Talk of moving Iran’s capital to Makran drives up land prices - Former lawmaker

"People will not trust us if we lure them into traps and fabricate legal cases against them," Pezeshkian said. "We can only understand the people's concerns when they trust us," the centrist Entekhab news website quoted him as saying.

In another speech on Thursday, during a visit to Iran's southeastern shores near the Sea of Oman, Pezeshkian said, "In other countries, people are exploring ways to reach Mars, while we are still struggling to build a simple road. We need to set our sights on greater ambitions."

Tehran Province completely shut down its schools and government offices on Saturday due to a natural gas shortage, with similar closures reported in two-thirds of the country. Since September, Iran’s currency has lost 33% of its value following serious setbacks in Lebanon and Syria.

Addressing the challenges in Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces in the southeast, Pezeshkian stated, "Here, we need to address the health and education needs of 1.5 million people. We require so many classrooms."

He expressed regret that many of the province’s public health issues remain unchanged, noting that they existed even 46 years ago when he served his compulsory military duty there.

Pezeshkian said that he avoids meetings and gatherings to refrain from making promises that cannot be fulfilled. "I cannot promise something I cannot do," he said. This comes while his government is planning to move Iran's capital to this province.

The reformist website Rouydad24, in a report published the same day, drew a comparison between the ambitions of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who over a decade ago spoke of "managing the world," and a recent statement by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. He highlighted how, within a decade, declining oil revenues due to sanctions and international tensions have left Iran struggling to meet its energy needs and even to manage basic services like urban waste collection.

Ghalibaf seemed to overlook the fact that he served as the Mayor of Tehran from 2005 to 2017, a period when Iran's oil revenues were based on prices exceeding $100 per barrel, yet he failed to address the capital's persistent problems.

Officials are not oblivious to the problems, as Iranian media frequently report on public grievances about pollution, poverty, and resource shortages. Many officials openly acknowledge these crises, often sounding more like opposition figures than leaders who have been at the helm of the country for decades.

Tehran’s major challenges, including water shortages and pollution, have led the Pezeshkian administration to propose relocating the capital to the shores of the Sea of Oman. During his visit to the region on Thursday, Pezeshkian noted the complete lack of infrastructure in the area.

Iranian ecologist Hossein Akhani, writing on the Khabar Online website, criticized the government’s plan to relocate the capital, arguing that Iran has failed to build even a single livable small town in the past half-century. He questioned, "Who is going to build a capital for you? You have alienated all the experts and academics. A prominent economist who campaigned tirelessly to encourage people to vote for you is now barred from expressing his views."

Akhani also warned that the proposed location for the new capital faces severe environmental challenges, including freshwater shortages, rising temperatures, and declining rainfall. He emphasized that the area's fragile ecological state makes development unfeasible. Observing broader issues, Akhani noted, "None of Iran's existing cities meet the conditions required to serve as the country’s capital. They lack standard transportation systems, proper garbage collection and recycling facilities, and efficient energy management systems." He concluded emphatically, "The capital is not going anywhere."

On the eighth anniversary of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's death, his family inaugurated a charity cancer center in Tehran. The facility, built in Hashemi Rafsanjani's memory, was launched during a high-profile ceremony attended by numerous political and public figures, including former President Hassan Rouhani. However, Mohammad Khatami's absence was conspicuous.

In her speech at the event, Hashemi-Rafsanjani's daughter, Fatemeh Hashemi, revealed that Khatami “was not given permission” to attend the ceremony. It remains unclear which security agency or authority made this decision. Reformists argue that while Pezeshkian may not bear direct responsibility, he should challenge the higher powers responsible for the ban.

Reformist politician Zahra Bahramnejad told the media that despite Pezeshkian’s efforts to involve a broader range of political forces loyal to the Islamic Republic in governance, certain power structures and influential elites continue to resist political unity.

In Iranian political discourse, terms like “highest officials of the system” often refer to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who exerts significant influence over critical decisions in the country.

Many believe Khamenei approved Pezeshkian’s candidacy in the July elections to boost voter turnout amid expectations of low engagement. Pezeshkian has acknowledged that without Khamenei’s support, the Guardian Council would not have cleared him to run.

Reformists push for a greater role in governance

Reformists have called on Pezeshkian to address the obstruction of his efforts to foster national unity, a promise he has frequently emphasized as the only path to “saving Iran”.

Although Pezeshkian identifies himself as a Reformist, his so-called "Government of Unity" includes several figures from the rival hardline camp and only a handful of Reformists.

