Political rivalry between Rouhani and Khamenei extends to Oil agreements and Film industry. In its editorial, Jehan Senaat discussed the obstacles that face the Iranian film industry and the interference of the Ministry of Guidance in this sector. Avrinsh newspaper, on the other side, called for fighting corruption to attract foreign investments before reshaping the structure of the Iranian economy, in addition to the Iranian suspicion of the Russian coalition based on its historical background, and the bilateral meetings between Iran, Russia, and Turkey.
News reported four killed and six incarcerated in Kermanshah in a Special Forces operation, and chronicle high unemployment, according to the Ministry of Labor. Addiction is ranked fourth as a cause of deaths and the arrest of a dual nationality British person for espionage charges.
Iranian newspapers also handled the accusations of spying against two Egyptian politicians for Iran and Hezbollah, and economically, the deposit of only 2% of oil revenues in favor of Iran.
“Virility with friends and politeness with Russians,” Sharq newspaper handles the bases of Iran’s relationship with both Russia and Turkey in light of the present trilateral relations after Rowhani-Putin meeting in Azerbaijan, and Erdogan’s visit to Petersburg, followed by Zarif’s visit to Ankara. The editorial believes that Turkey owes much of its economic renaissance to Iran. It has made huge earnings as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Iran Since militants broke into the US Embassy in Tehran. Recently, Turkey has lost a lot of elements of its economic renaissance due to chaotic situations in Syria and Iraq. Before the crises, they were both exclusive markets for Turkey. Even after the fall of Saddam, Iraq’s Kurdistan turned into a monopoly market for Turkey; however, Turkey’s targeting of the Russian fighter led to sever ties between both countries. Consequently, Erdogan has changed his policies toward Russia and Israel, in addition to his tendency to change toward Syria and Iraq as well. The editorial describes the Iranian-Turkish relations with Russia, saying, “Turks and Iranians cannot easily forget the Russian tyrannical expansionist policies (the Soviet era and beyond). On the other hand, Russians care about their national and strategic interests more than anything else. They believe that their interests are associated with America, China, Japan, Europe and South Korea more than with Iran and Turkey. It is well noticed that they never hesitate to renounce Iran when it comes to their national interests, which was evident in the Russian voting against Iran in the Security Council, and the delay of operating Bushehr nuclear station.” The editorial added, “Just as Turkey and Iran need a business partner, they will never accept such a relation based on superiority and acting all high and mighty. They will never be on the model of former Eastern European nations and look at Russia as their big brother.”
“Fighting corruption before structural reforms”, Avrinsh newspaper revealed the size of corruption that hinders all means of reform and development of the Iranian economy. The editorial said, “Due to the Iranian social problems and chaotic economy, the government’s priority is to attract foreign investments.” The question that rises here, “Can foreign investments, which are unlikely to come, be a magical solution for the Iranian economic problem under the current circumstances? Corruption is widespread in all sectors and has damaged the production process and other industries.” The editorial also added, “Recently, the Iranian Minister of Justice announced the existence of 50 million anonymous bank accounts, which reflects the size of corruption in the Iranian banking system if there is any. Iran also suffers legal tax evasion, which means that some economic organizations are tax-exempt for no logical reasons. The number of these organizations is too big, which represents an obstacle to Iran’s economic growth.” As for customs laws, the editorial said, “Foreign investment is no use in light of corruption. There is a need for fighting this disease and all its aspects such as money laundering and tax evasion, in addition to controlling customs department.” In fact, fighting economic corruption in Iran can never come about without preventing Revolutionary Guards from practicing economic activities.
“Iranian cinema is a victim of a dispute between the Ministry of Culture and arts sector,” Jehan newspaper handled problems that face the Iranian cinema sector due to the governmental control represented by the Ministry of Guidance, and its nonstop disputes with this sector. The editorial said that arts sector was prevented from displaying the new movie Asghar Farhadi that has won an award at Cannes for best scenario and best actor. The strange thing is that the film industry in Iran has to get a license from the Ministry of Culture before producing the movie, but later, the arts sector prevents its display which is also a governmental sector just like the Ministry of Culture. Consequently, the film industry in Iran is high risk, which is an intentional but not an administrative error since it will engage the arts industry to practice a sort of self-censorship more than the government itself due to the fears of preventing the display. Arts sector in Iran runs theaters and has about 33 thousand theater seats scattered throughout Iran, and are used for political purposes and mass mobilization tools. In fact, the political conflict between Rohani and Khamenei casts its shadows on the arts sector in Iran. The Ministry of Culture belongs to Rohani, while the arts sector belongs to Khamenei. In conclusion, the conflict between both sides has gone too far and became the major obstacle to development starting from oil sector up to movies in theaters.
