Raisi Rebuffed As Parliament Rejects His Second Choice For Education Minister

Ezzatollah Yousefian Molla, a hardline conservative lawmaker at the Iranian parliament (Majles), said on November 15 that there is no hope in the successful continuation of the nuclear talks.

Yousefian called on Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi to be honest with the people and tell them that he does not believe in negotiations. Meanwhile, like many other conservative lawmakers and reformist figures in Iran, he charged that Raisi and the parliament have no plan whatsoever for running the affairs of the state.

Yousefian further said that Raisi should tell the people that the country's economic situation might get even worse because “we do not want to negotiate with the West.”

"They keep telling we want to negotiate, but in 2 to 3 months from now. However, they have been saying this for 3 to 4 months now," Yousefian said. "They should tell the people honestly about their plan for negotiations. They should tell them how far the government is ready to compromise and give concessions," he added.

Iran’s economic crisis deepens by every passing day and some politicians feel they must be on the record for having warned the government.

Yousefian went on to cast doubt on the commitment of Iran’s negotiators to the concept of an agreement with the West. He argued that members of president Raisi’s foreign policy team have been telling the people for a long time that they do not believe in negotiations. “They have said the JCPOA should be laid to rest.”

Yousefian charged that the current negotiating team does not even clearly know whether they want to talk about the JCPOA or they would go further and address other issues. "Even the cabinet ministers do not know that. When they came to the Majles they even did not know each other," he said.

Meanwhile, a prominent hardline lawmaker called on Europe to stand by its commitments under the JCPOA. Mohsen Zanganeh the chairman of the Second Step of the Revolution fraction in the Majles said Europe should not wait for Iran to return to its commitments first. He said the agreement now works the other way around: First others should return to their commitments under the nuclear deal and then Iran will take reciprocal action. Zanganeh further called on Iran's negotiators to stand firm on their positions.

In another development, foreign policy analyst Amir Ali Abolfath told reporters in Tehran that "like former presidents Hassan Rouhani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mohammad Khatami, President Ebrahim Raisi also wishes to solve Iran's problems by negotiating with the West, although there is no bright prospect for the upcoming negotiations."

To reflect the apparent anxiety within the political elite, a well-known conservative professor of economics in Tehran University and a politician, Mohammad Khoshchehreh, said in an interview on Tuesday that Raisi’s government does not have the luxury of failure and will not get a second chance to solve Iran’s economic crisis. He warned that without a clear economic plan for success, not only the government will fail but the Islamic Republic might face danger.

Lawmaker Hassan Norouzi told the parliamentary news service Monday he had not made remarks attributed to him Sunday by Didban-e Iran website over the 2019 protests when hunreds were killed by security forces.

Norouzi said a “fake reporter” had called him and asked about the ‘Iran Atrocities Tribunal’ held in London last week. But Didban-e Iran defended its report, insisting it had taped the conversation and might sue the deputy.

Norouzi allegedly told the website: "I was one of those who shot people. [Yes,] we killed people… They had set fire to banks and we killed them. Who is going to put us on trial for it?" He then allegedly said was "joking" and hung up.

The comments, as reported, drew swift condemnation. The conservative newspaper Jomhouri Eslami wrote that “such a joke” was “deplorable by anyone, but even more by you who are a cleric wearing the cloak of the Prophet of Mercy [Muhammad].” The newspaper argued that Islamic values required those setting fire to banks to face justice and a proportionate punishment rather than being killed before a crime was proved.

Human rights lawyer Ali Mojtahedzadeh, in a commentary published by Didban-e Iran Monday, noted that Norouzi was a member of the parliament's Legal and Judiciary Committee, making his statements "even more deplorable.”

"What kind of a joke can this be when according to official figures nearly 300 people died in this incident, many more were wounded or detained, and so many lives were ruined?" Mojtahedzadeh asked. He criticized parliament and judiciary for not carrying out "a minimum level of investigation" after two years. "Which legal system in the world doesn't charge even one person for the murder of at least 300 citizens in the streets in broad daylight?” he asked.

Iran has not officially announced figures for deaths or arrests, nor put anyone on trial for killing protesters, but has prosecuted and passed heavy sentences including the death penalty on protesters on charges including “assembly and collusion against the regime.” Officials have put the number at over 200. Independent reports have put the number of protesters killed between 300-1,500.

