Report from Seyyed Reza Zavareh about the recounting and results of the sixth parliamentary elections and other related topics

Report by Seyyed Reza Zavarei, a legal member of the Guardian Council, on the recount and results of the sixth parliamentary elections.

Meeting with Masih Mohajeri regarding the closure of the Arya newspaper and other historically significant matters.

Coordination with Mohsen Rezaei, who resigned from his position as Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council to participate in the sixth parliamentary elections, for continuing responsibilities in this role.

Continued political support for Hashemi.

Workers' protests against the fifth parliament's resolution to exempt workers in small workshops from labor laws.

Mr. [Seyyed Reza] Zavarei, [a member of the Guardian Council], came to report briefly on the review of the elections by the Guardian Council and the annulment of some constituencies; since he needed to attend a Guardian Council meeting, we postponed our meeting to another time.

Mr. Masih Mohajeri, [the editor-in-chief of the Jomhouri Islami newspaper], came to discuss issues regarding the press and provided a report on last Wednesday's meeting concerning this matter. He inquired about the closure of the Arya newspaper, to which I responded that Mr. [Ali] Larijani, [the head of IRIB], had informed that a decision was made at the Supreme National Security Council and it seems they did not want it announced under this title, stating that it had been temporarily closed by its own accord. The reason for the closure was an article written about executions following [Operation] Mersad during Imam Khomeini's time.

Mr. Mohajeri mentioned that Mr. Khatami, who was then Minister of Culture and head of the war propaganda headquarters, had invited managers from some newspapers on the day of announcing acceptance of Resolution [598]. Among those invited were Mr. [Seyyed Mohammad] Asghari from Kayhan, Mr. [Morteza] Nabavi from Resalat, Mr. Mohajeri from Jomhouri Islami, and Mr. [Seyyed Mahmoud] Doa'i from Etelaat. He instructed them not to write anything regarding rulings related to the Mojahedin and expressed surprise at how newspapers tolerated Arya's closure without making a fuss. He consulted about pursuing actions against Belgium's court.

Mr. Mohsen Rezaei, [Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council], came to discuss resuming his responsibilities as Secretary. He believes that with coordination between Parliament and government, excuses for government inaction will diminish and soon fall out of public favor. I mentioned that they will continue to claim that the government is constrained because they see leadership powers as an obstacle, and lack of coordination with IRIB, the Guardian Council, and military forces provides enough justification.

Today, there were numerous statements and declarations in support of me; among them were the Islamic Society of Researchers, the Ceremony Council, the Society of Clerics in Divandareh, the Friday prayer leader of Abadan, Mr. [Abbas Vaez] Tabasi [the custodian of Astan Quds Razavi and representative of the Leader in Khorasan Province], Workers' Welfare Party, Moderate Students' Islamic Society, Islamic Association of Bazaar merchants, etc. Individuals like [Abulhasan] Bani Sadr, [Mohammad] Salamatiyan, and [Abdulkarim] Lahiji along with foreign radio stations are working to mitigate the impact of Belgium's court actions so that relations between Europe and Iran do not suffer and leftists do not weaken.

Opposition and protests by workers against Parliament's resolution to exempt workers in small workshops from labor laws continue, while Parliament's resistance to significant fuel price increases next year has also become another subject against Parliament as an obstructionist measure.