'Russia Day' Banquet In Tehran Embassy Astounds Iranians

Reformist daily Shargh wrote that the “Raisi Administration still does not believe that the Presidential election ended last year. Its officials still continue making exciting comments and offer strange promises as if they are on a TV show.”

Shargh charged that as far as government officials are concerned, ‌for every problem the easiest solution is blaming the previous government. This way of thinking has its own keywords including "Those who are responsible for the current situation" and "putting Rouhani on trial." These keywords are meant to provide social capital for the Raisi administration and make up for the inefficiency of the government.

According to Shargh, the government is not aware that these slogans will not solve the country's problems. For a short period, the people might accept to blame the previous government but soon they will realize it is the fault of the current administration.

Shargh charged that this approach will lead the people to believe that Iran's neo-cons and principlists or hardliner conservatives are the accomplices of the advocates of regime change in Iran, apparently by discrediting the regime.

On the other hand, Khorasan newspaper, which supports the Raisi Administration and is linked to the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also criticized the government from a different perspective.

Highlighting the country's serious economic problems, Khorasan criticized the government for lack of planning and urged it to prove that it can govern efficiently.

Interestingly, while under the previous government, President Hassan Rouhani was personally the main target of criticisms, now the media and politicians direct their criticism toward the “Raisi Administration” rather than the president himself, as if he is untouchable.

Khorasan wrote that "This is the fifth year Iran is experiencing unusually high inflation particularly with food prices, therefore, high inflation is Iran's most important problem." the daily warned that in the future the Raisi Administration will be judged by the degree of its success in tackling inflation.

The conservative daily stressed that "There are serious concerns about where this inflation is going and why it is not being harnessed."

This comes while the rate of exchange for the US dollar in Tehran surpassed 320,000 rials on Tuesday, setting a record low. "How this trend is going to continue, keeps everyone waiting for the decisions of the government's Economic Coordination Board,” wrote Khorasan.

During the past nine months or so, lack of coordination among various economic bodies has been a recurrent criticism that was being made by Iranian politicians and media.

Khorasan suggested that the government needs to prove that it is efficient, and its experts know what they are doing, bringing about positive prospects for Iran's foreign relations, and shifting from its reactive tactics to economic planning.

According to Khorasan, creating a positive atmosphere about the nuclear issue and negotiations will help form an optimistic mood towards the economy.

Although this might sound like a new approach by a conservative newspaper, the final paragraph of Khorasan's article shows that not much has changed as the paper called on the government to finalize the controversial 25-year economic cooperation deal with China.

In a letter on June 7 addressed to Mark Arnold, the lawyer of six family members of the victims of the incident, the Canadian foreign ministry said the final ruling issued by Justice Edward Belobaba of Ontario Superior Court “has been transmitted to the appropriate authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

In the case -- titled Zarei et al vs Islamic Republic of Iran et al – some family members filed a civil lawsuit against Iran and senior officials they believe were to blame for the incident. The Ontario Court ruled that the downing of Flight 752 was an intentional act of terrorism and on December 31, 2021, awarded compensation to be shared by the estates of the six victims. C$100 million in punitive damages, another C$1 million to family members for the loss of guidance, care and companionship, and C$6 million for pain and suffering. 

The airliner was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the IRGC on January 8, 2020, as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. Only hours earlier, the IRGC had fired more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases hosting US and coalition troops in retaliation for the killing of the IRGC Qods Force Commander Ghasem Soleimani who was targeted and killed in Baghdad by a US drone strike just five days earlier.

“When considering the situation around the Iranian nuclear program, the need was noted for continuing diplomatic efforts in order to reach a final agreement that would ensure the preservation and full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 of July 20, 2015, which approved it,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Year-long talks in Vienna came to a halt in March reportedly over Iran’s demands to remove its Revolutionary Guard from the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

A meeting of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which is in progress in Vienna this week will vote on a resolution proposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany to censure Iran for its lack of cooperation with the international nuclear watchdog. Russia and China have voiced their opposition to the resolution.

Moscow also said that President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to President Ebrahim Raisi over a deadly train derailment that killed at least 21 people on Wednesday.

The two sides also discussed bilateral relations, including trade, and regional issues, the Kremlin said.

Iranian media carried reports Wednesday that Iranian political and military officials visited the Russian embassy on the occasion of Russia Day, which is marked on June 12.

The newspaper revealed on Wednesday that the airliner signed a contract through an intermediary company to buy three Airbus A319s at $44.3 million dollars in 2019, but when their documents were registered by banks their value was estimated to be $25.5 million. 

Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus, and its list price for a brand-new model can reach up to $100 million. Since the Islamic Republic is not allowed to buy new airplanes due to US sanctions, it has to buy used ones via brokers or intermediaries, which makes the pricing process an issue vulnerable to corruption by middlemen. 

According to Alireza Barkhor, the deputy chairman of the Association of Iranian Airlines, more than 50 percent of Iran’s passenger planes are idle due to lack of spare parts, particularly engines.

The United States sanctions, which banned the sale of aircraft and parts to Iran in 1995, have practically made it impossible for most manufacturers to sell parts to Iran.

When the 2015 nuclear agreement went into effect, sanctions on purchases of Western aircraft were lifted and Iran began talks to buy aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. A few airbus planes were delivered but the Trump administration never approved sale of US planes until Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Mehrabian made the remarks from the Qatari capital Doha on Monday, adding that the Iran Trade Center will be launched in a prestigious building in one of Doha’s top neighborhoods.

“The permit for this center was issued today and one of the best buildings in central Doha, in a very good location, was allocated to the center,” he said. 

An Iranian delegation headed by Mehrabian attended the eighth meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation between Iran and Qatar in Doha on Monday, where the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to increase bilateral economic and trade cooperation. 

The document was signed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, the chairman of Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hossein Shafeie. 

Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization Alireza Peyman-Pak said during a meeting with Iranian businessmen in Doha on Tuesday that an exhibition will also be held in Iran to showcase Qatar's trade capabilities. 

In May, The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, expressed hope that an agreement between the United States and Iran could be achieved, saying Doha is ready to help resolve the conflict.

Qatar’s ruler visited Tehran a week earlier and held meetings with President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.