The Share of Each Iranian from the Budget

The newspaper Khorasan has reported on its front page about "The Share of Each Iranian from the Budget": Although the total budget of the country shows a 22 percent increase compared to last year, "the government's development budget and oil revenues have decreased compared to the current year's budget law, while tax revenues have increased." According to this newspaper, under the 97 budget bill, "the health budget for each Iranian is 712,000 tomans, which shows an increase of 106,000 tomans or 17.5 percent compared to the 96 budget bill. In social welfare, the budget allocated by the government for each Iranian is 985,000 tomans, which has grown by 62,000 tomans or 6.7 percent compared to last year's budget bill, but the per capita budget for education and research for each Iranian next year is also 348,000 tomans, which is almost half of the current year's budget bill." Khorasan pointed out that "the total income tax in the budget bill for next year is about 19.5 trillion tomans," stating: "Thus, it can be said that each Iranian will pay an average of 245,000 tomans in income tax in 97." Additionally, "the government has predicted that it will earn about 3 trillion tomans from traffic fines next year, and the number of vehicles on the roads is about 20 million; assuming one vehicle per driver, it can be said that Iranian drivers will pay an average of 150,000 tomans in fines next year." The newspaper also reported: "The government has predicted that it will collect about 1.4 trillion tomans in taxes from cigarette consumers. Statistics indicate that the number of smokers in the country is 15 percent of the population, or about 12 million people. Thus, it can be said that these individuals will have to pay 124,000 tomans in taxes for cigarette consumption next year." The newspaper Jam-e-Farda, in its editorial titled "Long Live Transparency," wrote: "The government's behavior regarding the relative transparency in the budget can serve as a model for all of us in determining the country's position in various fields, especially the economy and social affairs." This newspaper pointed out that "there will certainly be sections of organizations, institutions, and individuals in the country that are not very supportive of such transparency trends," stating that it is appropriate for "the Speaker of the Parliament, the Hope faction, and other parliament representatives who work in the budget committee to arrange for the community to be informed about the detailed budget discussions in the budget committee. This will be the first step for the Parliament to participate in the budget transparency process and educate the community about the existing economic difficulties." Jam-e-Farda also focused on the "details of the budget for institutions of famous individuals" and examined the budgets allocated for institutions under the supervision of Gholamali Haddad Adel, the father-in-law of the Supreme Leader, and Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini. According to this newspaper, "the collections managed by Haddad Adel have a budget allocation of about 4.25 billion tomans in the proposed budget for 97, which is a 23 percent increase compared to the 96 budget," and the institutions under Hassan Khomeini will receive 71 billion tomans, including 18 billion tomans for the Imam Khomeini mausoleum, "11 billion tomans for the Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution Research Institute," and "about 6 billion tomans for the maintenance of the Imam Khomeini portal or the Jamaran website," with part of this budget also allocated to the Institute for the Compilation and Publication of the Works of the Founder of the Islamic Republic. The newspaper Shahrvand, following the bus accident of the نور راهیان bus carrying high school students from Nazarabad, has approached their families and local officials in Alborz province, reporting: On Tuesday, about 200 students set out on a نور راهیان trip from Alborz province with 5 buses, but one of the buses collided with a Toyota on the Susangerd road and overturned. In this incident, two female students named Faiza Daryayar, an 11th-grade student at the Qalamchi High School, and Zahra Saberi, a 10th-grade student at the Chamran High School in Nazarabad, along with a coach named Sakineh Bayat, lost their lives, and 38 students were injured. Zahra Saberi's family told Shahrvand reporter Simin Farahani that this 15-year-old student was on the verge of marriage and was supposed to get married on Yalda Night; she had never been on a trip before, and although they were not in favor of her going, "Zahra wanted to go with her friends and spend some time with them before her wedding." This newspaper also reported that Faiza Daryayar's relatives said, "Faiza was a smart and studious girl. Her family always took pride in her grades and studies. She was in the 11th grade and studied in the experimental field. Her dream was to become a doctor." The brother of Sakineh Bayat, the coach who lost her life, also told this newspaper: "Sakineh was 44 years old and had never married. She was very active in cultural activities. She had been a teacher for 15 years. She was a religious and defensive coach. She was a member of the Basij and often went on this trip. She loved it. Every year, she prepared herself to go on this trip. She loved her job and enjoyed teaching culture and religion to her students," adding, "She took good care of my parents and looked after them. Because she was a smart girl, she supported many of them. That’s why delivering this news was very difficult." The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated the front page of its Thursday issue to the نور راهیان bus accident and, reviewing the frequent accidents of buses carrying students, described these trips as "blood journeys," writing: "We had not yet recovered from the shock of the tragic news of daily earthquakes and the heartbreaking deaths and homelessness of many of our compatriots from the west to the east of the country when the news of the death of high school girls from Nazarabad in the نور راهیان trip, which was sent to visit war zones, made our bitterness even greater." This newspaper wrote: "What could be the reason for such incidents occurring on such a large scale, and who should be held accountable?" because "parents of students who allow their children to participate in trips have trusted the school and, above that, the Ministry of Education, but how trustworthy the Ministry of Education or relevant institutions are with this trust is open to discussion." The newspaper Iran reported that education officials, following the Susangerd incident, announced that "there is no obligation for students to participate in student trips and also in نور راهیان trips, and students participate in these trips willingly." However, some students told this newspaper that "to obtain 8 points from the defensive preparedness course, they are forced to go on the نور راهیان trip." This newspaper emphasized that now "education officials must answer why, when they cannot ensure the safety of