Raisi Says Iran Does Not 'Pin Hopes On Vienna' In Anniversary Speech
Iran relies on its own abilities and resources and does not pin “hopes on Vienna and New York,” President Ebrahim Raisi said during Friday Prayers in Tehran.
Iran relies on its own abilities and resources and does not pin “hopes on Vienna and New York,” President Ebrahim Raisi said during Friday Prayers in Tehran.
The president was speaking on the 43rd anniversary of the 1979 revolution on February 11, as government-organized marches and rallies took place across the country. The anniversary coincided with Friday prayers and Raisi delivered a speech at the venue of the weekly gatherings in Tehran University.
The celebrations were a hodgepodge of motorcycles and cars driving in streets and people marching on foot, although crowds were smaller than in previous years apparently because of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the government had not announced any restrictions.
Raisi emphasized economic self-reliance and diplomatic “balance” condemning any tilt towards the West. Self-reliance has been a persistent tenet of the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979, as its founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini campaigned against Iran’s alliance with the United States during the monarchy.
As relations deteriorated with Washington with the taking of US diplomats hostage in Tehran in November 1979, the motto of self-reliance became an alternative to maintaining cordial relations with the West. But its economic cost has been incalculable, with anemic growth for four decades and eventually confrontation over its nuclear program and severe sanctions.
Raisi’s remark about not pinning hopes on Vienna could be directed at the United States, as Washington warns little time remains for an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran’s economic situation in February 2022 is much worse than during any previous anniversary of its revolution. A nuclear agreement in Vienna could lift sanction imposed by former president Donald Trump and provide billions of dollars to the embattled government in Tehran.
Raisi’s remark about Vienna was not mentioned by state-controlled media immediately after his speech, but later they added the sentence to their reports. Videos showed that the president tried to sound decisive when he uttered the sentence.
No one knows what he meant when he mentioned New York alongside Vienna. Some began joking on social media that he probably meant Washington DC, but New York came to his mind as the capital of the United States.
Raisi came to office six months ago with lofty promises to improve the economy despite sanctions, but nothing has changed on the ground as high inflation and soaring food prices continue.
Iranian pundits and politicians have been warning of a social explosion if economic conditions do not improve in coming months. On Thursday, videos emerged of people shouting anti-regime slogans from their windows at night. “Death to Khamenei” chants were broadcast by loudspeakers in the bazaar in Mashhad on Thursday, as the PA system was apparently hacked, and a recording of incendiary slogans rang out for a while. Videos showed bewildered shopkeepers and shoppers listening to chants.
Raisi also emphasized “economic independence” but acknowledged that Iran has a long way ahead to achieve economic security. He emphasized the need for investments, while even in case of a nuclear agreement, large corporations would hardly take risks to invest because of a state-controlled economy, corruption and risk of sanctions returning.
The information acquired by Iran International said that the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting organization (IRIB) might keep only two of its bureaus, in London and New York, and shut its offices in other capitals while also firing most of its correspondents abroad.
The news came only one day after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who supervises the organization and appoints its chief executive called for carrying out a global publicity stunt, which he named "vindication jihad" to explain his ideology and "vision" to the world.
IRIB has already terminated the contracts of some of its foreign correspondents. The IRIB correspondent in Ukraine joined IRIGC-linked Fars news agency immediately after his dismissal and started filing reports from Kyiv.
Until 2012, IRIB operated dozens of bureaus from the Far East to South America, but because of the financial crunch, resulting from differences between former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and IRIB’s management at the time, most of those offices were closed between 2012 and 2014. The New York bureau is embedded in Iran's UN mission.
Meanwhile to save funds, IRIB has decided to use products from its external channels, Press TV (in English) and Al-Alam (in Arabic), in its domestic programs. The broadcaster has also reportedly consolidated its news gathering units in a bid to further centralize TV news dissemination.
IRGC influence growing
A recent Iran International report revealed that in the centralized system, IRGC intelligence officers rather than IRIB journalists are involved in the production of news programs.
The news service which used to be called the Central News Bureau was re-branded as the IRIB Newsroom. A couple of news bulletins including the notorious 20:30 slot on channel 2 are reportedly linked to the intelligence agencies.
The Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) once operated the Al-Alam channel in Arabic and Ofogh channel in Persian, almost independent of the IRIB management although the channels have always been part of its media fleet. But since last year when Peyman Jebelli who is linked to Khamenei's office and IRGC took over as the organization's chief, the Guards effectively controls all of IRIB's more than fifty channels.
