Loghman Madayen’s Critique of Presidential Candidates’ Inefficiency / Pezeshkian is to Iran what Marzieh Boroumand is to the House of Cinema!

According to CinamaDrame News Agency, Loghman Madayen, a writer and film critic, wrote a note criticizing the election atmosphere and the inefficiency of presidential candidates in changing the prevailing definitive situation in Iran:

I observe the election atmosphere; it’s a comedy with no end in sight. The left and right wings are at each other’s throats, trying to adorn themselves more in their abstract squabbles. You ask why so much despair? I say because nothing is changeable. Raisi‘s shroud hadn’t even dried when Bazrpash, with his questionable past, began his election campaign in a mosque near Shemiranat, Tehran. It is narrated by locals that when protests among mosque-goers escalated, someone’s phone rang. Who do you think it was? Behind that no-caller-ID call was a person named Sardar Gharabaghi, introducing himself as the deputy head of the intelligence organization, telling them not to bother Bazrpash. The Imam of the mosque also said he was friends with the General and that Bazrpash was going to become a minister because he provided the mosque and had a work history in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Vahid Haghanian comes along, a person about whom it is narrated among politicians that when Taeb arrested his brother for corruption, he went there with a security escort from the Leader’s office and forcibly opened the detention center door to free his brother. He even yelled, “You tough guys, go catch the bigger fish!” Although that very night, he was put in a van, and the groundwork for his retirement was laid. You say it’s a lie? Well, I accept! It’s all rumors from hostile propaganda, isn’t it? Is that good? Do you want a stronger confession than this? These people were disqualified, and our laughter increased. I come to today: the debates are over, and each side is going to great lengths. My laughter turns to horror when I find some defending Qalibaf, saying, “Vote for his track record!” Which track record? The same one that, according to all his critics like the then-city council member Alviri, and Mehdi Khazali, or Saba Azarpik, and Yashar Soltani, and Vahid Ashtari, and Raefipour, who truly disturbed all our minds regarding him, and we never saw a documented response that would calm us. He was the mayor of Tehran for 12 years and made his wife his special advisor, paying her management salaries. The same one who deposited 1000 billion into his wife’s charity account and gave it away from the people’s taxes! The same one who took the worthless lands of west Tehran, changed their natural use, and kept them in brine until they gained value. They established Ayandeh Bank, found customers with high interest, lent money to themselves with people’s deposits, and built Iran Mall in the middle of the desert, emptied Tehran’s water resources, and created a barren lake to make drought permanent. And when the brined lands, affected by Iran Mall and the lake, increased in value, they sold them for a hundred times the price and sat at the spread table. Lands that later became exorbitant towers to create a major problem called traffic, along with the territorial expansion of Tehran and excessive population growth. And the gentlemen shamelessly sat on state TV and said, “Tehran’s traffic is because Reza Shah narrowed the streets, and the foundation of traffic was laid there!” Poor Reza Shah and poor horse carriages of Pahlavi Street, anyway, they sold density. They built 15-story buildings on land licensed for 4 stories, taking one billion per floor. And these ignorant heights blocked Tehran’s respiratory corridors, and pollution became deeply rooted. And the density business was conducted in an office on Mirdamad Street with the son of this very candidate with a track record, who would buy your density or give you density elsewhere by adjusting the difference. They gave away astronomical properties and sent their critics to prison one after another. Shamelessly, Yashar Soltani, the whistleblower, sent his daughter to prison and immediately brought his son to the media to say that the whistleblower’s claims were false, and the incompetent host of the program did not say, “If you are telling the truth, bring the whistleblower here too so each can present their documents, and the people will know the dark-faced one!” He said, “I endured a difficult pregnancy because of that expose,” and did not say that his father’s critic, Saba Azarpik, was sent to prison during her pregnancy until her child was aborted! They even stood firm until the grounds for clearing the documents were provided, then they also arrested Vahid Ashtari! The scope of his victims was no longer limited to Mohammad Ali Najafi and Mehdi Khazali.

He gave 100% support to the committees so that they would be funded by the municipality and grow. He elevated preachers and satisfied them, and now he rides on them to get votes. Someone who entered parliament a month ago with 400,000 votes and had a drop of 800,000 votes compared to the previous term has come to compete in a 20-million-vote race.

