1 Report for

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Daily Report for Sunday, August 20, 2017

1 Report for

Sunday,

August 20, 2017 Mordad 29, 1396

* Highlights. Page 2

* News Briefs. Page 3

* Rafsanjani selected as unofficial chairman. Page 3

* ISIL comes round. Page 3

* The sanctity of livelihood of the MPs and ministers! Page 4

* Tehran denies arrest of Iranian suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Page 4

* Karroubi’s hunger strike widely covered in newspapers. Page 5

* Can Tehran City Council catapult Rafsanjani

onto the political stage? Page 8

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2 Highlights

 Iranian newspapers on Saturday widely covered the hunger strike of

Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi, one of the two Iran-based opposition leaders, who finally resumed eating after President Rouhani gave positive responses to his demands. (See Page 5)

 Conservative news website Tabnak writes that initially a favorite candidate for Tehran mayoralty, Mohsen Hashemi is now elected as chairman of Tehran City Council. Is this a new chapter in the political life of the eldest son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani? (See Page 8)

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3 Briefs

* Farsi-language state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that sixteen proposed ministers out of 18 were successful in getting the confidence votes of MPs on Sunday. The nominee for minister of energy Habibollah Bitaraf did not receive the vote of confidence. Still no news about the Minister of Science, Research and Technology.

* Farsi-language Iranian Students’

News Agency (ISNA) reports that 236 MPs voted in favor of Mohammad Javad Zarif as foreign minister, 26 MPs voted against him and 26 MPs abstained.

* Farsi-language website Aftab News writes that there is unconfirmed news that Dr. Seyyed Zia Hashemi may appointed as the caretaker of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. He is Deputy Science Minister for Cultural and Social Affairs.

* Farsi-language newspaper Shargh writes that the head of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Brigadier General Abdullah Abdullahi says that his unit is ready to cooperate with President Rouhani’s government in alleviate Iranians’ economic problems.

* Farsi-language writes newspaper Shargh writes that 24 MPs have written a letter to Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani calling on him to create a report about the assets of the nominated ministers.

* Farsi-language newspaper Etemad writes that Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kioumars Haidari says that the primary first powerful component of the ground force is the helicopter unit, while the second powerful component is the artillery.

Councilors-elect select Rafsanjani as unofficial chairman of

Tehran City Council

Farsi-language news media report that Tehran city councilors-elect have unanimously selected Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, the eldest son of the late Iranian politician Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as elected as the chairman of Tehran’s new City Council.

In an unofficial session on Saturday, all members-elect of the Tehran’s city council voted for the chairmanship of Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was the only candidate for the post.

Morteza Alviri and Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, two other senior members of the Council, earlier withdrew from running for the post in favor of Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Alviri later noted that his withdrawal was a move to increase the unity of the all-reformist Council.

The new City Council, which will start its work on August 23, earlier voted for Mohammad-Ali Najafi, a senior reformist and former education and science minister, as the new mayor of Tehran. The councilors- elect want to save time as the start of the new city council has been delayed due to legal technicality.

ISIL comes round

Farsi-language hardline conservative newspaper Kayhan writes that about five and a half years after West created Daesh and Takfiri, releasing them to create havoc in the lives of innocent people, the West has done absolutely nothing – “repeated done absolutely nothing” – to stop the onslaught of these Takfiris in the west Asia.

This has been so because this project would have needed huge manpower and then the West had wanted to get rid

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of these “evil creatures” from itself [presumably by diverting Daesh to other parts of the world].

Strategists like [Henry] Kissinger, who helped launch ISIL, may have not thought about what would happen if this project failed and the Takfiris wanted to return to their homes. On the other hand, it is also possible that they had thought of this, but they are not concerned about the countless lives of innocent people.

In a word, the incident of Barcelona is the result of the ISIL project’s defeat in Western Asia and the pursuit of Kissinger’s artistic policy. In a word, the incident of Barcelona is the result of the ISIL project’s defeat in western Asia and the pursuit of Kissinger’s policy [regarding Daesh diversion to west Asia].

