The Tragic Death of Two Child Laborers Amid Flames

The newspaper Shargh reported on the "painful death of two child laborers amid flames" during a gas cylinder explosion in a garage in the "Ghani Abad" area of eastern Tehran. Two child laborers, aged seven and eight, who had gone to their father's room in the garage to rest after their first work shift, were burned alive. The newspaper stated that these two Afghan brothers, after finishing their first work shift, went to a small room where their father was resting, intending to return to work after a few hours, but were engulfed in flames when the room exploded. Shargh noted that "the report of this painful death was announced to the special murder investigator in Tehran on Tuesday, and according to it, the officers reported that two seven and eight-year-old brothers lost their lives in a suspicious fire that occurred in a garage. Additionally, the father of these two children, who attempted to save his children, was also burned and transferred to the hospital by ambulance." The newspaper mentioned that "when the police began their investigation into the lives of these children, they discovered that the two Afghan children were brothers aged seven and eight. They had started working at a very young age and worked in an area called Ghani Abad. Every morning, these children walked from their home to the surrounding deserts of Ghani Abad, where they collected waste by carrying very heavy carts." The newspaper also reported that "due to the suspicious nature of this fire and the notification to the police, the special murder investigator has begun investigations in this regard, and the case of this fire has been sent to the special murder prosecutor's office." The newspaper Etemad dedicated its front page and headline to a press conference by Hassan Rouhani, stating: "The president flaunted the success of the JCPOA to its opponents one year after its implementation, labeling them as supporters of old planes, useless dreams, and promoters of incorrect predictions." The newspaper reported that Hassan Rouhani, during his ninth press conference of his presidency on Tuesday, "made the most of his presence among journalists. Although he repeated the achievements of the eleventh government, he was prepared to defend himself against recent events in the country that still revolve around the JCPOA. While Rouhani tried to escape criticism by nationalizing the JCPOA, he was still forced to respond to some journalists' questions with hints at the recent behaviors of opponents, as no matter how much he spoke of the dangers of the absence of the JCPOA and how much he mentioned post-JCPOA oil revenues, there were still those who asked him why sanctions remain in place." According to Etemad, in response to a question about his election promise regarding the lifting of house arrest from Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, he said without naming them: "We need a consensus within the system; I hope for the future, we would like some matters to be resolved tonight, not tomorrow." Sadegh Zibakalam, a university professor, in a note titled "The Fate of Rouhani and Gray Votes" in Etemad, emphasized that "what is particularly important for Mr. Rouhani in the 96 elections is attracting gray votes," stating that "the president's rhetoric in the press conference on Tuesday, which was aimed at the general public, was sincere," but it is expected that the president "should discuss the problems and obstacles facing the country more transparently, seriously, publicly, and explicitly with the people. Only then will the expectations and demands of the people from their elected president be formed more consciously and with better understanding." The columnist of Etemad also pointed out that "today many hardline conservative forces are attacking the government with a sharp and aggressive rhetoric," writing that "the conservatives are engaging in such demolitions to reduce Mr. Rouhani's votes. They know that the success of the eleventh government in the field of diplomacy has been a demand of the people, and this issue could change the result of the 96 elections in favor of Mr. Rouhani." However, "the president does not officially announce his decision to run in the upcoming presidential elections because he knows that in this case, the volume of attacks against the government and himself will increase. Moreover, he knows that in this case, the activities of hardliners to prepare for Mr. Rouhani's disqualification in 96 will increase." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, quoted Hassan Rouhani in its headline: "The JCPOA is good for America; Trump does not understand," emphasizing that this "sentence will remain in history." Jafar Takbiri described Rouhani's press conference on Tuesday as "engineered" and wrote: "The most engineered press conference of the president was acknowledged by both the public and specific individuals. However, at moments, he lost control of the conversation, causing him to recite a Quran verse instead of providing legal reasons to Trump, who said he 'does not like the JCPOA.'" This newspaper also reported that in the press conference, Hassan Rouhani "first loudly stated: All nuclear sanctions have been lifted, and then continued in a calm tone: However, some large banks that have private shares are cautious in cooperating with us, and America, which is our enemy, is obstructing us." The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also pointed out another aspect of Hassan Rouhani's remarks, which was the use of the term "enemy" instead of "foe," writing that "it cannot be said with certainty that the president's use of the word 'foe' instead of 'enemy' was because he perhaps did not want to use the key term of his critics 'enemy,' but there is no doubt that he once again addressed his critics with sarcasm and harsh words, stating that 'anyone who does not see our economic growth and speaks of recession should put on glasses or go get treatment.'" The newspaper Arman highlighted Rouhani's response to the possibility of disqualification by the Guardian Council in the 96 presidential elections in its headline, stating: "Do not