Tragedy in Golestan

The newspaper Etemad dedicated the front page of its Thursday issue to the incident of the "Free City Coal Mine Explosion" and emphasized that this explosion has left "dozens of victims," reporting that at least "the bodies of 21 workers" have been retrieved from the rubble. The newspaper quoted Jafar Serqini, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade, stating that "one thing is certain: at least 26 workers are trapped underground, and since the walls of the mine collapsed, the countdown to rescue them alive has begun, and so far 26 of the injured have been transferred to medical centers." Jafar Serqini emphasized that "rescue teams are doing their utmost, hoping to open a way into the tunnel, but about 50 miners from this mine are on-site, crying, and they seem very hopeless." Mohammad Nasai, one of the photographers who went to the area after the news of the mine collapse, told Etemad: "There is confusion about the number of people trapped underground, and no one can give a precise answer to this question." Hossein Derakhshan, spokesperson for the Red Crescent Rescue Organization, also told the newspaper that "so far 27 injured have been transferred to medical centers, some of whom are not miners; part of the injured are civilians who came to help rescue those trapped under the rubble but suffered gas poisoning due to gas escaping from underground." The newspaper reminded that the "Zemestan-Yurt" area is located 110 kilometers northeast of Shahroud and 14 kilometers from the city of Azadshahr in Golestan province. This mine is privately owned and is one of the mines belonging to the "Northeast Shahroud" industrial and mining company. The government-aligned newspaper Iran also dedicated its front page to the "Tragedy in Golestan" and wrote: "Following the massive explosion on Wednesday afternoon in the coal mine of Golestan province, dozens of miners were trapped, and with the efforts of rescuers, some of them were saved," but "some reports indicate the horrific deaths of several of the trapped individuals." The newspaper noted that the likely "cause of the explosion was the failure to ventilate gas from inside the mine," stating: "Since the incident occurred during the workers' shift change, many were near the explosion point, and following this incident, rescue forces from various cities in Golestan province were dispatched to the scene with various equipment and helicopters, and the governor of Golestan also went to the site as soon as he was informed of the incident to closely oversee the rescue operations." Sadegh Ali Moghadam, the head of the Crisis Management Office of the Golestan governorate, who is present at the scene, told Iran: "Investigations show that 40 to 50 people are trapped in the mine tunnel, and rescuing them depends more than anything on the expertise and speed of miners for debris removal and search, and several miners were rescued in the first moments after the incident and transferred to hospitals and medical centers." According to Iran, Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the country's emergency services, also reported the "probability of nearly 80 people being trapped in the mine" and stated: "Four injured were transferred to Hazrat Masoumeh Hospital in Azadshahr, and since the explosion occurred yesterday afternoon, 12 healthy miners have been rescued from under the rubble." He mentioned that this mine consists of two sections, with 40 people trapped in one section and another 30 to 40 in the other section, stating: "The condition of several of the injured is critical, and other injured individuals are also facing problems due to oxygen deficiency." The newspaper Iran also reported on the order of Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President, for immediate assistance to the victims of the Azadshahr mine incident and simultaneously noted that Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, also left his press conference on government employment policies unfinished and went to the area based on the order of Hassan Rouhani to address the explosion incident in the Azadshahr coal mine. The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published several photos related to the Azadshahr coal mine explosion on its front page with the headline "Golestan of Iranian Workers" and quoted "a rescued miner" as saying: "The smell of gas had been coming for the previous day, but the officials did not pay attention." This newspaper did not mention details of the incident, the number of injured or killed in the Azadshahr mine explosion, but quoted the same "rescued miner," whose name was not mentioned, stating: "Since 2013, we have not received our salaries for three or four months each year, totaling 18 months." The newspaper Javan in its report also blamed the government for the explosion in the Azadshahr mine and the floods in Azerbaijan, stating: "Nineteen days after the unprecedented floods in West Azerbaijan claimed 48 lives, a horrific explosion in the coal mine of Azadshahr trapped many workers deep underground. Although government officials try to evade accountability for the numerous flood deaths by linking it to natural disasters, there is no escape from the mismanagement surrounding the mine explosion." The newspaper Kayhan, published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, headlined its Thursday issue with "How We Deceived the People," reporting on the "shocking confession of the director of Rouhani's campaign film in the 2013 elections," stating: "Hossein Dehghani, who wrote the speeches for Rouhani in 2013, said that he designed the phrases 'both the centrifuges must spin and the lives of the people must spin' and 