Wherever they were on Friday afternoon, either in a taxi or in a supermarket, Iranian people tried to follow the first live debate between the final six presidential candidates a few weeks before the decisive May 19 elections.
Many of them watched the debate on TV or their mobile phones, and those who did not have access to a TV set, listened to what the six hopefuls said in their cars.
Here are Mizan and ISNA’s photos of people following the debate:
On Wednesday, 10 Iranian border guards were killed and two others injured in an ambush attack near the town of Mirjaveh in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-and-Baluchestan. The so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. The assailants escaped into Pakistani territory immediately after the attack.
Speaking on Saturday, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, who is the commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said there was a time when bandits would ambush Iranian security forces on the mountains of Sistan-and-Baluchestan.
That is no more the case, he said.
“Today, bandits have retreated into their den in… Pakistan and target our forces from there — like what happened to the border guards — and they (the bandits) are no more capable of [establishing] presence deep in our territory,” Brig. Gen. Pakpour said.
He pointed to the insecurity that amply exists in Iran’s neighborhood and said, “Our country is a safe island in this sea.”
“Today, Saudi Arabia, the [United Arab] Emirates and the godfather of them all, America, back counterrevolutionary groups to create instability for us,” he added.
Following the Wednesday attack, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran wrote to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran to convey the Islamic Republic’s strong protest to the Pakistani government.
In his Saturday remarks, the IRGC commander lauded the IRGC’s Saberin Special Forces Brigade for its contribution to the nation’s security.
Many Iran newspapers covered the remarks made by the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with a group of Quran reciters and organizers of an international Quran contest.
The top story, however, was the first live presidential debate between the six candidates on social issues.
The focus of reformist and pro-government newspapers was on Es’haq Jahangiri’s attacks and counterattacks against Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Conservative media also referred to Hassan Rouhani’s weak performance in the debate, and stressed that he has been the main loser.
The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:
Abrar:
1- Iran Leader: We’re Proud that Iranian People Are Interested in Quran
2- Pakistani Envoy Summoned to Iran’s Foreign Ministry
3- US State Department Calls on Iran to Release Two American Prisoners
4- Amano: IAEA to Continue Implementation of Safeguard in Iran
5- US Lawmaker: US Position Safer Thanks to JCPOA
Abrar-e Eqtesadi:
1- Repeating Ahmadinejad’s Mistake: Promise to Triple Cash Handouts
2- Iran Ranked 120 in World Ranking of Ease of Doing Business
3- 22% Increase in Iran’s Imports in Past Year
4- Iran Third Supplier of Commodities Iraq Needs
5- Germans Take Samples of Iran’s Gas to Manufacture Cars
Afkar:
1- Brilliant Work of the 96%: The 4% Group Can No More Deny
2- IRIB Host Acts in Favour of Rouhani’s Government
3- Rouhani Denied, Qalibaf Showed Document
4- Rouhani Was Biggest Loser of Debate: Conservative Naderan
Aftab-e Yazd:
1- Es’haq Beats Qalibaf
2- Rouhani Intentionally Refused to Get Engaged in Challenging Arguments
3- Iran Once Again in Grief of Its Soldiers
4- Iran Isn’t US, Iranian President’s Office Isn’t White House
Arman-e Emrooz:
1- Rouhani to Qalibaf: 3 of Your Claims Are Lie
2- Rouhani: If It Wasn’t for My Gov’t, Cyberspace Was Blocked Now
3- Reformist Figure: Even Conservatives Are Inclined towards Rouhani
4- Washington’s Request from Iranian Officials: Iran-US Talks in Trump Era!
Asr-e Iranian:
1- Qalibaf Single-Handedly Stands against Government’s Attacks
Asrar:
1- Parliament Speaker Urges Candidates to Avoid Impractical Slogans
Ebtekar:
1- Jahangiri’s Prudence, Rouhani’s Hope in First Live Presidential Debate
2- VP: People’s Hope Should Not Be Destroyed in Elections
Emtiaz:
1- Police Vows to Give Crushing Response to Terrorists Who Killed Iranian Border Guards
Etemad:
1- Jahangiri’s Earthquake: Rouhani’s Partner in Duel with Qalibaf
2- Hashtag on Iran’s Presidential Debates Becomes Worldwide Trend
Ettela’at:
1- Iran Leader: World of Unbelief Seeks to Destroy Islamic Identity
2- Parliament Speaker Describes Elections as Opportunity to Put off Enemy
3- President: Those behind Massacre of Iranian Border Guards Should Be Put on Trial
Haft-e Sobh:
1- Jahangiri Surprisingly Becomes Star of First Presidential Debate
2- Blood of Iranian Soldiers near Pakistani Border
Hamshahri:
1- Rouhani: I Didn’t Say I’ll Create 1m Jobs
Iran:
1- 3 Hours of Battle in Presidential Debate: Social Issues Discussed in First Live Encounter
Jame Jam:
1- Hot Competition in Presidential Debate
Javan:
1- Supporters, Critics of Status Quo Warm up Presidential Debate
2- Jahangiri: Feeling of Injustice Has Risen
3- Rouhani: Iran’s Western Areas Better than Eastern Parts, We Need a Balance
4- Qalibaf: You’re Government of the 4%
5- Raisi: You Shouldn’t Act Like Opposition Figure after 4 Years of Presidency
Jomhouri Eslami:
1- Jahangiri, Rouhani Shine in First Presidential Debate
2- Saudi Arabia Isolated in GCC Summit in Riyadh: Members Divided over Iran
Kayhan:
1- Government’s Weak Performance Costs It Dearly
2- IMF: Rouhani’s Gov’t Breaks Records in Imports! 4th Rank between 175 Countries!