Banning Khatami from attending the ceremony coincided with a conference on “national unity” elsewhere in Tehran that Pezeshkian addressed on the same day.

This contradiction, Reformist politician Mohammad-Ali Abtahi argued in a social media post, highlights the challenges of achieving unity among the country’s top political factions.

Abtahi, who served as vice president under Khatami, emphasized the symbolic importance of Khatami’s continued exclusion from Iran's political sphere by hardliners.

“What can one say about unity when conditions are so restricted and doors so closed that the presence of the country’s most influential and popular political figure … at such a ceremony is not permitted?” Ebrahim Ansari-Lari, a former governor general during Khatami’s presidency asked in a note he sent to the media following the incident.

In his note, Ansari-Lari also criticized Pezeshkian for “saying the same things as usual” in his address to the conference and "leaving without ever mentioning the incident or showing a sign of discontent.”

Pezeshkian and Khatami’s relationship

Pezeshkian served as health minister during Khatami’s presidency (1997-2005) and has consistently expressed respect for the former president. Khatami played a significant role in supporting Pezeshkian during the election, with the Reformist Front rallying behind his candidacy.

After the elections, Khatami visited Pezeshkian at his home. In an extremely rare move, the state-run television which for nearly two decades had never shown Khatami’s image, unless in a negative light.

The state television’s brief report sparked hope among reformists that the severe restrictions imposed on Khatami might be removed, or at least somehow relaxed, under Pezeshkian's administration.

In a highly symbolic gesture, Pezeshkian reciprocated the visit, inviting Khatami to the presidential office for the first time in 19 years for a meeting. Iranian media reported that Pezeshkian and Khatami discussed the newly elected president’s cabinet makeup during the meeting that lasted over an hour and a half.

Restrictions on Khatami

Unlike presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard, who were placed under house arrest following the disputed 2009 elections which reinstated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Khatami faced severe restrictions without formal confinement, after the 2009 popular protests against the election results.

A vocal supporter of Mousavi’s candidacy, Khatami has been barred from attending public events and traveling since then, not only internationally, but also domestically.

In 2010, Iranian media reported that Khatami was prevented from leaving the country to attend a nuclear disarmament conference in Hiroshima, Japan. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied involvement in the travel ban.

Domestic travel restrictions appeared to have been somehow relaxed in late October when after fifteen years, Khatami was allowed to travel to Yazd, the capital of his home province, and to speak to the members of the public in a few places he visited.

The Kayhan newspaper, funded by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote on its front-page headline Saturday that by supporting Israel in Gaza, the US had "created apocalyptic scenes," and now "the cries of the oppressed children of Gaza and the Palestinian mothers have caught up with America, imposing a similar situation on the state of California and the city of Los Angeles."

The Jam-e Jam newspaper also ran a similar story on its front page with the headline "Fire-Angeles."

The newspaper referred to Donald Trump's comment that the Middle East would turn into hell if Israeli hostages were not freed before his inauguration and described the Los Angeles fire as "America's hell."

A representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also called the California fires "God's revenge against the leaders of America" over what he called their complicity in Israel's war in Gaza.

"A city the size of Gaza has burned, while all its inhabitants were American capitalists. This fire was God’s revenge against the American leaders," said Rasoul Falahati, a representative of Khamenei in Gilan province in northern Iran.

On Tuesday, US President-elect Donald Trump warned during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if Hamas does not release the hostages by Inauguration Day, repeating the statement several times.

The Arabic-language Al-Alam Network, owned by the state media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), shared images showing the destruction caused by the Los Angeles fires and compared them to the devastation in Gaza.

Other Iranian media also used terms like "Los Angeles in hell" and "the infernal city," criticizing what they described as "very weak" crisis management in the US.

The Fars News Agency reported that "the infernal fire of Los Angeles is days away from being contained."

On Friday, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted about the destruction caused by the California wildfires, comparing it to Gaza.

"Grim footage out of California is reminiscent of ravaged homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza," Zarif wrote. "It's only human to sympathize with Californians who've lost everything to the wrath of nature—particularly as many there have stood with Gazans who lost everything to the savagery of Israel."

Meanwhile, government offices and schools across Iran were shut down on Saturday due to a natural gas shortage, extending the ongoing energy crisis that began at the start of winter with widespread gas and electricity shortages.

Since Tuesday, six simultaneous blazes have swept through Los Angeles County neighborhoods, claiming at least 11 lives and damaging or destroying 10,000 structures. The toll is expected to rise as firefighters conduct house-to-house searches.