provoke us with the Guardian Council." This newspaper quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying: "Our relationship with the Guardian Council has been good and remains good. These are rumors, and elections have a process that still has plenty of time to reach. Today, we must tighten our belts to serve the system and society," adding, "I hope the concerns you mentioned will decrease day by day, and the atmosphere of national unity that was well reflected in the passing of Ayatollah Hashemi will be maintained, with factions, thoughts, and various tendencies coming together." The newspaper Sobhe No reported under the title "Doubt" alongside a photo of Hassan Rouhani, referring to his silence in response to a question about his candidacy in the upcoming elections as "ambiguous silence," asking: "Does Mr. Rouhani intend not to run in next year's presidential elections?" This is a question that may have arisen in public opinion following the president's two recent interviews. In these interviews, he evaded answering about his participation in the 96 elections and postponed commenting on it to the future. This newspaper, close to the media team of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, emphasized that "Rouhani's ambiguous silence could have two sources," stating: "First, considering the government's failures in fulfilling its promises, particularly in economic areas that have led to a sharp decline in its popularity in recent months, Mr. Rouhani may have serious doubts about entering the presidential race, or that his efforts are aimed at creating a kind of demand and then a consensus among political parties and currents aligned with the government," as regarding "the entry of one or two alternatives alongside Mr. Rouhani into the elections, various individuals and figures from the reformists have begun efforts in recent months." The newspaper Aftab Yazd published statements from several reformist women regarding the possibility of a woman reaching the presidency in Iran, stating: "Conservatives, who have historically contributed to the masculinization of Iran's political sphere since the Islamic Revolution, recently raised the discussion of granting the keys to the presidential palace to women, mentioning the candidacy of Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the health minister in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government." This newspaper, noting the increasing speculation about the possibility of women's candidacy in the presidential elections, quoted Fatemeh Rakeei regarding the acceptance of a woman as president in Iran, stating: "Iranian society is more cultured than to reject a woman as president," adding that "the president should be a credible personality, a political figure, a manager, capable, and trusted by the people and political elites. Therefore, we have had individuals among women for years who possess these qualifications, but the important issue is the interpretation of 'political figure,' which has not been defined for years." Ashraf Boroujerdi, in response to Aftab Yazd's question about whether Iranian society would accept a woman as president, stated: "If by Iranian society you mean the clergy and scholars, I must say they will resist this issue, but for the general public, it does not matter much whether the president is a man or a woman, but what matters is that the president has the necessary capabilities to carry out duties." She also emphasized that "there are currently capable women who can perform in the presidency." Parvaneh Salahshouri, a representative in the tenth parliament, also stated: "We should look at the presidency or any other issue regardless of gender." Zahra Nejad Bahram, the former deputy governor of Tehran, also emphasized that "society does not have a gendered view," stating that Iranian society will "certainly accept a woman as president, as I believe society is modernizing, even ahead of official institutions." The newspaper Khorasan reported that Abolfazl Hassan Beigi, the deputy head of the National Security Commission of the tenth parliament, regarding the incident on Tuesday and the continuous fire from air defense in the sky over Tehran due to the entry of a drone into a no-fly zone over the leader's residence, stated: "This drone may be foreign and their goal is to test the country's defense system." Mohsen Nasji, the security deputy of the governor of Tehran, however, stated: "We cannot confirm that the drone that entered the no-fly zone on Tuesday was from abroad," and Tehran's governor, Hossein Hashemi, emphasized: "I did not receive such a statement, and it was not a security issue." Khorasan also reported that according to Abolfazl Hassan Beigi, "the parts of this drone have not yet been found, it was beyond the range of the air defense, and it is highly likely that the air defense's fire did not hit it." The newspaper Hemayat, affiliated with the prison organization, reported that Mohammad Javad Larijani, the secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, described the appointment of a special UN rapporteur for human rights in Iran as part of a "human rights assault" and announced "Iran's readiness to respond to human rights assaults." This newspaper, referencing the holding of the "150th meeting of the coordination committee of the Human Rights Headquarters" with the presence of officials from the judiciary and Abbas Araghchi, the deputy for legal and international affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted Javad Larijani as saying: "Human rights assaults against the Islamic Republic of Iran have begun since the very first day of the Islamic Republic's birth, and this is the fifth country-specific rapporteur appointed for us, and we have had various resolutions against ourselves; therefore, this issue is very fundamental." The newspaper Hemayat also highlighted the remarks of Abbas Jafari Dolat Abadi regarding the publication of news related to the hunger strikes of political and ideological prisoners, reporting that the Tehran prosecutor warned on Tuesday that if these provocations continue, the contents of these individuals' files will be published as necessary.