The Troubling Kiss of the Ambassador on Hashemi's Forehead

The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page to the "troubling kiss of the Saudi ambassador on Hashemi's forehead" and wrote that the Saudi ambassador was summoned by his government eight months ago due to the kiss on the forehead of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and left Iran without diplomatic formalities. The newspaper Etemad reported with the headline "Negotiations Begin with an Oil Twist" that ahead of the meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry in Geneva and "twenty-four hours before the Iran and 1+5 negotiations, all positions smell of oil," and Hassan Rouhani, during his trip to Bushehr, "allocated parts of his speech to negotiations and, of course, the issue of declining oil prices." The newspaper Resalat quoted Hassan Rouhani saying, "The designers of the oil price drop will regret it." This newspaper also highlighted the reaction of Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first government, to a note published in Salamat News Online titled "Decoding the Corruption of Abu Dharr and Salmans in the Words of the President" and quoted him as saying, "Some want Salman and Abu Dharr only for times of danger." The newspaper Kayhan reported that the funeral of Mahdi Noorouzi, referred to as "defender of the holy shrines of the Imams," was held on Tuesday in Tehran and will be held on Wednesday in Kermanshah. Kayhan noted that "Mahdi Noorouzi was killed four days ago in Samarra while defending the holy shrines" and in the war against "ISIS," and referred to him as someone who stood firmly in defense of the regime during the 2009 protests. The newspaper Javan published the news of the re-release of the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad by Charlie Hebdo in its first issue after the terrorist attack on the magazine's office, describing it as "the paper knight's sword against 1.7 billion Muslims." This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also attacked several Iranian media outlets for publishing a piece about the condemnation of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, particularly targeting the newspaper People Today and writing, "The pride of People Today newspaper is in accompanying American filmmakers with those who insult the Prophet." The newspaper Javan described the publication of a photo and George Clooney's statement at the Golden Globes, where he said, "I am Charlie," by the newspaper People Today as "implicit support for the magazine insulting the Prophet." The newspaper Qanoon reported on the existence of "one million undocumented children" in Iran, writing: "One million undocumented children means one million children deprived of education, healthcare, and any social and health support, simply for being born to a non-Iranian father. Marriages of Iranian girls to foreign men have harmful effects and consequences, especially if these marriages are not legally registered." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat published a report about the "embarrassment of Iranian traders in Iraq and Afghanistan," reporting the destruction of Iran's export markets due to "the export of low-quality goods." Hessam Mahdavi pointed to the decrease in Iran's exports to Iraq and Afghanistan, writing that neglecting to maintain quality in exports to these countries has led to "recently decreased exports to Iraq and Afghanistan, and in some cases, we have seen the return of exported goods to these two countries," and even this issue has caused "until recently, the Iraqi ambassador also complained about the low quality of Iranian goods exported to Iraq and announced that his government intends to seriously consider quality control at the entry points of Iranian goods to Iraq and prevent the entry of low-quality Iranian goods." The newspaper Kasb o Kar dedicated its front page to examining "the problems of buying cars from unauthorized leasing companies." Mehrdad Khalili and Mohammad Hossein Mousavi in this report titled "So Many Swindlers" emphasized that "about 500 leasing centers" active in Iran "only 25 companies are licensed by the Central Bank, and 12 companies are in the process of renewing their licenses, meaning only 37 companies are recognized by the Central Bank and are supervised by it. Meanwhile, the supervisory body over 463 unauthorized leasing companies is unclear." Javad Badaghjamali, head of the Meteorological Research Institute, told the newspaper Farhikhtegan about "31 environmental hazards in Iran," stating that "while there are 41 hazards in the world, 31 of them occur in our country, most of which are in the atmospheric and climatic domain." The head of the Meteorological Research Institute also said, "In the past, dust particles in southwestern and southeastern Iran were made up of coarse sand grains that were not very dangerous for humans, but the dust storms that have occurred in the last ten years carry fine particles of less than 10 microns that are dangerous for humans, and this feature distinguishes the storms of the past decade." "Suffering for Illegal Treasure" is also the title of a report in the newspaper Kasb o Kar about "the market for buying and selling metal detectors." This report mentions that "aside from the fact that access to modern treasure-hunting equipment is illegal, buying these devices is also very costly" and "treasure-hunting devices such as gold detectors and metal detectors in the Iranian market are divided into four main categories: the first category includes analog metal detectors priced at 5.5 to 5.7 million tomans, the second category includes digital metal detectors priced at 8 to 16 million tomans, the third category includes antenna metal detectors priced at 5.4 to 5.8 million tomans, and the fourth category includes imaging metal detectors priced between 20 to 25 million tomans. Sara Ghasemfari in the report of the newspaper Kasb o Kar wrote: "A treasure detector or metal detector is not just for finding treasure. If you visit the police department, officers will tell you about a new trick of thieves who enter homes with a metal detector and find the owners' gold and steal it." The newspaper Shargh continued with "reactions to the controversial Sunday of the Parliament," publishing Ali Motahari's account of his unfinished speech in Parliament. "Negotiations Begin with an Oil Twist" The newspaper Etemad reported with the headline "Negotiations Begin with an Oil Twist" that ahead of the meeting between Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry in Geneva and "twenty-four hours before the Iran and 1+5 negotiations, all positions smell of oil," and Hassan Rouhani, during his trip to Bushehr, "allocated parts of his speech to negotiations and, of course, the issue of declining oil prices." According to this newspaper, Iran and the U.S. will begin bilateral negotiations and several rounds of unilateral negotiations starting tomorrow in Geneva, while oil prices have decreased by at least 50% in recent months. The Iranian budget last year was based on an oil price of $100 per barrel, while the eleventh government has budgeted for $72 per barrel, but oil prices "are continuously declining and have fallen below $50 per barrel." Etemad pointed out that "Tehran has hosted officials who all share a common concern with Iran in the