of Islamic Iran' under the leadership of Ali Shakouri Rad as a party that 'its official positions and members indicate that this political organization has the necessary coordination with the strategic committee of reformists and the advisory council for the upcoming elections.' Farhikhtegan wrote about the National Trust Party as well, stating, 'This party has not had organizational activities since the 2009 elections and the house arrest of its secretary-general [Mehdi Karroubi], although after the 11th government came to power in October 2014, it held a conference with the presence of the deputy secretary-general of the National Trust Party,' but 'it still has not held a general assembly to elect its central council.' This newspaper reviewed the current status of each of the reformist parties, introducing most of these parties as coordinated with the Coordination Council of Reformist Front and the Advisory Council of Reformists, and even regarding the Iranian Voice Party, it wrote: 'Despite criticisms from some reformists towards this newly established party, the Iranian Voice has officially stated that if the reformists reach a unified list for the elections, they will not present a separate list.' 'The Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, the Front of Followers of the Imam and Leadership, the Society of Combatant Clergy, the Islamic Coalition Party, the Society of Martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the Steadfast Front, the Front of Resistance of Islamic Iran, and the Yekta Party' are also identified as the eight main organizations and parties of the principlists according to the Farhikhtegan newspaper. This newspaper wrote about the role of 'the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary' in the upcoming parliamentary elections, stating, 'Although Mohammad Ghoravi, a member of this clerical-political organization, recently announced that they have no plans for the 10th parliamentary elections,' but 'the Society of Combatant Clergy is still trying to ensure that the joint meetings of Mohammad Ali Mohammadi-Kermani, Mohammad Yazdi, and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi ultimately lead to unity among the principlists to present a common list.' According to the Farhikhtegan newspaper, 'Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the secretary-general of the Front of Followers, has opposed the proposal to form a Faqih Council for final decision-making among the principlists, emphasizing that 'with the presence of the two societies, there is no need to form a Faqih Council.' This newspaper also reported that 'the positions of the Front of Followers against the Steadfast Front, as the new principlists, are, as Mohammad Reza Bahonar has repeatedly emphasized, a following of the traditional principlists' direction.' At the same time, this newspaper wrote that 'the Steadfast Front, a newly emerged principlist organization in the 11th presidential election, disrupted the principlists' game by supporting Saeed Jalili and refused to comply with other principlist factions,' adding that 'in the past two years, given the performance of the students of Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi in previous elections, other principlists are trying to bring these new principlists, who have significant differences from the traditional conservative principlists, along with them. In this context, the Qom faction and the Tehran faction of the Steadfast Front have differing views on electoral coalitions.' The Farhikhtegan newspaper emphasized the diminishing role of the Islamic Coalition Party after the death of Habibollah Asgaroladi, mentioning 'the Yekta Party' as one of the newest principlist parties, stating: 'This party, which announced its presence in June this year, consists of ministers and senior managers from the 9th and 10th governments,' but 'the Yekta group, which stands for the Efficient and Transformative Companions of Islamic Iran, emphasizes that it has no organizational connection with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and did not consult him in forming this party,' adding that 'this party has not yet engaged in electoral negotiations with any principlist groups.' The Minister's promise to the families of imprisoned teachers; hope for the freedom of teachers coinciding with the reopening of schools is reported by the newspaper Etemad, which stated that the Minister of Education promised the families of imprisoned teachers, quoting Ali Asghar Fani as saying, 'I hope we witness the freedom of our colleagues with the reopening of schools.' This newspaper noted that 'the demands of teachers have manifested themselves in the form of silent protests across the country since last winter,' stating that 'in recent months, several members of the teachers' union have been arrested.' The newspaper Etemad did not mention the names of the arrested teachers, but previously, media close to teachers' unions reported the arrest of at least six teachers. Alireza Hashemi Sanjani, Secretary-General of the Iranian Teachers' Organization, Ali Akbar Baghaei, Vice President of the Iranian Teachers' Union, Ismail Abdi, Secretary-General of the Iranian Teachers' Union, Mohammad Reza Niknejad, and Mehdi Bahlooli and Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi, three other members of the teachers' union, have been arrested and imprisoned from April to September of this year. These six teachers are in addition to those who have been imprisoned since 2009, and some of whom have been released after serving their sentences. Now, the newspaper Etemad reported that 'last week, the families of imprisoned teachers met with the Minister of Education,' and Ali Asghar Fani, in his press conference on Tuesday, referred to this meeting, stating, 'A few days ago, the families of the imprisoned teachers requested a meeting with me, which I granted, and they provided reports in this meeting. I am following up, and I hope to witness the freedom of our colleagues coinciding with the reopening of schools.' Ali Asghar Fani also commented on 'the possible gathering of teachers on the occasion of World Teachers' Day on October 5,' stating, 'So far, no request for a gathering on this day has been received, and if such a request is received, it will certainly be reviewed.' This newspaper also covered other parts of Ali Asghar Fani's statements on Tuesday, noting that 'the Minister of Education had nearly all his deputies with him to be present at the press conference ahead of the reopening of schools to answer journalists' questions,' stating that the school year is expected to begin with more than 13 million students according to the Ministry of Education's estimates.