♦ Ministry of Labor: We are facing chronicle high unemployment
Minister of Labor, Ali Rabe’i stated that Iran is facing chronicle high unemployment and there is a need for creating 700 thousand job opportunities to overcome this crisis. Rabe’i added that the government of Rouhani is dedicated to the elimination of this problem, calling for the establishment of technical institutions to train the Iranian youths to keep up with the international development and serve their country, Iran.
Source: Iran newspaper.
♦ The deposit of only 2% of oil revenues in favor of Iran
Javan newspaper has published a report on the Iranian oil industry, saying, “Iran receives nothing of oil revenues,” it added, “According to the latest statements; the major part of these revenues does not go to Iran for unknown reasons,” In a question to the International Affairs Manager in the Ministry of Oil, Muhsin Qansari about where this money goes he said, “ Collecting these funds is not our responsibility; the Iranian Central Bank has the authority to collect oil revenues under direct supervision of the Ministry of Treasury.”
Some sources say that these revenues were deposited in the Iranian Central Bank; although there is no proof of this transaction during the current year. According to the report, two million and 450 thousand barrels per day were exported during the first two months of this year. Only 307 billion Tomans were deposited in the account of the Iranian treasury, representing 2% of the total oil revenues that amount to 15-17 billion Tomans. In fact, there is no news or idea where the other revenues go.
Source: Javan newspaper.
♦ Does people’s portfolio reflect statistics?
Keihan newspaper quoted a statement of President Hassan Rouhani saying, “In one of his popular statements, Rouhani said that people’s portfolio is the true measurement of inflation but not statistics of the Central Bank and Statistics Center,” The newspaper commented on this, saying that time is the only conclusive evidence of Rouhani’s statement. In reference to the other topics handled by him, the editorial said, “The President brought up contradictory news about recession relief. In fact, with the coming of this government, the industrial and productive sectors suffered an unprecedented recession in Iran’s history. Over three years, a big number of factories have been closed down because of the false economic policies of Rouhani.”
Source: Keihan newspaper.
♦ Four killed and six detained off the armed elements in Kermanshah
Commander of the security forces in Kermanshah province, Manotish’har Aman Ilahi, declared the killing of three armed elements and size of suicide belts. He said that after those elements had entered the city, Special Forces and secret service responded decisively and killed three of the intruders. A Kalashnikov, two munitions, and a suicide belt were seized from those elements who intended to launch a terrorist attack.
On the other hand, Assistant Minister of Interior for security issues, Hussein Zo Alfaqari stated that four armed elements were killed and six were captured in the clashes on Tuesday.
Source: Fares Agency.
♦ The arrest of a dual nationality Iranian
Attorney General, Ja’far Dawlat Abadi announced the arrest of a dual nationality Iranian last week in Tehran on charges of espionage for the British Intelligence Agency. He added that this person was active in economic issues related to Iran and has connections with the British Intelligence, expressing his appreciation to the Iranian security services for their countering Iran’s enemies.
As for the suicide of the financial manager in the Labor party, Abadi said that there was the financial problem behind this incident.
Jame Jam Newspaper
Sadiq Ziba Kalam: The failure of Rouhani’s government; politically and economically
In a press interview, political analyst and university prof, Sadiq Ziba Kalam said, “Most people that voted for Rouhani have economic and cultural fears as well. But Rouhani hasn’t responded to any of these fears,” describing him as “The big loser.” He added, “The problem of Rouhani starts from people that supported him. They have political, social, and cultural fears, while the economic ones are less important.” Kalam continued, “Over the past three years, whenever he talked to people, the essence of his speech was the economy, and never handled political, social, or cultural issues.”
Kalam described Rouhani as “The big loser”, which means that he has never presented positive and successful programs. The only achievements of him were the deterrence of the disruptive influence of Ahmadinejad, and leading the economic growth from negative to positive rates, but he has done nothing for people and their interests. In fact, Rouhani has failed to touch people’s social problems like recession and unemployment and has also failed to attract foreign investments that revive the country.
Source: Mashreq.
♦ Bloody clashes over water in Iran
Shahravand newspaper reported clashes over water that led to the killing of two people in a village 20 kilometers away from Shakurd city in Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari province. These clashes are the third of their kind after those in Bildaji and Abadah.
According to the newspaper, a shepherd had taken his sheep to the village, leading to the drought of water. Consequently, clashes erupted between villagers and the shepherd, resulting in the killing of two people.
MP for Sharkurd province, Ardasheer Nourian stated that the problem of water is growing in Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari, which has led to social problems.
Minister of Energy, Hameed Cheet Chian warned in July of this year that “Life, culture, and existence in Iran are endangered because of water shortage, which has become one of the most important problems in the country.”
According to official reports, the use of water resources in Iran is higher than the international standards, which means that Iran is facing a real water crisis.
Source: BBC Persian.