past ten days," writing: "The decline in the price of black gold. From Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, to Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the oil minister of Iraq, came to Tehran to express their concerns about the decline in oil prices to the President, Foreign Minister, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council." The newspaper also wrote: "The simultaneous timing of the President's trip to Bushehr with the preparation of the negotiating team for the resumption of nuclear negotiations led Hassan Rouhani to allocate parts of his speech in Bushehr to negotiations and, of course, the issue of declining oil prices. According to the newspaper, Hassan Rouhani, on the eve of the start of the negotiation rounds with the 1+5 countries in Bushehr, said, "We will continue the path of negotiation, peaceful coexistence with the world, reason, and constructive interaction with logic and independence while preserving the rights of the great Iranian nation, and with the help of God, we will pursue this path and this way within the framework of Iran's national interests." The newspaper Etemad emphasized that Hassan Rouhani, in his speech, while addressing the issue of declining oil prices, said: "You know the new problem that they have opened for the people of Iran is the issue of declining oil prices. Although today the price of oil has decreased to about half compared to previous months, those who have designed the decline in oil prices against certain countries should know that they will regret it, and this path cannot be continued for them. Moreover, if Iran suffers from the decline in oil prices, other producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer more than Iran." This newspaper referred to reports published by international news agencies, including the French news agency, about the position of Hassan Rouhani's government during the period of declining oil prices, stating: "Hassan Rouhani entered the arena with the slogan of reviving the economy of a country that has been under the most severe sanctions," and despite the fact that "the economic problems of the general public in Iran have improved in the year and a half since the government of prudence and hope took office, it still suffers from inflation and inadequate foreign investment." Etemad emphasized that "many analysts believe that with the conclusion of negotiations between Iran and the 1+5, Rouhani's government can end the economic downturn caused by sanctions and open the country's doors to foreign investors." The newspaper reported that "simultaneously with the start of the bilateral negotiations of the Iranian and American negotiating teams in Geneva, some media reported on the movement of the Senate leadership this week towards the approval of a bill that would impose new sanctions against Iran in the event of a failure of the negotiations." "The Troubling Kiss" on Hashemi's Forehead The newspaper Shargh dedicated its front page to the "troubling kiss of the Saudi ambassador on Hashemi's forehead" and wrote that the Saudi ambassador was summoned by his government eight months ago due to the kiss on the forehead of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and left Iran without diplomatic formalities. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Assistant Minister for Arab and African Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, told Zeynab Ismaili, a reporter for Shargh, that "the Saudi ambassador received his credentials after being introduced and entered the country and started his work. What Saudi officials officially told us about his departure from Tehran was that he was assigned to another mission, and from this date, his mission in Tehran is over." The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that "their behavior was not conventional," stating that "some ambassadors of Arab countries in Tehran and some officials of Arab countries in the region had communicated to us several weeks ago that the Saudi ambassador in Tehran was summoned to Riyadh due to his failure to observe his country's protocols and the questions that arose for his officials." Hossein Amir Abdollahian also said: "Apparently, the Saudi ambassador, who had a good and positive meeting with Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, kissed Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's forehead at the end of this meeting. These ambassadors or officials of Arab countries explained to us that this action of the ambassador raised questions in Riyadh regarding his protocols and the dignity of their country, which is why he was recalled." The newspaper Shargh quoted the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister as saying: "In the Arab countries, when someone visits the first official of that country for congratulations, they kiss the nose, and kissing the forehead, signifies a special and high status that they attribute to some of them. Of course, these are things that have been said in the public domain, and we have seen images of this meeting on some websites." Hossein Amir Abdollahian also mentioned that after the meeting, the Saudi ambassador had a meeting with him and spoke very positively about the content of that discussion. This meeting left a positive impact on the Saudi ambassador's mind. Saudi officials merely stated that since he is going on another mission, his mission in Tehran has ended, which, of course, was not conventional, and it would have been more natural that even if this ambassador was to be assigned to another mission, he would have had the opportunity to officially say goodbye to our officials and leave the country in accordance with existing protocols. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister told the newspaper Shargh that a few weeks after the departure of the previous Saudi ambassador, "the Saudis introduced another person as ambassador, and given that the approval for the entry of the new ambassador must follow its administrative path and also considering that we faced questions and ambiguities regarding the behavior of Saudi Arabia in terminating the previous ambassador's mission, we did not rush in issuing approval for the new ambassador, and after the usual and natural time passed, we announced our approval for the new ambassador," and now "the necessary process is underway in their country for their ambassador to enter the country." A Member of Parliament: We have one million undocumented children in Iran The newspaper Qanoon reported on the existence of "one million undocumented children" in Iran, writing: "One million undocumented children means one million children deprived of education, healthcare, and any social and health support, simply for being born to a non-Iranian father. Marriages of Iranian girls to foreign men have harmful effects and consequences, especially if these marriages are not legally registered." This newspaper quoted Abolfazl Abutalebi, a member of the Judicial Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stating: "We have about one million children in Iran whose mothers are Iranian and who were born in Iran and have not gone outside Iran. These children have no identity other than being non-Iranian. We are responsible for determining the fate of these children, but still, this one million children remain unresolved.