Tehran’s Daily Newspaper Review

As the Islamic Republic is under attack by the US for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington -with Qods Corps Commander General Qasem Soleymani under the spotlight as the mastermind of Iran’s overseas operations, across the country the anniversary of the US Embassy seizure in 1979 was celebrated on the streets. On Thursday, in the company of the members of his 2005 and 2009 electoral campaigns, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed (Persian link) his critics in a mind-boggling way, even on an Ahmadinejad-ian scale.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech was covered with the headline “Ahmadinejad among electoral companions” by Etemaad. “They told the Deputy Central Bank Chairman to attribute the [2.6 billion dollar] embezzlement to Mashaei to be released”, “I have never said that we don’t need the velayat-e faqih” and “the accusations of being Baha’i thrown at the government were worse than attacks on monafeghin [the MKO],” Etemaad quoted the aggrieved president. “The government has remained reserved against all slanders, but this silence is not indefinite and if we feel that the causes of Revolution are jeopardized, then our responsibilities will change,” the newspaper also quoted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “We shouldn’t use the Reformists as the log of the election [oven]”, i.e. to take advantage of them only to spice up the (upcoming parliamentary) election- elections, which may witness with a low turnout, Etemaad quoted Secretary of the conservative party Mo’talefeh.

Iran continued its line of rosy economic news, reporting of the government’s decision to exempt employers from paying insurance, thus solving the employment problem for 450 thousand workers. The newspaper’s front page photo showed National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili holding up two documents linking the US administration to terrorist activities targeting the Islamic Republic’s security. Iran’s editorial accused the West of striving to defer its decline by transferring the crisis towards the Middle East and blowing out of proportion foreign threats. The enemy’s focus on the Qods Corps stems from their fear of an awakening among the grass roots at a time when Iran and the West prepare for a face-off, the editorial read.

Jomhouri-e Eslami’s top headline reported of the glory of the anti-US demonstrations on Friday. The right column of the front page was dominated by clerics’ remarks: esteemed religious leader Ayatollah Javadi Amoli’s “Husni Mubarak had taken Islam as hostage”, Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili’s “Islam should not be exploited for personal gain” and Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi’s “those who’ve not even been slapped once for the sake of Islam [a common taunting quasi-argument against the IRI opposition] say that no progress has been made after the Revolution.”  In its editorial, Jomhouri-e Eslami argued that the new allegations against Iran, calls to assassinate the Commander of Qods Corps Qasem Soleymani, and preparations for a new round of sanctions against Iran are intended to deflect attention from the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“Terrorism is the essence of Capitalism” Kayhan quoted Saeed Jalili. “The fate of Qaddafi is awaiting Al-Khalifa and the Saudi Household,” stated Tehran's Friday Prayers’ Leader Ahmad Khatami. “Why Do They Fear the Qods Corps?” the newspaper asked in its editorial. The Qods Corps have taken Washington down a peg, Kayhan argued, adding that more than being an elite force, the Qods Corps is a mentality that transcends national borders and the keywords of its discourse are diametrically opposed to the Western values.

Resalat’s top headline was selected from Saeed Jalili’s speech on the anniversary of the US Embassy takeover, where he called for the UN to put Washington’s conduct vis-à-vis Iran under inspection. From Ahmad Khatami's Friday speech, Resalat selected a quote, saying “The Revolutionary Guards has reduced the US to tears.” Resalat’s editorial, titled “100 Unquestionable Pieces of Evidence” - taken from Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech from last week, recounted a number of manifest US’ against the Iranian nation, including the 1953 coup against the democratically-elected government of Mohammad Mosaddeq, support for Iraq during the 8-year war, cooperation with Mossad in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, and backing separatist groups.

Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili, Chief Magistrate during Ayatollah Khomeini’s leadership, now a religious leader (marja’) residing in Qom, criticized the quality of the Finance Minister’s impeachment, calling it ‘cosmetic’, Shargh reported. The ayatollah, with a left-leaning bent, also added that it was inappropriate to put a lid on the embezzlement with a simple apology. Shargh also published a communiqué by Richard Clayderman, the French pianist planning to perform in Tehran, in which he denied rumors about him his release of artwork in support of Israel -an allegation that has put doubts in his visit to Iran. The newspaper’s editorial, authored by historiographer Majid Tafreshi, cast a look at the US Embassy seizure from the purview of historical documents released by the British government.

“Comments denied straight away” was Tehran-e Emrooz’ top headline, referring to different versions of Ahmadinejad's controversial speech made on last Thursday. Tehran-e Emrooz also covered the Finance Minister’s advice to the Central Bank to ‘moderate’ the US dollar exchange rate. The newspaper’s editorial criticized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Thursday speech for his electoral campaign members, speculating that he may be floating ideas for the ninth parliamentary election and the next presidential poll.

“United States’ Nightmare”, embellished with a sketch of Qasem Soleymani, was the top headline of Vatan-e Emrooz’s front page. Protests in Auckland, the US and the French city of Nice -site of G20 summit- were also covered by the newspaper.

* Notes:

The editorial section of Iranian newspapers is not the work of the editor-in-chief or the senior editorial staff of the newspaper by default, but can be a contribution by experts and politicians (typically agreeing with the newspaper’s political stance.) The newspapers may also occasionally publish without an editorial.

Vatan-e Emrooz daily does not publish on Thursdays.

Trouble with understanding some terms? Check our Glossary of Iranian Political Terms.

Briefing

Etemaad is a Reformist newspaper owned by former MP Elias Hazrati. The newspaper supported Mehdi Karroubi in the 2005 and 2009 elections. In 2010, it was temporarily banned from publishing (for a three-month period) by the Judiciary.

Iran is the official organ of the administration. Its current editor-in-chief is Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, former media advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Jomhouri-ye Eslami (The Islamic Republic) was known as the official organ of the Party of the Islamic Republic, founded in 1979 and disbanded in 1987. Currently, it is an open critique of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies and is known to be a mouthpiece of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Kayhan (Universe) is a hard-line conservative newspaper. Its editor-in-chief –currently Hossein Shari’atmadari- is directly appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader. Shari’atmadari’s editorials often spark off controversy and debate inside Iranian political circles.

Resalat (Mission) belongs to the moderate wing of the Principlist camp. Resalat’s best known analyst is Amir Mohebbian, its political editor.

Shargh (East) is a moderate Reformist newspaper. It was the most popular and influential Reformist newspaper in its first period of publication which lasted from August 2003 until September 2006.

Tehran-e Emrooz (Tehran Today) is a “Principlist/Reformist” newspaper, connected to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Tehran Mayor and a likely candidate of the 2013 presidential election.

Vatan-e Emrooz (Motherland Today) is a supporter of the president’s policies.