students, there is any obligation to hold these trips? Why is the student trip regulations not changing?" The Director General of Cultural and Artistic Camps and Educational Spaces stated about the "mandatory nature of نور راهیان trips," to Hedi Hashemi, a reporter for the Iran newspaper, that "according to the regulations we have, no manager should force students to go on نور راهیان trips. Students themselves are eager to participate in these trips." This education official emphasized that "the claim that 8 points in the defensive preparedness course is contingent upon participation in this trip is completely untrue. The Ministry of Education has not assigned any points for the نور راهیان trip, and this is also stated in the regulations. The نور راهیان trip is a jihadist trip where students become familiar with the culture of martyrdom, bravery, and heroism," adding that "there is no directive stating that this trip carries 8 points for students." Shirzad Abdollahi, an education expert, however, told the Iran newspaper: "On November 7, 2012, the Cabinet of Ahmadinejad's government approved the regulations for 'how to implement the curriculum and content of theoretical and practical lessons in defensive preparedness,' which states in Article 7 that the practical training that, according to the Ministry of Education and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, can be implemented in school environments, will be executed by the Ministry of Education in those environments. The part that requires students to be present in military environments will be held by the IRGC and under the responsibility of the IRGC in appropriate military training camps and the target locations of نور راهیان trips." According to Shirzad Abdollahi, "the Minister of Education should raise this issue in the Cabinet meeting and request the amendment of Article 7 of this resolution," and due to "the aging transportation fleet in the country," the Cabinet can "suspend or amend Article 7 and state at the end of the resolution that currently, نور راهیان trips are suspended, and whenever the conditions for the safe transportation of students are met, these trips will resume." The newspaper Etemad dedicated its front page to the participants in the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, quoting Hassan Rouhani, who stated: "Iran is ready to cooperate with Islamic countries to defend Al-Quds without any preconditions." According to this newspaper, "Leaders, foreign ministers, and representatives from over 50 Islamic countries gathered in Turkey to jointly declare that Al-Quds is our red line," and "dangerous decisions, actions leading to instability and violence throughout the Middle East, indicators of the United States' lack of neutrality in the Middle East peace conflict, attempts to turn political crises into religious crises, and... were phrases that leaders from various countries participating in this summit expressed." Etemad wrote: "The most passionate and, of course, the most emotional remarks were made by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, in his role as host, and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, also spoke about the plans of this authority for the future of peace negotiations, with the key point of Mahmoud Abbas's speech in Istanbul being the end of the United States' role as a mediator in peace negotiations." The newspaper Khorasan, under the headline "Fiery Criticisms but a Questionable Statement," wrote: "Representatives from 48 countries, including 16 heads of state, attended the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and in the final statement of this summit, they called on the international community to recognize 'East Jerusalem' as the capital of Palestine. This request could pave the way for international agreements to recognize 'West Jerusalem' as the new capital of Israel." This newspaper simultaneously emphasized that "Iran has always stressed that it does not recognize the two-state solution, and the future of Palestine must be determined by holding a referendum in this land." The newspaper Jam-e-Farda, while publishing an interview with Jelohe Javaheri, one of the founders of the 'Campaign to Ban Domestic Violence' in Iran, wrote: "Although specific laws to combat domestic violence against women have been passed in several Asian and Islamic countries, Iran still lacks a law to prevent domestic violence and protect women who have experienced violence. Therefore, a group of lawyers has prepared a draft law to ban domestic violence against women based on research on the laws of 18 countries and examining some cases and evidence of domestic violence in Iran." Jelohe Javaheri stated: "On one hand, the situation of women experiencing violence in family relationships is critical, as according to the only national plan regarding domestic violence in 2004, two out of three women have experienced violence at least once in their married life; this statistic is undeniable. On the other hand, the efforts of women's rights activists to address the situation of women experiencing violence face numerous dead ends." The newspaper Shargh reported with the headline "Hyde Park of Tehran" that Eisa Farahani, the governor of Tehran, "has proposed a place for holding gatherings and said: It would be good to designate a location for public gatherings in Tehran so that anyone who wants to protest can go there, and officials can also be present among the people there." This newspaper noted that "the governor's proposal to allocate a place for holding gatherings immediately brings to mind 'Hyde Park' in London," stating: "Hyde Park is the largest royal park in England. The southeastern side of the park is known as 'Hyde Park Corner,' where gatherings take place." Shargh wrote that "although the governor of Tehran did not provide further explanation about his proposal, gathering in a designated location to express protests is an experience similar to what happens in Hyde Park, a place where protesters and critics have the opportunity and platform to express their dissent or criticism on any issue." This newspaper reminded that "in Tehran, however, there is no specific location for political gatherings, and regardless of past events, political gatherings or demonstrations in this sense are not held. Generally, gatherings are of a professional nature, which also take place in front of the Parliament building in Baharestan Square. These gatherings sometimes face confrontations as well." Akbar Sanjabi, the governor of Sarpol-e Zahab, in an interview with the Shahrvand newspaper regarding the publication of mass graves after the earthquake stated: "There are no mass graves. The Imam of the village of Koyik, or their prayer leader, is also a health worker and village chief. After the earthquake, due to the high number of casualties, which was about 105, they could not dig 105 graves, so they used a bulldozer to dig that area, creating family plots, separating the plots with blocks, placing the bodies inside the graves, and covering them with soil. The residents of those villages follow Shafi'i jurisprudence.