Reports from Tehran indicate that the changes are carried out by Jebelli's deputy Vahid Jalili, a brother of hardliner former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the organization's news director Alireza Khodabakhshi, who is also a close relative of Jalili.
As part of the changes, the Young Journalists’ Club, a hardliner news outlet with links to the IRGC will merge with IRIB’s Newsroom and the organization's rolling news channel IRINN (The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network aka Channel 6).
Meanwhile, information received by Iran International TV indicate that several reporters affiliated with IRGC who used to work with its Fars and Tasnim news agencies have been hired and are currently working as reporters, editors and advisors in various parts of the state television's news service.
It is still not known whether the new developments are part of measures to save money to cope with the overall financial crisis in Iran, or are part of policies to tighten government control. The organization was twice hacked during the past two weeks and its programs were taken off the air and replaced with dissident messages.
Many critics and political analysts have noted that IRIB's viewership has dramatically declined, and politicians have often expressed concern that the state TV is no longer the people's point of reference for news and current affairs. Apart from annoying constant spread of regime ideology, dull programming, strict control and censorship of the news, the proliferation of social media and uncensored news beamed into Iran by foreign-based satellite televisions have contributed to the gradual decline of its audience.
Salam Zawai presented her credentials to Raisi on Tuesday, replacing her father Salah Zawawi who was the Palestinian authority’s ambassador to Tehran for over 40 years.
Her appointment by President Mahmoud Abbas drew criticism and accusations of corruption and nepotism from some Palestinians. When Zawawi's father became ambassador, Yasser Arafat was the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
During the meeting, she congratulated the Iranian president on the anniversary of Iran’s revolution, describing it as a victory for the Arab and Muslim world, and slammed regional countries for their normalization of ties with Israel.
Iran, as Israel’s archenemy, has sharply criticized the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for the US-brokered Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel in 2020. Common fear of Iran was a factor behind the move.
Zawawi expressed hope for the formation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital, where she said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can lead prayers.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz paid a visit to Bahrain amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf after missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement.
Increasing criticism of regime insiders coincides with the anniversary of the Islamic revolution; a time when officials glorify the 1979 revolution and its "achievements," as Supreme Leader Khamenei did in a speech on Tuesday.
Seyyed Reza Akrami, a cleric who has been a member of the Iranian parliament for 20 years told the semi-official news agency ISNA that "prices have broken loose and nobody in the government is accountable" for the ongoing economic crisis.
Akrami criticized the government for its dependency on oil revenues while also lashing out at politicians who do nothing other than trying "to claim their own share of the country's budget."
He opined that the coronavirus pandemic, US sanctions and the situation in the region have contributed to the country's worst economic crisis. The impact of sanctions and the pandemic are known to everyone, but by "regional situation" Akrami probably meant the money Iran is spending on its regional ambitions in proxy wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Akrami called on the government to behave realistically and pragmatically amid the economic crisis and to move away from "ideals and ideologies" and accept the realities on the ground. He advised lawmakers not to engage in wishful thinking, stop chanting slogans and see the realities.
Akrami also called for the merger of high maintenance religious organizations such as the Islamic Propagation Organization, the Propaganda Office of the Seminary and the Arts Center of the Islamic Propagation Organization as they all do the same thing and duplicate each other's efforts.
Warning of a social explosion
Meanwhile, Massoud Pezeshkina, a left-of-center lawmaker from Tabriz said the people's financial status and purchasing power are declining on a daily basis, and the Iranian society is on the verge of an explosion.
Pezeshkian said: "More than 40 years after the Islamic revolution we still have problems in supplying drinking water, building roads, taking care of the villagers, and creating jobs. This means that we have made mistakes along this long road." He attributed part of the problem to not having a roadmap.
Pezeshkian’s remarks comes while the Islamic Republic boasts about its five-year development plans and Supreme Leader Khamenei's vision for the next 40 years.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker said that Iran cannot fight all other countries. He criticized the opponents of a nuclear agreement, and said, "You cannot improve the people's livelihood by tearing up the nuclear deal."
During the past week, many observers and politicians have warned officials about the critical situation of the economy. Economist Hashem Pesaran argued that the population is likely to turn into a bipolar society in which the affluent class and the underprivileged people will have to face each other in a fierce confrontation.
"A conflict will certainly take place and that is very dangerous. The former will be blinded by pride and the latter by grudge. The angry poor people will be looking for an opportunity to attack and take revenge. In a tsunami, everyone will sink no matter how big their ship is," Pesaran warned.
Meanwhile, sociologist Taghi Azad Armaki recently warned that as the economic crises worsens, the underprivileged class prepares itself for the final confrontation with the political-economic elite.