The largest wildfire ravaging parts of Los Angeles this week changed direction on Saturday, prompting additional evacuation orders and presenting a fresh challenge to exhausted firefighters.

Hassan Hassanzadeh, the commander of Tehran’s Mohammad Rasoulollah IRGC base, told local media that the trend of declining participation has intensified since the fall of Iran’s ally, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria. In a rare admission, he acknowledged that many IRGC and Basij members did not respond to calls to join what was intended to be a 110,000-strong drill.

However, the actual participation figure remains uncertain, as Hassanzadeh also said that “According to preliminary figures I have received, at least 27,000 Afghan brothers and sisters residing in Iran have filled out the participation form for the drills.”

Hassanzadeh, referring to what he described as a trend of non-cooperation by IRGC and Basij members with IRGC programs, stated: "Unfortunately, many of our colleagues who have had the honor of serving in the Basij and the IRGC have either declined to participate for various reasons or have not yet given a definitive response. This is a trend that we have seen increase since the events in Syria."

The event appeared more like a parade through the streets of the capital than a military drill intended to prepare for the defense of Tehran. Many Iranians on social media suggested that the exercise was aimed more at intimidating residents and deterring anti-government protests than preparing for a potential foreign attack.

The participants included anti-riot forces riding in groups of motorcyclists, a formation commonly used during protests. Typically, two men share each motorbike, with the passenger armed with clubs or chains to strike protesters.

The event also featured men carrying cardboard cutouts of “martyrs,” such as former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel, and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, assassinated in Tehran last year. Heavily armed IRGC forces were present, carrying assault rifles and riding in pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns. Some participants, dressed as early Islamic warriors, brandished oversized swords—all these displays seemingly intended to intimidate the public.

An official IRGC announcement highlighted the distribution of free food to all participants, along with a few hundred “wedding gift packages” for supporters preparing to get married. In Iran, free food handed out at such events is commonly referred to as “sandis,” a term often used humorously. Those who attend government-organized gatherings solely for the freebies are mockingly called “Sandiskhor,” or freeloaders.

Iran International analyst, Morad Veisi pointed out before the event that “The timing of the drill coincides with political shifts in the US, including the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and a weakening of Tehran’s regional position, which have raised concerns within the Islamic Republic’s ruling circles.”

The statement followed a meeting on Friday between Kazem Jalali, Iran's Ambassador to Moscow, and Andrey Rudenko, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister. Russia, confirming the meeting, said: "Current issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed, including upcoming high-level contacts," as quoted by Tass.

The initiative comes after both Iran and Russia lost their key Middle Eastern ally, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, last month, when Islamic insurgents swept down from the north and seized Damascus within days.

Discussing the specifics of the deal, Jalali told Iran's state-run Young Journalists Club (YJC), "The independence and security of our country, as well as self-reliance, are crucial elements, and we are not particularly inclined to align ourselves with any specific bloc."

"National independence is of great importance to the Islamic Republic of Iran. After all, we have been paying the price for it for 45 years," he added in an article published Saturday.

Last week, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also told Sputnik that Iran expects to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Russia on January 17, during President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Moscow.

Mohajerani told the media that the president's upcoming visit to Moscow is expected to advance two major initiatives: "The North-South Corridor, which is already underway, and the plan to transfer Russian gas to Iran—both of which have been key points of agreement between the two sides."

Tehran and Moscow first signed a long-term agreement in March 2001, officially titled the Treaty of the Foundation of Mutual Relations and the Principles of Cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation Act. Initially set for ten years, it was extended twice for five-year terms.

Despite similar announcements about a new agreement since 2020, a renewed treaty has yet to be finalized.

According to Iran’s ambassador to Russia, the two countries agreed in 2021 to extend the treaty for another five years, with its expiration now set for 2026.

In 2023, reports suggested potential challenges in developing a new agreement with Russia, although few details about its content have been made public.

Some commentators in Iran have criticized Russia for the fall of Iran's ally, Bashar al-Assad, noting that Moscow failed to provide sufficient support when insurgents advanced toward Damascus. Ataollah Mohajerani, a government-aligned analyst, wrote in Etemad daily on Saturday that Russia could similarly abandon the Islamic Republic if its interests demanded it.

The Islamic Republic also has a long-term agreement with China, though its details remain undisclosed. Throughout its 45-year standoff with the United States and the accompanying international isolation, Tehran has consistently sought to deepen its cooperation with Moscow and Beijing.