Iran’s Culture Minister Tells Protesting Artists: 'Repent Or Be Jobless!'

In an article about the prospect of the Islamic Republic’s plan to restart manufacturing Iran-140 aircraft, Faraz internet daily proposed that government officials should be onboard during its first flights, amid serious safety fears.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (Qalibaf), the current speaker of the parliament and a qualified pilot who was commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Air Force from 1997 to 2000, was suggested as “the best candidate” to be at the controls.

Faraz also said that the aircraft should be used by President Ebrahim Raisi and his cabinet for their trips across Iran, challenging state officials who brag about the quality of domestic productions to prove that they believe in what they say.

“Since the government and other institutions always stress the need to support domestic production and replace foreign products with the home-made ones, using the domestically made aircraft by cabinet or parliament members in trips and missions is the best practical manifestation of the slogan of supporting national production,” wrote the daily.

Faraz’s article follows claims by head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh that the domestically made passenger plane has passed the final tests and is approved to fly in the near future. According to an article in Iran newspaper, he said that the new passenger planes “have 70 to 150 seats, and as reported by the Ministry of Defense, the construction of the first plane has made good progress and has passed various tests and is ready to fly."

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President Raisi called for a new drive to build passenger planes on a visit to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (Hesa) in the city of Esfahan (Isfahan) on June 16, 2022. He ordered the company to design and manufacture passenger planes with at least 72 seats “in the near future”.

In February, Mohammadi-Bakhsh announced that the Ministry of Defense is in charge of producing the plane and the Civil Aviation Organization -- Hesa’s parent company -- is monitoring the process, adding the first phase of manufacturing the new platform of Iran-140 plane has been completed. “We think the new platform of Iran-140 aircraft will make its maiden flight by the end of this year,” referring to the Iranian year that ended on March 20.

Echoing remarks by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he stressed the need to expand the aviation industry. Only 175 of Iran’s fleet of 330 passenger aircraft are now in use. He said that with 90 airports and a population of about 88 million, the country requires at least 550 aircraft of all sorts and classes.

In the 90s, the Islamic Republic had a licensing deal with Ukraine’s Antonov to build the 52-seat Iran-140, based on Antonov’s AN-140, but the manufacturing program was hit by low production numbers and an appalling safety record. Out of five produced planes, two of them crashed, on February 15, 2009, and August 10, 2014. However, the Islamic Republic authorities insist that the plane is safe.

As talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have hit a deadlock, sanctions prevent the Islamic Republic from buying jets from the likes of Boeing and Airbus.

In February 2021, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced plans for the domestic production of a 100-seater passenger aircraft, but there has been no further news about it since. Earlier this month, Mohammadi-Bakhsh claimed that Russian aircraft are now being repaired in Iran following a deal between the Islamic Republic and Russia to accept each other’s approvals in the field of repair and construction of aircraft.

Iran has suffered from shortages of civilian airliners since the 1990s and used a variety of ways to lease older planes or buy spare parts through intermediaries, but the technical state of its fleet has continued to deteriorate.

Despite repeated calls by political figures and critics of the Islamic Republic, the Supreme Leader said that various issues in the country "cannot be subject to a referendum".

During a meeting with a cherrypicked number of students on Tuesday, Khamenei said, “Is it possible to hold referendum on various issues in the country? Where in the world do they do this? Do all the people who have to participate in the referendum have the ability to analyze that issue?” he said.

Khamenei’s rhetoric of comparing his regime with other countries is misleading, because he and his loyalists have severely restricted most freedoms and manipulated elections, jailed opponents and critics and jailed or killed protesters.

Former regime insider and currently opposition figure Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was a presidential candidate in 2009 and has been under house arrest since 2011, as well as former president Hassan Rouhani and several others have called for a plebiscite over key issues, such as a new constitution, or the nuclear program. 

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Former president Rouhani said earlier in the month that the main solution to the existing problems of the country is to hold a referendum on the three issues of "foreign policy, domestic policy and economy.” 

“Student activities should not polarize the student community and the country. Polarization is the will of the enemy. Students’ demands must be accompanied by realism and providing scientific and practical solutions,” the Leader said, adding that “Hardships do not demoralize a motivated young student. He studies and fights to solve problems.”

Requests were also made to hold a referendum on the highly controversial issue of mandatory hijab, but a regime outfit that acts as morality watchdog opposed the idea. 

