The Start of Subsidy Removal

The newspapers Jahan San'at and Etemad reported on their front pages on Wednesday about the "beginning of the removal of subsidies for the wealthy." Jahan San'at reported that Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the head of the Management and Planning Organization, announced on Tuesday the "beginning of investigations to remove cash subsidies for the wealthy deciles by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare." Etemad also emphasized in its headline that "the removal of subsidies has begun," stating: "If you did not receive a subsidy this month, do not be surprised; you are wealthy." The newspaper Javan reported on the review of the plan to "prohibit the transportation of narcotic drugs" in the Expediency Council, stating that if approved, "transportation of narcotic drugs will only be allowed with a doctor's permission." Shargh reported that Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, visited Ahvaz on Tuesday while a number of citizens gathered outside the Khuzestan governorate chanting, "Quality air, clean and healthy air is our legitimate right." This newspaper also mentioned the protesters' remarks on the recent arrests of some air pollution demonstrators. Arman dedicated its front page to a caricature of Ezzatollah Zarghami and quoted the former head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization as saying: "Ignoring a political faction was one of the goals of the IRIB." This newspaper described Zarghami's recent statements as "contradictory" to his previous remarks about the "neutrality of the IRIB," noting that during his presidency at the IRIB, "Zarghami always tried to present himself as a non-partisan and independent force, but the little or no opportunity for reformists to communicate with society through the IRIB cast doubt on this effort." Arman also reported that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, during a meeting with students at Beheshti University on February 9, stated regarding his "presence in the Assembly of Experts elections": "Rest assured that someone who has seen the revolution has nothing but the revolution; I will definitely stand by it and will be present wherever necessary." However, Khorasan quoted Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, on the sidelines of a meeting of three thousand student Basij officials, regarding the new president of the Assembly of Experts, saying: "Ayatollah [Mahmoud] Hashemi Shahroudi will probably become the future president of the Assembly of Experts." This newspaper noted that the election for the new president of the Assembly of Experts will be held on March 10, stating that the election of the new president in the March session of this Assembly is referred to as "the most political competition of the Experts" among politicians and media, and among those mentioned as potential candidates for the presidency of the Assembly of Experts are Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, as well as other prominent names like Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, and another potential candidate is Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi. Qanoon reported on its front page about "the unveiling of another financial case," stating that Sadegh Larijani, head of the judiciary, participated in a meeting of the administrative council of Lorestan province during his visit on Tuesday, where he emphasized the necessity of dealing with economic corruption, saying: "Currently, several financial corruption cases are under investigation, one of which involves an individual who has taken out loans of 6,500 billion tomans from banks without accountability, and part of this money has been taken out of the country in the form of currency." The newspaper Javan also highlighted Sadegh Larijani's remarks regarding the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, quoting the head of the judiciary as saying: "Addressing those who have been influential in the sedition or are under house arrest is a legal right of the people, and those who have spread sedition to pave the way for foreigners, although I do not want to say that this was their intention, have sent messages to America and Europe, and addressing their situation and the quality of our behavior towards them is under religious and legal guidelines, and everything that has happened to them so far has been based on law." The newspaper Mardomsalari quoted Mohammad Farhadi, the Minister of Science, as saying: "The security perspective within universities, especially by disciplinary committees, must be eliminated." Shargh, in a report titled "Efforts to Exclude Women from the Stage," examined "disruptions in concerts," stating: "After the incident of concert cancellations in cities, the time has come for a series of preventions of women's presence on stage. In the latest case, the microphones of female singers were cut off during the closing ceremony of the student production festival of students from cultural and artistic scientific centers." "The removal of subsidies has begun"; the promise of affordable housing in exchange for subsidy removal. The newspapers Jahan San'at and Etemad reported on their front pages on Wednesday about the "beginning of the removal of subsidies for the wealthy." Jahan San'at reported that Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the head of the Management and Planning Organization, announced on Tuesday at the "first national congress on resistance economy" in the presence of Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, about "the beginning of investigations to remove cash subsidies for the wealthy deciles by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare." Jahan San'at reminded that "for some time, Parliament has insisted on removing cash subsidies for the wealthy, but officials have mentioned the lack of a complete and accurate database for implementing this plan." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht announced that "the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare has also begun investigations for removing cash subsidies for the wealthy deciles," stating that the resources obtained from this removal of subsidies for the wealthy "will be used to support production and health development." Among these, "4,800 billion tomans from the resources of targeted subsidies have been allocated to the health sector, and next year, in addition to that, 1,300 billion tomans will be allocated as the difference for supportive housing loans and 1,000 billion tomans will also be allocated to support employment development in the budget bill." Etemad also emphasized in its headline that "the removal of subsidies has begun," stating: "If you did not receive a subsidy this month, do not be surprised; you are wealthy." According to this newspaper, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the head of the Management and Planning Organization, emphasized on Tuesday that "the subsidies for expatriates have been removed," announcing the government's plan to implement the Parliament's decision regarding the removal of the wealthy from the list of subsidy recipients, stating that "the government has begun the process of removing the wealthy." Etemad quoted the head of the Management and Planning Organization as saying: "We will calmly remove wealthy individuals, whose subsidy payments have no impact on their lives, with a specific program and without causing stress for society, and we will allocate the resources obtained to health, treatment, and production." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht mentioned that "this year we have taken a new step regarding health and treatment, and another development next year will be the issue of affordable housing and support for employment," stating: "Regarding the removal of wealthy individuals from receiving subsidies, we must be careful," emphasizing that "if such actions are not carried out with precision, they will lead to dissatisfaction." According to the head of the Management and Planning Organization, "the removal of the wealthy will continue gradually, and for the budget of 2015, these policies will be implemented more extensively but with caution, as the people are respected by us, and the tranquility of society is of great importance to us." Etemad noted that "the number of subsidy recipients in the second phase of targeted subsidies has only decreased by 2.4 million people," stating: "Although the continuation of the current situation has caused many problems for the country's economy, many experts recommend the government's caution in this area." This newspaper, referring to Mohammad Baqer Nobakht's remarks on Tuesday about "the government's determination to implement the Parliament's decision" to remove subsidies for the wealthy, quoted him as saying: "Clause 21 of this year's budget law specifies various duties for executive agencies and the government regarding how to implement the second phase of the targeted subsidy law, and this clause specifies that unlike what was done in previous years, we should take actions for revenue generation, and also in the past, in addition to all the resources obtained from targeted subsidies, general budget resources were also distributed among the people." Etemad wrote: "Previously, government officials spoke of the difficulties in removing the wealthy. The President emphasized that identifying the wealthy carries high risks, and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht had previously stated that when some people feel the need, why should their subsidies be cut? The Minister of Economy also declared that removing subsidies for only 200,000 people was without risk, but now, with the Parliament's approval, the government is obliged to act regarding the removal of subsidies for the wealthy." "Ebtekar Surrounded by Dust Storms"; Citizens' Protest, Arrest of Protesters, Journalists' Complaints. Shargh reported that Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, visited Ahvaz on Tuesday while a number of citizens gathered outside the Khuzestan governorate chanting, "Quality air, clean and healthy air is our legitimate right." According to this newspaper, Masoumeh Ebtekar, on Tuesday, traveled with officials from seven ministries and agencies to "unveil and start the special package to combat dust in Khuzestan," and during this trip, managers from the Ministry of Oil, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Forests and Natural Resources Organization accompanied the head of the Environmental Protection Organization as all relevant government agencies regarding the dust issue. Sadra Mohaghegh, a journalist from Shargh, noted that the head of the Environmental Protection Organization had told this newspaper a few days ago that "she did not travel to Khuzestan during the crisis days so that she could go to this province with a full hand and a specific and executable program," referring to the preparation and approval of this special package to combat dust in Khuzestan, which was finalized in the government in recent days. After arriving in Ahvaz, the head of the Environmental Protection Organization and her delegation attended the opening ceremony of the National Conference on Environmental Science and Engineering at Chamran University, where Masoumeh Ebtekar, during her speech at this conference, "called for scientific attention to the issue of dust and to avoid emotional and one-dimensional views on this phenomenon." Shargh also reported that after the conference, Masoumeh Ebtekar, along with her companions, visited various areas of Khuzestan by helicopter, particularly the outskirts of the cities of Ahvaz, Mahshahr, and Hendijan, which are said to be the main internal sources of dust production, and during part of this visit, after landing in some nomadic areas, government officials discussed the problems and consequences of dust with the nomads. Simultaneously, a group of officials from the Environmental Protection Organization, including Mohammad Darvish, Director General of Promotion and Education, and Saeed Motasadi, Deputy for Human Environment of this organization, were present at the Khuzestan governorate to hold a brainstorming session with members of civil society organizations active in the field of dust and the environment to hear the warnings, suggestions, and criticisms expressed on behalf of the people and local communities and ultimately convey them to high-ranking officials of the organization, especially Masoumeh Ebtekar. According to Shargh, at the same time as this event, a number of Ahvazi citizens who had learned about the head of the Environmental Protection Organization's visit to Ahvaz gathered in a protest in front of the Khuzestan governorate to voice their objections, demands, and expectations with slogans and placards they raised. This newspaper noted: "Initially, the number of attendees was small, slightly more than 20 people, but gradually the number of protesters increased to about 100." Their slogan was: "Quality air, clean and healthy air is our legitimate right." Shargh also pointed out the presence of police forces on the sidelines of the street during the gathering of some Ahvazi citizens in front of the Khuzestan governorate, stating: "The protesters occasionally encouraged the police with their slogans to support and thank them," but "in addition, some attendees mentioned the arrests of several protesters." Sadra Mohaghegh, a journalist from Shargh, wrote that his inquiries about the reason for the arrests of participants in the gathering in front of the Khuzestan governorate from some of the officers present at the scene and also one of the officials of the governorate received the response that "there was no order to confront and prevent this gathering; only if someone or some people give slogans unrelated to the subject or have other objectives, their presence in the gathering will be prevented, but even they will not be arrested." This newspaper also emphasized that "a noteworthy point in yesterday's gathering was the significant presence of women and young girls compared to others." Shargh referred to a press conference held by Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Protection Organization, and Abdolhossein Moteqedai, the Khuzestan governor, at the Khuzestan governorate, noting that several local journalists "attended this press conference wearing masks on their faces in the style of Khuzestan's representatives in Parliament." According to this newspaper, the main focus of most "journalists' remarks was not questions but rather expressions of complaints and grievances in the form of poetry and recitations and heartfelt discussions with Masoumeh Ebtekar, primarily regarding her absence during the dusty days in Khuzestan, to the extent that Abdolhossein Moteqedai, the Khuzestan governor, addressed the journalists, saying: "This issue has been repeated several times, but I have said several times that I have requested from government officials, including Ms. Ebtekar and Mr. Jahangiri, who wanted to travel to the province."