The victory of Trump in American presidential election and the wave of migration to the West as people started to flee from Daesh have given a new lease of life to the racists who commit murder just like the Daesh. Now the West is faced with wholly new crises.

The sanctity of livelihood of the MPs and ministers!

Farsi-language conservative newspaper Watan-e Emrouz writes that Mr. [Bijan]

Zanganeh announced only a few days ago that it is not possible to employ all educated Iranians into the Oil Ministry, and that only the elite and top people will be absorbed into the ministry.

This is not only bad thing to say in a competitive atmosphere. However, when we see that those MPs who have supportive of Zanganeh suddenly get the top jobs at his ministry, then these words become a bad thing to say and a total injustice. In this case, we would be justified to voice our protest.

At the same time, we should ask: Aren’t the MPs qualified enough to get top jobs at the ministry? Unfortunately, the answer is no in most of the cases. The outcome of the MPs’ action at the parliament has led to exceptional privileges for the MPs.

Tehran denies arrest of Iranian suicide bomber in Afghanistan

Farsi-language Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reports that Iran’s embassy in Kabul has rejected the claim that an Iranian suicide bomber has been arrested in Afghanistan. Officials at the Iranian embassy in Kabul have rejected the claim that security forces have apprehended an Iranian suicide bomber in Afghanistan’s Nimruz province. A press release by the Iranian embassy suggests that the Afghan government has, so far, presented no evidence and documents to prove the claim.

The Nimruz police chief had told media two days earlier that an Iranian suicide bomber had been arrested while attacking a security checkpoint in the province. The police chief claimed the detained individual was an Iranian national, and that one of those killed in the attack on the checkpoint was his cousin.

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5 Karroubi’s hunger strike

widely covered in newspapers

After an order by President Hassan Rouhani, Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi and a deputy intelligence minister met the opposition leader on Thursday and secured promises that convinced him to end the hunger strike.

The reformist newspaper Etemad covered the issue using the headline “Rouhani’s Special Order: Health, Intelligence Ministries Urged to Deal with Opposition Leader’s Hunger Strike”.

The reformist Seda-ye Eslahat newspaper quoted Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Hadi

Khamenei, the younger reformist brother of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as saying that the end of the house arrest would increase the reputation of Iran’s Islamic

Revolution.

It also released an editorial on the issue titled ‘Ending House Arrest: One Way, Two Results’, arguing that the end of house arrest will not mean the release of the two opposition figures; it rather will lead to their trial and a possible death penalty for them.

Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reports that Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, referred to Karroubi as “our brother and great master”

and added that he hoped “that God willing, attempts [to repeal his house arrest] will see some results.”

Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi, who has been under house arrest in the past six years for his role in the unrest following the 2009 presidential election in Iran, stopped eating and drinking on Wednesday morning and was taken to hospital on Thursday due to high blood pressure.

The 79-year-old reformist cleric reportedly declared he will not resume eating until intelligence agents are removed from his home, and a public trial is scheduled for him.

After an order by President Hassan Rouhani, Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi and a deputy intelligence minister met the opposition leader on Thursday and secured promises that convinced him to end the hunger strike.

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Surprisingly, the issue was widely covered in the front pages of both conservative and reformist newspapers on Saturday.

The reformist newspaper Etemad covered the issue using the headline “Rouhani’s Special Order: Health, Intelligence Ministries Urged to Deal with Opposition Leader’s Hunger Strike”.

The state-owned Iran newspaper referred to the end of Karroubi’s hunger strike after Rouhani’s orders.

The Hamdeli newspaper also reported the hope expressed by various religious and political figures about the end of the opposition leaders’ house arrest.