Mojtahedzadeh claimed Iran had laws forbidding security forces shooting suspects above the waist in any situations and that shooting anyone, even if they were setting fire to banks, needed strong justification: "The real tragedy is that not only justice, based on Sharia and the law, has not been served in the case of these events but also some truths are being distorted and even mocked."

A video posted on social media by ‘mothers of victims’ challenged Norouzi to “stop hiding in your lair with 30 bodyguards” and to “come out and face us.”

The ‘Iran Atrocities Tribunal’ claimed in a Tweet Saturday that Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri-Kani had threatened to “stop part” of Iran’s discussions with world powers if London did not stop the tribunal meeting. The tweet claimed the tribunal, which purports to be quasi-judicial investigation into the November 2019 protests, learnt this from “European sources.”

Didban-e Iran's report Saturday also claimed its “informed sources” had said the foreign ministry had protested to the British government for allowing the tribunal be held in the UK.

Oddly enough, while reformists and conservatives alike highlighted Raisi’s shortcomings, his only defendant appears to be his father-in-law, the firebrand Friday Prayers Imam of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Reformist daily newspaper Sharq in its Twitter account quoted Alamolhioda as having said on Friday that "Problems cannot be sorted out within a hundred days, although one can begin to move toward an improvement." However, Alamolhoda did not say whether Raisi has made the move yet. Meanwhile, Tehran's Friday Prayers Imam Seddighi attributed all economic problems as well as water shortage to the "sins committed by young Iranians."

Reformist analyst Abbas Abdi, told conservative daily Sobh-e No in an interview that there were three positive points in Raisi's track record during the past 100 days: "His provincial visits, boosting nationwide vaccination against COVID-19, and refraining from badmouthing Iranian and foreign individuals and organizations."

However, Abdi warned that that the people might be soon disillusioned with the president’s provincial visits if they see no improvement in their situation. Meanwhile, many critics have pointed out that the progress in vaccination is being highlighted after months of delays in the purchase of vaccines from abroad.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banned American and British vaccines in January, thwarting the national vaccination effort until August, when Raisi took office.

Abdi criticized Raisi for his failure to define and pursue a clear a foreign policy, key to solving economic problems, and to sort out issues in the country's domestic politics which is most prominently evident in the appointment of officials' relatives to key posts in the government mindless of their lack of qualifications.

Meanwhile, Gholamreza Noori, a conservative lawmaker in an interview with moderate website Rouydad24 said that "the country's economy is facing a major crisis and criticism of the Raisi administration is gaining momentum on a daily basis." He also criticized Raisi for his provincial visits saying that "It is good that he visits the provinces, but it is not good that he says he visits to find out about their problems." He added that it is regrettable the Raisi administration has started its fourth month in office failing to stabilize skyrocketing prices.

Noori added: "Every day if you listen to parliament proceedings on the radio you will hear conservative lawmakers complaining against the administration's shortcomings." He warned that "There is a limit to the lawmakers' patience."

A similar warning was made by Abdi who said Raisi should note that his honeymoon with the Majles (parliament) is going to end soon.

Like many other conservative and reformist critics, Noori charged that "Raisi has no plan to solve any problem." He added: "The administration has still not responded to lawmakers' questions about how it is going to tackle the budget deficit and how it is going to regulate the markets. And there is no indication that the government is going to take the initiative about problems such as the JCPOA and FATF."

The lack of a plan on the part of the government to solve the country's problems was also highlighted in reformist figure Ali Soufi's article about Raisi's 100 days in office. Soufi said that this will badly harm the government's credibility. Meanwhile, like many other critics affiliated with various political groups, Soufi also denounced nepotism in the government.

Earlier, another lawmaker, Massoud Pezeshkian had warnedthat if these problems are not solved within a reasonable period of time, the nationwide protests that shook Iran in 2018 and 2019 are likely to reoccur.

The bill proposed by President Ebrahim Raisi is an amendment to the current year's budget law to allow the government to stop allocating cheap dollars for importing basic commodities. These include cooking oil, animal feed, medicine and medical equipment.

The government has said that instead, it is planning to pay a direct monthly cash handout of 1.1 million rials (less than $4) to 60 million Iranians whose income level is considered low.

The subsidy started when the national currency began to lose value in early 2018, raising food prices. The cheap dollars were provided to importers at 42,000 rials, instead of the current free market rate of 280,000 rials to one US dollar.The government has spent an average of $8 billion a year since April 2018 to finance subsidized essential imports.

