Zarif: I have been threatened, but I consider assassination threats unlikely

The newspaper Abrar reported on its front page on Wednesday that Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, refrained from answering a question about the "lifting of house arrest." The government-aligned newspaper Iran also quoted Shamkhani as saying, "The issue of detained journalists is being managed." According to this newspaper, Shamkhani stated that the detention of journalists is "being managed. This action is a form of safeguarding the health of journalists." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, highlighted another part of Shamkhani's remarks regarding the implementation of the JCPOA, stating on its front page: "The brakes on hasty implementation of the JCPOA have been applied." The newspaper quoted Shamkhani as saying, "We prevented the collection of centrifuges with a warning." The newspaper Bahar is one of the few that has focused on protests in the cities of Tabriz, Urmia, Zanjan, and Ardabil on its front page. It published explanations from the police and other government agencies regarding the "recent street protests" in "Turkic cities" of Iran, stating: "The National Security Council has informed state television to quickly devise a plan in this regard and apologize to the people." The newspaper Iran also quoted government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying: "The President defends the rights of ethnic groups," and "The proud Azerbaijani people are so important to the country that they cause all officials to bow and show humility before them. The government will pursue this issue in terms of reforming press laws and implementation so that no rights of the press are violated." Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Hassan Rouhani's government, in an interview with the newspaper Shargh regarding "the volume of threats from various opposing factions" stated: "I have been threatened, but I consider assassination threats unlikely," and simultaneously denied the possibility of candidacy in the presidential elections of 1400 (2021), saying: "I categorically say no." The newspaper Etemad has a report about Ali Motahari's trip to Shiraz, a city where he was attacked during a speech at the university in Esfand 1393 (March 2015). The newspaper wrote that on Tuesday, "Ali Motahari went to Shiraz at the request of the court president" to see "those who attacked him last year" and that "the defendants who attacked the Tehran representative with motorcycles on Monday, Esfand 18, 1393, had been free on bail for eight months but were now regretful. They requested a break from the judge and during the break apologized to Motahari and sought forgiveness." According to this newspaper, "Ali Motahari, however, did not grant forgiveness. He had one demand: to clarify the identity of those who ordered the attack; an attack that had forced everyone to react and had even led to a change in the governor." The newspaper also reported that on Tuesday afternoon, Ali Motahari finally delivered a speech at Shiraz University. The newspaper Kayhan, which is published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, on its front page on Wednesday published an article titled "Yesterday's Pawns of the Influence Stream, Today's Lesson," accusing several Iranian journalists and activists abroad of attempting to "infiltrate." The newspaper Hamdeli dedicated its front page photo to Mohammad Reza Aref and quoted this reformist figure as saying: "The competition is serious; the majority of the next parliament will be reformists." The refusal of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council to answer questions about "lifting house arrest" was reported by the newspaper Abrar on its front page on Wednesday. According to this newspaper, Ali Shamkhani, during a press conference at the press exhibition on Tuesday, answered numerous questions from reporters but, in response to a question about the "Supreme National Security Council's action for lifting house arrest" for Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, said: "Let me have a glass of water," and then added that "given my age and fatigue from the morning, I am not obliged to answer this question because I will get confused." However, the newspaper Abrar reported that Ali Shamkhani, in his seventh press conference, stated that "the Supreme National Security Council has intervened in the recent detention of journalists." According to this newspaper, Shamkhani responded to the question of whether these detentions were to safeguard journalists so that they would not become a channel for enemy infiltration, saying: "Definitely so. No one intends to destroy anyone; rest assured." The government-aligned newspaper Iran also quoted Shamkhani as saying: "The issue of detained journalists is being managed." According to this newspaper, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic stated that the council has addressed the issue of the detention of several journalists, saying: "Their freedom will not take long, and the issue of their detention is being managed. This action is a form of safeguarding the health of journalists. Perhaps some actions were inadvertently taken by some individuals who fell into a whirlpool that is not beneficial, but no one intends to destroy or, God forbid, weaken anyone. This is not the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but certainly, our broad, noble, hardworking, and modest journalism community needs safeguarding." The newspaper Iran also quoted Shamkhani as saying: "This issue will certainly be resolved, and the freedom of journalists will not take long. It seems that these friends do not have a problem, and after being told that their actions were wrong, they acknowledged this; however, some of them said they were unaware. The intention is not to eliminate anyone who is detained. The intention is to sound an alarm that our friends are in a sensitive stage and that the cunning and enigmatic entry of the hegemonic powers into our society, disguised, should be recognized, and that our society has suffered the most from the United States. The intention is for these friends to understand that the U.S. is mysteriously acting through the hands of journalists, whether intentionally or unintentionally. They also believed such a thing. Now this issue must be communicated to others so that other journalists remain vigilant." The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council also stated that "this issue has been communicated to some journalists, and messages have been sent to them to be cautious about this problem so as not to fall into this whirlpool," and "I believe that those friends who became aware of this issue, considering that some of them were not familiar with this trick, will have their issues resolved." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, highlighted another part of Shamkhani's remarks regarding the implementation of the JCPOA, stating on its front page: "The brakes on hasty implementation of the JCPOA have been applied." This newspaper quoted Shamkhani as saying: "We prevented the collection of centrifuges with a warning." The newspaper Javan emphasized that "Shamkhani's remarks about forming a supervisory board for the JCPOA in the National Security Council meeting on Tuesday night may put an end to some concerns regarding the implementation of the Leader's directives regarding the JCPOA, especially the clause that necessitates the formation of a supervisory board for the JCPOA." Official reactions to the street protests in Tabriz, Urmia, and Zanjan were reported by the newspaper Bahar on its front page on Wednesday, which published explanations from the police and other government agencies regarding the "recent street protests" in "Turkic cities" of Iran, stating: "The National Security Council has informed state television to quickly devise a plan in this regard and apologize to the people." This newspaper wrote: "The people of Azerbaijani cities protested on Tuesday against what was broadcast in the children's program 'Fitileh' on state television; protests that the country's police chief says were calm." The newspaper Bahar noted that "some people in the cities of Tabriz, Urmia, Zanjan, and Ardabil protested against the insult to their Azerbaijani compatriots," and reported that Hossein Ashtari, the police chief, on Wednesday, in response to a question about the protests in the Turkic cities, said: "In such cases, the police act according to their inherent duty and based on the decisions and arrangements of the security council. Regarding the protests that occurred on Tuesday by some of our Azerbaijani compatriots, the people of these cities expressed their protests and their opinions on the matter. Fortunately, the majority of participants cooperated well with the police and left the area at the scheduled time after the gathering." This newspaper pointed out that "the calm protests in these cities were, of course, accompanied by some confrontations," stating that these confrontations, according to Hossein Ashtari, were with "a number of opportunists" who "intended to exploit this situation and engaged in disruptive actions, and the police's response to them was with patience and calm." According to the newspaper Bahar, Rahim Shahriati, the governor of Tabriz, reported that "this gathering ended at the request of the police," stating: "Some young people gathered at 4 PM in Tabriz as a protest, and the police and security forces, based on their inherent duty to prevent illegal and unauthorized gatherings and to maintain the safety and tranquility of the city and the lives and property of the people, requested the protesters to disperse." The newspaper Bahar noted that the governor of Tabriz confirmed that "the gathering led to limited tensions but ended very quickly," stating that Rahim Shahriati "also reported that two participants were injured due to being hit by stones." The newspaper Bahar noted that "restoring calm and trust among the Azerbaijani people is now on the agenda of government and state institutions," stating that "after the official apology from state television, the head of this organization also apologized to the people of these cities," and on Tuesday, "the Ministry of Interior also announced that the National Security Council had given necessary warnings to state television regarding the insult in the 'Fitileh' program to the people of these cities." According to this newspaper, "The National Security Council has been following this issue from the very first day and informed the state television organization to quickly devise a plan in this regard and apologize to the people, which the organization has also done." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, also described the response of state television after its mistake as appropriate in his press conference at the press exhibition, stating: "It is regrettable that a lack of attention from a children's program caused distress to a part of our great nation. The Azerbaijani people have contributed so much to the country during the imposed war that the humility of officials increases more than ever; just as it was expected that serious action would be taken by the officials of the state television organization regarding the negligence towards this program, we witnessed that the officials of state television apologized." According to the newspaper Bahar, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht emphasized that "the President, as a defender of the people, stands alongside all ethnic groups and expressed hope that the officials of state television would strengthen their appropriate response." Mohammad Javad Zarif: I consider assassination threats unlikely. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Hassan Rouhani's government, in an interview with the newspaper Shargh regarding "the volume of threats from various opposing factions" stated: "I have been threatened, but I consider assassination threats unlikely," and simultaneously denied the possibility of candidacy in the presidential elections of 1400 (2021), saying: "I categorically say no." The Foreign Minister of the eleventh government responded to the Shargh newspaper's question that threats against him "have expanded from threats of impeachment and concrete threats to trial" and "it has even been heard that some have threatened him with assassination," stating: "Someone else may have heard such a threat, but I have not. I also consider it unlikely that our friends and critics of the government's policies would be involved in such actions. The discussions that took place in the parliament in recent weeks are normal. We face such discussions frequently. There have been threats, but I consider it unlikely that anyone has made an assassination threat." Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview with Maryam Yousofi from the newspaper Shargh, also discussed the extent to which opponents of the JCPOA might go, stating: "In a multi-voiced society, disagreement is natural. We consider the Supreme Leader's statements as the final word and feel that after he provided the framework for the implementation of the JCPOA and approved the JCPOA itself, all attention should now be on implementing the agreement to derive the maximum benefit from it. I have repeatedly said that the time for arguing about the weaknesses and strengths of the JCPOA has passed. We may give the JCPOA a score of five or 95. Whatever score we give it, now is the time to use those positive aspects, whether it is five or 95; otherwise, the score of the JCPOA will be zero, meaning our score will be zero because the outcome will be zero." The Foreign Minister of the eleventh government also stated: "Regardless of factional tendencies and factional interests, the JCPOA is a national issue, not a factional one, and belongs to the leadership and the entire nation, and it must be utilized to advance the interests of the nation. A resilient economy is both inward-looking and outward-looking, and foreign policy can assist in implementing it. The JCPOA provides this space, so we all must strive in this direction." According to the newspaper Shargh, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in response to the question of whether "you think there will come a day when the flags of the two countries will be placed side by side for bilateral talks between Tehran and Washington after 36 years, and not talks about other issues, will be placed side by side?"