Groups of Iranian reformist politicians and activists have come out in support of Mousavi’s call for a referendum. Over 400 political activists and journalists have signed a statement in support of the Green Movement leader’s call to end clerical rule in Iran.

“With the current social awakening, and the society’s disillusionment with reforms within the current [political] structure, there is no other way than allowing the people to decide their own destiny,” the statement said while expressing its support of Mousavi’s three-stage proposal and a “peaceful and non-violent transition” to a democratic government and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” Movement.

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In another statement, 112 reformists who are mostly former government officials, issued a similar statement Sunday admitting that the goals of the 1979 revolution to have justice and democracy in Iran have failed, and voiced support for Mousavi’s demands.

Mousavi, after months of popular anti-regime protests, said in a statement on February 4 that fundamental change was required to “save Iran” and proposed elections to appoint a constitutional assembly to write a new constitution and a referendum on the new constitution and its proposed form of government.

Ruhollah Ajamian was killed in Karaj, near Tehran, in November by a group of men the regime called “rioters”.

The member of the Basij militia of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was stabbed, beaten, and stripped naked by a group of men and died of his injuries later.

The Islamic Republic has already executed Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hossein over Ajamian’s death.

On Tuesday in Alborz, 14 protesters were jailed in connection with the killing, with five of them receiving long-term prison terms of 10 and 15 years.

The two executions came after a hasty trial and without their right to choose a lawyer.

Jurists and human rights activists have described the trials as “unfair” and questioned the verdicts.

The judiciary of Alborz province claimed on Tuesday that the charges leading to the verdict were not "intentional murder" but "corruption of the earth" and "moharebeh", or “waging war against God”.

Among the defendants, Hamid Qarahasanlou, who was previously sentenced to death, received the longest prison term and was given 15 years in prison. He is set to serve his sentence in Yazd province in central Iran.

These are only the latest lengthy sentences to be handed down by the Iranian regime to countless protesters in the widespread demonstrations that followed the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.

Protests broke out in scores of cities across Iran, with crowds demanding justice for Mahsa and calling for an end to the regime’s oppressive policies.

The brutal crackdown in response to the demonstrations and heavy sentences handed out by the courts have signaled the regime’s refusal to change and determination to silence dissent.

The sorrow state of Iran’s economy has put the conservative-hardliner forces in charge of both the parliament and the president on the back foot prior to parliamentary election next March.

Conservative politician Hossein Kanaani Moghaddam believes that parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and his allies will be among the most serious contestants within the conservative camp in the next election.

Asked how he would describe the configuration of conservative parties in the competition now that there is an all conservative government in Iran, Moghaddam said: The competition dates back to the fundamental difference in Iran's conservative camp between an "Islamic Republic" and an "Islamic government." He said each one of those ideas have their own supporters among conservatives. However, he said that without an Islamic Republic, it is impossible to create an Islamic government.

The Islamic Republic, as it exists and operates today, is based on the idea of the people's rule. However, in practice the Supreme Leader has absolute power. The interventions by Ali Khamenei and his Guardian Council and other centers of power under his control have left very little of the regime's democratic façade.

The idea of Islamic government, on the other hand, which was outlined by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini the founder of the Islamic regime in Iran, is based on the idea of the holy Koran being the Constitutional Law of the government. When he came to power, Khomeini spoke very little about his book, The Islamic Government, in which Shiite clerics rather than the members of the parliament should make key decisions.

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Moghaddam said that a part of the conservative camp in Iran believes in establishing an Islamic government albeit based on their own definition and interests. Another part, he said, maintain that an Islamic government is impossible without an Islamic Republic. In other words, the two groups differ on the role of the people in the government.

In Iran, the late founding father of the ultraconservative Paydari party, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi said on many occasions that the people should have no part in the government and it is God who appoints the country's leaders. He even insisted that the leader's aides are also chosen by God rather than the people.

Moghaddam said that the Paydari Party is following the idea of establishing an Islamic government. He added that the two opposing conservative groups need to come to some sort of accord, otherwise, none of them can survive in Iran's political landscape. He also maintained that prejudiced support for the idea of Islamic government can deter the people and put an end to their support for the government.

Moghaddam himself is one those who believes in the Islamic Republic rather than an Islamic government. By warning about loss of popular support, he distanced himself from Paydari party which holds the majority both in the Majles and in Raisi's government. He further stressed that "talking about an Islamic government in Iran would be a mistake."