Before the parliament took vote on the urgency of the controversial bill Sunday morning, a member of the Planning and Budget Committee, Ehsan Arkani, claimed that the government had retracted its bill.

The parliament, however, voted to decide the urgency of the bill. Lawmakers voted against not only the bill’s double-urgency but also single-urgency. Double-urgency, if approved, meant the bill would have been debated and put to vote within 24 hours while single-urgency would have given the bill priority over other bills and motions on parliament's agenda. To kick back the bill means it might languish until April, after the start of the Iranian new year.

Eliminating the “cheap dollar’ subsidy would raise prices of essential goods by five to six times but would also help make up for some of the huge budget deficiency the government is grappling with and somewhat slow down inflation.

The main reason for the government's insistence on doing away with the scheme is remedying the budget deficit, conservative Alef website argued. "All other reasons offered by administrations [in the past and now] are secondary."

Alef also argued that although reforming the exchange rate for importing basic commodities is defendable, those who oppose it now are worried about when and how such a reform should be carried out to prevent undesirable consequences such as cash flow problems for importers.

Higher prices can also push down consumption of protein and dairy products, the article said, and affect production, employment, and even people's health. Payment of cash handouts, also, could backfire and push up the annual inflation rate which now stands at around 45%.

Putting the budget law amendment bill on the back burner means the government will have to resort to other measures, such as borrowing from the Central Bank, to remedy the current year's budget deficit. The Central Bank in turn has no reserves and has to print money, fueling inflation.

Meanwhile, the national currency has continued to plunge against the dollar as the country awaits the resumption of nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29. The rial fell to the lowest point in the past twelve months Saturday by crossing the 285,000 mark against the US dollar.

The official news agency IRNA's tweet 11 November about unfreezing of $3.5 billion of Iran's funds blocked in other countries has done very little to reassure the market and stop the further depreciation of the rial. An officials of the Iran-Iraq trade chambers said Sunday that Iraq has not released any funds. The head of Iran-South Korea chamber also said Saturday that South Korea has not released any of the Iranian funds frozen in that country.

The right-of-center reformist Executives of Construction Party in Iran has kicked out Gholamhosein Karbaschi, a moderate conservative politician who has been leading the party for a quarter of a century and replaced him with a more proreform figure, Hossein Marashi, the party's former spokesman.

Some have noted that Karbaschi knew he was going to be replaced in a Tuesday evening meeting of the party's central council, which he did not attend.

According to reformist daily Arman, the party's central council members decided unanimously to fire Karbaschi and replace him with Marashi, a relative of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who was the founding father of the Executives of Construction when it was established in 1996. Marashi led the party's left wing throughout the past 25 years. The wing was identified with Rafsanjani's outspoken daughter Faezeh Hashemi who refused to take part in party meetings for several years in protest to Karbaschi's leadership.

Several key members of the party quit during the past few years, but the drop in membership and the rift among key members of the central council has been more visible in the past two years, as dissatisfaction with Karbaschi's handling of the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2020 and 2021 utterly annoyed even some loyal members. Mohammad Atrianfar, a key member said those who have left the party can easily return as the central council has not approved their resignation.

In the meantime, hardline news outlets such as the IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency have expressed support for Karbaschi and maintained their critical view of the party, Arman newspaper observed.

Meanwhile, a commentary in reformist daily Etemad characterized the development as a sign of the party moving to the left. In other words, the Executives of Construction is likely to be branded as an all-out reformist party.

According to Sharq newspaper, some of the inactive members including Akbar Torkan, a proreform figure with close ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, were present at the party's central council meeting. Some media outlets have taken this as a sign that the presence of trusted individuals like Torkan can strengthen the party's position within the ruling establishment. If Khamenei deicides, as he did before, that the country needs two political wings, then the Executives of Construction can act as the reformist wing. Currently, ultraconservatives dominate state institutions.

The meeting on Tuesday night gave the upper hand within the party to the Rafsanjani clan with Marashi as secretary general, Rafsanjani's son as the head of the central council and the high likelihood of Faezeh Hashemi's return to the forefront of the party's leadership.

According to the moderate website Rouydad24, under Karbaschi, during the past two years, the party lost its political impact in both local and national elections. The party's candidate for the presidential election, Abdolnaser Hemmati, who was supported by only part of the party, badly lost the election. To make the situation even worse for Karbaschi, the website quoted Atrianfar as having said that the party's central council did not meet during the past year or so, meaning that it was Karbaschi and not the party that nominated Hemmati.