3- Turkey, Israel Simultaneously Attack Syria: Erdogan from North, Bibi from West!
Quds:
1- Political Clash in Social Debate: Government Officials Once Again Deny Their Promises
Resalat:
1- Presidential Candidates Discuss Various Issues in First Debate
2- IRGC General: We Have Father of All Bombs in Response to US MOAB
Setareh Sobh:
1- Duel between Qalibaf-Raisi and Rouhani-Jahangiri
Shahrvand:
1- Shadow of That Man
Shargh:
1- Jahangiri’s Storm: Cultural Problems Cannot Be Resolved through Offensive Ways
Vaghaye Ettefaghieh:
1- First Response to Attack: Rouhani, Jahangiri Counterattack Rouhani’s Criticisms
Vatan-e Emrooz:
1- Lose-Lose Game for Rouhani
Addressing a conference on Iran-Europe trade and banking ties, held in Tehran on Saturday, Zarif said Washington’s decision to seize $2 billion in the Central Bank of Iran’s assets held in New York’s Citibank or its push to put a freeze on $1.6 billion in assets belonging to Iran are “undoubtedly an international banditry.”
In April 2016, the US Supreme Court upheld the Congress and then President Barack Obama’s actions to hold Iran financially responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 Marines at their barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The ruling allowed the families of the Marines and victims of other attacks that courts have linked to Iran to seize some $2 billion in assets held in New York’s Citibank, belonging to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which had been blocked under US sanctions.
Also in 2011, victims of the September 11 attacks, launched by Saudi-backed al-Qaeda in 2001, persuaded a federal judge in New York, George B. Daniels, to find that Iran had aided the attacks by providing assistance to al-Qaeda. In 2012, he ordered Iran to pay the victims $2 billion in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages.
That judgment stagnated for years because there was no obvious way to collect it. But then it came to light that the Clearstream system in Luxembourg, which facilitates international exchanges of securities, was holding $1.6 billion in Central Bank of Iran’s assets that had been blocked under sanctions.
Last year, lawyers for the September 11 victims persuaded a judge in Luxembourg to place a new freeze on those assets while they sued over whether they could execute the default judgment against those funds.
In an interview with Reuters, Trump confirmed his administration was in talks about possible visits to Saudi Arabia in the second half of May.
“Frankly, Saudi Arabia has not treated us fairly, because we are losing a tremendous amount of money in defending Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Trump’s criticism of Riyadh was a return to his 2016 election campaign rhetoric when he accused the kingdom of not pulling its weight in paying for the US security umbrella.
“Nobody’s going to mess with Saudi Arabia because we’re watching them,” Trump told a campaign rally in Wisconsin a year ago. “They’re not paying us a fair price. We’re losing our shirt.”
The United States is the main supplier for most Saudi military needs, from F-15 fighters to control and command systems worth tens of billions of dollars in recent years, while American contractors win major energy deals.
The world’s top oil exporter and its biggest consumer have enjoyed close economic ties for decades, with US firms building much of the infrastructure of the modern Saudi state after its oil boom in the 1970s.
In his remarks during the first live presidential debate on Friday, Qalibaf said the Iranian society is now divided into two groups: a wealthy group that has huge amounts of money thanks to its special links to sources of power.
This group, according to Qalibaf, constitute only 4 percent of the society. The remaining 96% are those with economic problems.
Qalibaf strongly criticized Rouhani’s government for favouring the 4-percent wealthy group, and ignoring the 96% who have been deprived of equal social opportunities.
The conservative Mayor of Tehran said Rouhani’s administration has given large loans to the 4-percent group, while newly-married couples are faced with lots of problems for receiving a small loan.
He then referred to Rouhani administration as ‘the government of the 4%’, and hailed Ahmadinejad’s government for paying attention to the deprived and poor people.
“The most important thing the previous government did was that it supported the poor. It visited villages, while you [Rouhani] don’t go anywhere. You just go to a provincial capital for an hour, take part in a couple of meetings, and then return to Tehran,” he noted.
Qalibaf also rapped Rouhani government’s failure to renovate old buildings in the city while it has been obliged to do so for 10 percent of buildings each year.