Asked how the two conservative groups can resolve this dichotomy, Kanani Moghaddam said: "They need to follow the Supreme Leader, otherwise, insisting on one of the two ideas will intensify factional infighting."

Regarding the status of Ghalibaf's "neo-con" group, he said that it is also one group among many other conservatives including traditional conservatives, moderate conservatives, conservative critics of the government, revolutionary groups and several conservative coalitions.

That degree of diversity among conservatives is healthy, but if their competition leads to conflicts and confrontations, then none of them can claim to represent the conservatives.

Pahlavi attended a ceremony held at the National Holocaust Memorial and Museum, Yad Vashem, as part of the Holocaust Remembrance Day. He stood alongside Netanyahu and Israel's President Isaac Herzog but did not deliver a speech. Later he held a meeting with Netanyahu in the presence of Israel’s intelligence minister Gila Gamliel.

This is the first time a prominent Iranian political figure has paid a public visit to Israel. Before leaving for Israel on Sunday, Prince Pahlavi tweeted that he wanted, “to deliver a message of friendship from the Iranian people…and pay respects to the victims of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah.”

There are no reports so far about what Netanyahu and Pahlavi discussed during their brief meeting, but a photo showed the two deeply engaged in conversation.

The visit comes as Israeli officials and media commentators have raised increasing concern over Iran’s intensified efforts to create instability in and around Israel.

Speaking on Sunday at a memorial service, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned, “Iran is waging a multi-front war of attrition against the State of Israel,” adding that it was “continuing its attempts to establish itself on the northern front and at the same time sending its proxies to Judea, Samaria and Gaza.”

However, Gallant said that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have “acted and will continue to act in all arenas, in overt and covert operations along the border, across the border, and even far from the border.”

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IDF is braced for possible attacks by Iran-backed militias, which launched several rounds of strikes earlier this month on Israel’s southern and northern borders. In an unprecedented development in recent times, the attacks originated from Syria and Lebanon as well as the Gaza Strip.

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Analysts believe that the Islamic Republic intensified attacks by its allies and proxies in the belief that Israel is at a weak point, due to internal political unrest caused by Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the country’s judicial system.

On Sunday, the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies published a statement, warning of the prospect of a war with Iran, and urging Netanyahu to suspend his judicial overhaul plan considering the intensified threats by Tehran.

“Israel is seen from the outside as a torn society, gradually losing its ability to function,” the think tank said, echoing last week’s remarks by former National Security Advisor and former Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror.

“Israel’s enemies are gaining confidence and expect the internal conditions in the Jewish state to lead to self-destruction,” it added, warning, “The chances of a deterioration into a wider conflict are more significant today than before... Israel needs to prepare for the tangible possibility of war.”

Netanyahu, also speaking at Sunday’s memorial service, said that Israel must always be able to defend itself, adding that if other powers such as the US want to mobilize to help, that is good, “but we cannot build our national security on the foundations of others.”

His statement is indicative of Israeli concerns over Washington’s hesitation to help Israel militarily in case of a confrontation with Iran, especially considering the Islamic Republic’s recent détente with Saudi Arabia.

Also on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen held a meeting with American senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who arrived in Israel from a visit to Saudi Arabia, stressing the need for strong Washington-Jerusalem coordination to prevent a nuclear Iran.

Netanyahu met with Graham on Monday and talked about Israel normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, saying it would be a "giant leap" towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Netanyahu said, "We want normalization and peace with Saudi Arabia...This agreement could have monumental consequences, historic consequences both for Israel, for Saudi Arabia, for the region and for the world."

Cohen said, "Cooperation between Israel and the United States is necessary to stop the Iranian nuclear program, which is a global threat.

“The way to change Iranian behavior is through massive economic and political pressure, in every sector of Iranian interest,” coupled with a credible “military threat against it.”

Tehran turned to Lebanon’s Hezbollah to initiate the latest episode of its proxy war against Israel, during which Hezbollah fired a surveillance drone toward the Galilee on April 1 that was shot down by Israel. From April 5-7, Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and based in Lebanon fired fired 34 rockets at Israel. On April 8 and April 9, six rockets were launched from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, prior to the most recent coordinated attacks, Esmail Ghaani, the leader of IRGC’s Quds Force, hosted representatives of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad – all of which designated as terrorist groups by the US and several other countries – at the Iranian embassy in Beirut in March and April.

On Saturday, spokesman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Ramezan Sharif said that the US is too weak to be able to militarily support Israel in the region.