'I am not a general; I am a lawyer.'" This newspaper also wrote: "The director of Mr. Rouhani's campaign film in 2013, in shocking confessions about how that film was made and how the candidate was presented, emphasized that with the dominance of the media, people are elected who are closer to entertainers and showmen than to politicians." Meanwhile, the newspaper Shargh reported with the headline "The End of the Minister's Daughter's Case" on the "closure of the news cycle regarding smuggling" by the media and conservative figures against Hassan Rouhani, asking whether Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf would apologize for his television comments against Rouhani and his ministers after the acquittal of the minister's daughter. This newspaper noted that "the discovery of smuggled goods in the minister's home" became a sensational headline that had been news fodder for conservative media for several days, and even Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a presidential candidate, had the opportunity to use this issue to attack Hassan Rouhani's government on television. However, on Wednesday, with the publication of the image of the ruling of the 27th branch of the Tehran Administrative Court in social media and the Telegram channel of the government information base, both the claim was denied, and it became clear that the relevant minister, whose daughter was acquitted of this accusation by the Administrative Court, was Fakhruddin Ahmad Danesh Ashteyani, the Minister of Education. According to this newspaper, on May 9 of this year, "the news agency Tasnim reported that a shipment of clothing suspected of being smuggled was discovered in the home of one of the ministers of the 11th government. This shipment was discovered and seized in the minister's home in the Lavasan area of Tehran. According to this report, during initial interrogations, it was stated to the agents that this shipment belonged to the minister's daughter." Shargh reported that on Wednesday, May 13, the 27th branch of the Tehran Administrative Court announced in its ruling that "regarding the accusation against Amitis Taravat Koodaki, managed by Ms. Zohreh Ahmad Danesh, at the address and specifications recorded in the file concerning the possession of 5,000 foreign clothing items suspected of being smuggled, based on the expert opinion of Tehran Customs and the compliance of customs documents with the seized goods and considering the documents provided and expert investigations and the opinion of Tehran Customs indicating the legal entry of the goods from official points of the country with the payment of customs duties and commercial profits and government revenues, the goods are not considered smuggled, and the branch issued a ruling of acquittal for Amitis Taravat Company managed by Ms. Zohreh Ahmad Danesh." The newspaper Khorasan, on its front page titled "Debate Before the Debate," emphasized that one day before the second debate of the six presidential candidates, "the discussions among representatives and supporters of the candidates intensified" and "figures close to the candidates have sharpened their criticisms toward each other." According to this newspaper, "Bijan Zanganeh and Abbas Akhoundi, ministers of the 11th government, criticized the subsidy plans and job creation promises of Raisi and Qalibaf, while Mohammad Dehghan and Ali Nikzad, heads of the election campaigns for Qalibaf and Raisi, also harshly criticized the record of the 11th government. Meanwhile, field observations also indicate that this atmosphere exists among the supporters of the candidates as well." The newspaper Aftab Yazd published the "demands of political and media activists from the President for the second debate," stating: "Mr. Rouhani! Please do not be the President on Friday." Sadegh Zibakalam told this newspaper: "Rouhani probably did not expect that he would need that situation from 2013 before the last debate, but Qalibaf showed that he does not recognize any red lines, and ethics are not a priority for him, preferring Ahmadinejad's style to adhering to principles. Therefore, Rouhani will appear more aggressively and powerfully on Friday." The newspaper Qanoon, in its front page, noted that "Jam'eh-tain and the Stability Front stand behind Ebrahim Raisi," describing the support of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, the Society of Clergy of Tehran, and the Stability Front close to Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi for Ebrahim Raisi as "a repeat of 1996 in 2016." This newspaper emphasized that "with this trend, the political forces in Iran for the presidential election have somewhat clarified. Conservatives and the extremist section of the right will support Raisi, while moderate and traditional conservatives will support Rouhani." Qanoon also wrote that this dichotomy "more reconstructs the memory of the 1996 elections. But the question is, which social base and voting basket is Qalibaf trying to rely on to stay in the field? We must wait for the promised day to see what benefits these mobilizations bring to various factions and which personalities will be sidelined from Iranian politics for at least four years." The newspaper Hamdeli, however, in its front page titled "Repeating Support for Rouhani," emphasized that signs and evidence indicate that Mohammad Khatami, like in the elections of March 2016, when he called on people to participate in the elections and vote for the Hope list in the parliamentary elections with a short video, will again take similar action. "Despite the media and political restrictions imposed on him, he will strive to encourage people to hope for participation in the polls."