The reformist Seda-ye Eslahat newspaper quoted Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Hadi Khamenei, the younger reformist brother of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as saying that the end of the house arrest would increase the reputation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

The Setareh Sobh newspaper quoted the First Vice-Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Massoud Pezeshkian as saying that the continuation of the opposition leaders’ house arrest will not be in Iran’s interest.

It also referred to the Parliament’s Second Vice-Speaker Ali Motahari’s remarks, where he urged the country’s officials to prepare the grounds for Karroubi’s trial.

Pezeshkian’s remarks were also covered by Bahar, which used the headline “Issue of House Arrest Can Be Resolved through Interaction between Leaders.”

Meanwhile, the conservative paper Javan criticized the fuss made about the hunger strike, and described it as a small one-day strike. It also released an editorial on the issue titled ‘Ending House Arrest: One Way, Two Results’, arguing that the end of house arrest will not mean the release of the two opposition figures; it rather will lead to their trial and a possible death penalty for them.

Javan advised reformists not to drag the establishment into the execution of the two figures, and let them stay under the house arrest.

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The other major conservative paper Kayhan also published Hossein Shariatmadari’s interview with Fars News Agency about Karroubi’s hunger strike. In this interview, Shariatmadari, the chief of Kayhan, described the strike as a plot hatched to fabricate documents for anti-Iran human rights sanctions imposed by the US.

He further described Karroubi as an individual with revolutionary backgrounds, and accused reformists of taking advantage of him to protect the other opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi and the former president Seyyed Mohammad Khatami during the post-election ‘sedition’ in 2009.

Shabtab News website reports that reformist former President Mohammad Khatami spoke with Karroubi’s family and issued a statement on Karroubi’s condition. He commented that “unfortunately the matter is out of my hands.” Khatami added that

“the very least expectation of Mr. Rouhani now is that he gets involved in the matter quickly.” Khatami stated that it was “with the help of Rouhani himself” that he was able to free the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri from house arrest in 2003.

Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reports that reformist-backed Omid parliamentary faction Spokesman Bahram Parsaei stated that “our main issue is the discussion of Mr. Karroubi’s health as well as the principle of [his] house arrest.” He added that the faction will “pursue this matter until its solution.”

Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reports that Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, referred to Karroubi as “our brother and great master” and added that he hoped “that God willing, attempts [to repeal his house arrest] will see some results.”

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8 Can Tehran City Council catapult Hashemi Rafsanjani onto the political stage?

Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, the eldest son of the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was unanimously voted in as chairman of Tehran’s Fifth City Council on Saturday.

The forerunner in Tehran’s city council election that was held in June this year, Hashemi was chosen for the position in presence of heavyweights such as Ahmad Masjed Jamei, leader of the Reformist faction in the council in the two previous terms, and Morteza Alviri, mayor of Iran’s capital from 1999 to 2002.

Nonetheless, his resignation from the council to become the next mayor of the capital meant that the first alternate council member, Principlist Mehdi Chamran, three-time chairman of the Tehran City Council, would join the 21-member assembly; hence, Hashemi’s decision to continue serving as a council member.

While Mohsen Hashemi had announced no commitments, either in front of other members of the Reformist slate or the Reformists’ Supreme Council for Policy-Making, not to nominate himself for the vied-for post of Tehran mayor, and held a high chance to secure the post, he nonetheless respected the demand and abstained participation in the competition.

Hashemi’s serious contender for the position of Tehran City Council chairmanship, Morteza Alviri, had served as mayor of Tehran from 1999 to 2002, without leaving a positive record.

Hashemi also serves as chairman of the central council of Executives of Construction, political party known as brainchild of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, VP Eshaq Jahangiri from the post.

Farsi-language conservative news website Tabnak: Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, the eldest son of the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was unanimously voted in as chairman of Tehran’s Fifth City Council on Saturday. The forerunner in Tehran’s city council election that was held in June this year, Hashemi was chosen for the position in presence of heavyweights such as Ahmad Masjed Jamei, leader of the Reformist faction in the council in the two previous terms, and Morteza Alviri, mayor of Iran’s capital from 1999 to 2002.