And in his most controversial criticism, Qalibaf accused Rouhani of lying about his capability to create 4 million jobs only through tourism. Later in the debate, Rouhani dismissed the claim as a ‘sheer lie’ and said he has never promised to create 4 million jobs.
Qalibaf then showed a printed account of Rouhani’s remarks in 2013, and claimed that Rouhani had vowed to create 4 million jobs. However, Rouhani once again responded to the claim by explaining that he had said if 10 million tourists visit Iran, it is possible to create 4 million jobs.
Referring to an attack by Israel on a major airport in Syria, Qassemi said, “There is no doubt that such raids are aimed at weakening the legitimate government of Syria.”
The Iranian spokesman said the attacks are clear violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent UN member state, and run counter to global peace and security.
Qassemi said such aggressive operations contribute to the reinforcement of Takfiri-Zionist terrorists who are getting closer to decline and annihilation on a daily basis, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.
He also called on the international community, particularly the United Nations, not to remain silent and to spare no effort to prevent it from happening again.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Defence Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan had also condemned the attack, saying the aggression was in line with Israel’s policy to help the terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government.
“In my opinion, those operations help terrorists,” Dehqan said while on a visit to Moscow, adding that the strike was meant to undermine the gains made by the Syrian government against terrorist groups, Press TV reported.
“When it becomes worse for the terrorists, the strikes follow, bringing them a message saying: ‘We are defending and protecting you, so don’t worry and if it’s necessary we’ll intervene,” the Iranian defense minister stated.
Such strikes “are only aimed at ensuring the survival of terrorists,” he added.
During the Friday’s presidential debate, Jahangiri’s candidacy was questioned by Qalibaf, who thinks it is not appropriate that the former has run for president while he’ll withdraw in favour of Rouhani at the end. He later called Jahangiri’s candidacy as a waste of time for the people following the debate.
Jahangiri strongly lashed out at Qalibaf’s remarks and said, “You have deprived reformists from all of their rights. I am here to represent reformists to say what you have done with this original movement.”
He said he has all the right to run for Iran’s presidency as he is more experienced that Qalibaf, and after years of working as a governor, minister, and first vice-president, he is ready to put himself to people’s vote.
“I’m here to say what Ahmadinejad’s government did to human resources, to Mr Hashemi Rafsanjani or Nateq Noori,” he added.
In a reference to Qalibaf’s management after the Plasco building collapse, Jahangiri said the government does not hesitate to apologize to the Iranian nation whenever needed.
* Here is a brief review of the live presidential debate. The story will be later revised and updated.
In response to a question about his plans to tackle the issue of social justice and equality, Raisi said his priority is to focus on the poor social classes, and the solution to get rid of the ongoing social and political problems is to increase the amount of cash subsidies paid to poor people.
He vowed to triple the amount of the cash handouts paid to the three poorest social strata of the Iranian society, and underlined the need for the cessation of providing financial support for richer classes.
Raisi said those receiving less than 30 million rials [$800] per month should be exempted from income tax, and called for stricter action against tax evasion.
In reaction, Mostafa Hashemitaba said Raisi’s plans will lead to the enlargement of the government and an increase in imports. He said if we are going to provide people, particularly the poor social class, with better facilities, we should increase the country’s GDP.
Hassan Rouhani highlighted his government’s efforts to increase the balance between the country’s east and west, particularly providing access to natural gas for the people of southeastern city of Zahedan for the first time in history, and the development of Chabahar port.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said it is difficult to realize social justice when the country is grappling with serious economic crises. He highlighted his performance in Tehran municipality to decrease the gap between southern and northern Tehran.
He said only 4% of the Iranian society has enough money thanks to the special links they have with sources of power, and that the other 96% are suffering from economic problems.
Es’haq Jahangiri was the one who seriously challenged Raisi’s promise to triple the amount of cash handouts paid to poor classes of the society, saying such plan will further weaken the other classes.
* Here is a brief review of the live presidential debate. The story will be later revised and updated.
Mostafa Aqa Mirsalim was the first candidate to take the podium and talk about his plan to stop the migration of villagers to big cities.
He highlighted the issue of water crisis and stressed that a better management of water resources can lead to the return of those living in marginal areas of big cities to their own towns and villages.
Mostafa Hashemitaba confirmed Mirsalim’s remarks and said Iran is gripped by a very serious environmental crisis and the next president’s priority should be the issue of environment.
Hassan Rouhani referred to the issue of unemployment as a key factor behind the migration of villagers to big cities.
If those who flee to big cities were in their own villages and towns, they could not have a good job or income, Rouhani said.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf noted that a lack of equal opportunities for Iranian people has exacerbated the flock of villagers to metropolitan areas.
He also said the people living in marginal areas are against equal payment of cash handouts to all Iranian people with different incomes and the government’s failure to increase the amount.
Es’haq Jahangiri referred to the successful moves made by Rouhani’s administration. He said the government has provided these people with insurance, and their children have gained access to education.
Ebrahim Raisi also stressed that establishing property rights and making further investment in industry are key to helping villagers who have flocked to big cities.
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