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Following the sweeping victory of Reformists in the fifth city council election where they secured all 21 seats, dominating the body after 14 years, election of the next mayor, successor to Principlist Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, was the most important on the agenda.

Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, who served as CEO of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company for thirteen years from 1997 to 2010, was the most popular choice initially. Nonetheless, his resignation from the council to become the next mayor of the capital meant that the first alternate council member, Principlist Mehdi Chamran, three-time chairman of the Tehran City Council, would join the 21- member assembly; hence, Hashemi’s decision to continue serving as a council member.

Mahmoud Hojjati, Habibollah Bitaraf, and Mohammad Shariatmadari were three veteran executives groomed for the post afterwards, but neither of them showed willingness to accept the offer. All three are now nominated for ministerial portfolios in Hassan Rouhani’s second administration, waiting for the parliament’s vote of confidence. The next group of candidates for the post were former Education Minister Mohammad-Ali Najafi, former MP Hossein Marashi (also a close relative of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani), Reformist former MP Mrs. Elaheh Koulaei, veteran bureaucrat Mohsen Mehralizade, and a lesser known figure, Mohammad-Ali Afshani. Eventually, as it transpired that Najafi is the preferred candidate for council members, other nominees stepped down in his favor and Mohammad-Ali Najafi was elected as successor to Bagher Ghalibaf with a unanimous vote by the council on August 10.

On Saturday, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani was unanimously elected as chairman of the council. Morteza Alviri and Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, two other candidates for the position, officially stepped down in the beginning of the Saturday session, in a show of solidarity inside an all-Reformist council. Seyyed Ebrahim Amini was also elected as vice-chairman with 21 votes.

Born in the holy city of Qom in 1961, Mohsen Hashemi served as CEO of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company for thirteen years before resigning in 2010. In the fifth city council election, he proved the most popular candidate with 1,756,086 votes, the highest number of votes any individual has ever collected in the race. Mohsen Hashemi was Reformists’ favorite candidate for mayoralty also in the Fourth City Council, but lost the competition to the incumbent Mohammad-Bagher

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Ghalibaf with a one-vote margin [in a controversial vote-taking which saw a member of the Reformist slate switch allegiance in the last minute].

Hashemi’s election to the position of chairman is an apt choice as his impressive vote in the election made him suitable for either of the two top positions in Tehran’s governance system, i.e. mayoralty or chairmanship.

While Mohsen Hashemi had announced no commitments, either in front of other members of the Reformist slate or the Reformists’ Supreme Council for Policy- Making, not to nominate himself for the vied-for post of Tehran mayor, and held a high chance to secure the post, he nonetheless respected the demand and abstained participation in the competition.

Mohsen Hashemi also holds an impressive record during his service in Tehran metro company. His thirteen years of service in the office is known as its golden years.

Hashemi’s serious contender for the position of Tehran City Council chairmanship, Morteza Alviri, had served as mayor of Tehran from 1999 to 2002, without leaving a positive record.

Analysts believe that as the eldest son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (a ‘pillar’ of the Islamic Republic), Mohsen Hashemi is following his father’s political path. In this light, the younger Hashemi’s chairmanship over the city council is seen as the start of a new chapter in his political life.

Hashemi also serves as chairman of the central council of Executives of Construction, political party known as brainchild of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, VP Eshaq Jahangiri from the post. As the new chairman of the Tehran City Council, Mohsen Hashemi can now play a more serious political role. He has also proven to act within the accepted boundaries of the establishment and enjoys warm relations with higher echelons of the Islamic Republic.

Many analysts believe that in terms of political approach, Mohsen is the closest figure to his late father and is ready to play a stronger political role. Some even saw him as the fittest candidate for the 1400 presidential election, for which service in Tehran Municipality could serve as a springboard. Can the chairmanship position serve a similar function?