Someone who, in parliament, brought in as many outside forces as he could to take control of the space there and make it secure, prevented former representatives from entering to prevent revelations, and gave houses in Kuye Faraz, Saadat Abad, to representatives as gifts so he could sit on the spearhead. He talks about women’s rights and reduces women’s civil activism to service jobs he created in the police to strengthen coercive tools, and does not say why he has not reformed laws during all these years of representation so that women are recognized as political figures, and if he had, we would have a female president today. Why do women still need a man’s permission to leave the country? Why do they have to beg for the right to divorce and custody? Why shouldn’t they get motorcycle licenses and thousands of other unequal “whys” that could have been equalized.

A dear one said, “Even if we ignore his violations, and close our eyes to his nocturnal attack on the reformist city council building that cleared all documents, and the next morning everyone was threatened by phone that if a copy of the cleared violations was published, the responsibility would be theirs, he took over the municipality with a positive balance and handed it over with seventy thousand billion tomans in debt, and even with three changes in mayor, the municipality’s back is not straight under these debts, and this story is a narrative that is told when Napoleon won, he asked his advisor how many casualties they had, and he replied sixty percent, so Napoleon said, ‘If we win one more time, we are destroyed!'” Now if he becomes president, we will have to sell several provinces to pay off his debt!

And as that dear one said, “He has committed every violation you can name. It’s enough for him to sell ten grams of drugs to officially earn the title of ‘Godfather Baqer,’ although it’s rumored that he does this because in the early 2000s, he spent a thousand billion to fund an election campaign, meaning with a dollar at 900 tomans. Where did he get it from?” I said, “You must have dreamed it; I don’t believe any of these accusations. It’s all to destroy this living martyr!”

You still say, “Fear God and do not think ill of your believing brother!” I say, “I said nothing, Astaghfirullah Rabbi wa Atubu Ilayh.” You say all those claims were false? I say, “I am certain!” You say it’s the work of hostile propaganda and project-takers? I say, “That’s right, I confess he is a revolutionary and clean manager!” Is that enough? Only one question leaves me uneasy: Is his resume greater than the Leader’s? Are his enemies or critics more numerous than the Leader’s? I wish God would save my heart from darkness, for why do the Leader’s enemies everywhere say, “We couldn’t find a single gray spot in his financial record,” but our believing brother’s enemies say, “We couldn’t find a single healthy hill from him?” Perhaps their hearts are sick, and they didn’t understand this living martyr! Our dear one meddled and again said, “Perhaps the gray spots were due to color blindness!” Anyway…

Someone whose performance output is less than the length and width of his name also withdrew: Ghazizadeh, someone who promised to abolish conscription, solve the stock market, build a million houses, but it was all lies! He came again and exaggerated, promising jet ski rides to women who are not allowed to ride motorcycles. He exploited IRIB, which operates with public funds, and looked people in the eye and said he wouldn’t step aside, and as always, he was not honest.

They poured water into the tank of the revolution’s bulldozer; it’s out of tune. Look into his eyes; every time he makes a sarcastic remark, he glances to see if others are laughing or not, as if he lacks affection. Zakani has come to be seen by being unpopular. His bread is in controversy, and when he is boycotted, he makes eye contact with the director to pick on him. He has resumed selling density, and for the mayor of the city, this means selling honor. Didn’t they themselves say that for a soldier, weapons, and for a mayor, city laws are a matter of honor? Anyway, he is revolutionary and active! He has engaged with the social deputy of the popular resistance force and exploits the potential of women’s affairs to implement the “Noor” plan. Those poor souls also work hard. Imagine constantly going from one end of the subway to the other, changing lines to make the crowd appear larger! Our dear conspiracy theorist says he, like Qalibaf, who looked people in the eye and said he didn’t sell density when he had, says he hasn’t organized the hijab guardians, but he has! Now he has also withdrawn. They said he sacrificed his reputation for the revolution. I said he had no reputation to sacrifice; he just stepped aside so that the extent of his votes among the minimalists wouldn’t be revealed.

A man in a brown cloak catches my attention. Every time I see Pourmohammadi, I laugh. He moves his hands in a rhythmic and orderly manner while speaking, which, if an honest editor were found, could elevate it to a dance. We are facing a strange city. Someone who brought down the fathers of Meshkatian, Shajarian, and Ebtehaj now sings “Come along, dear.” I don’t want to dwell on him too much because everyone knows him, and more importantly, according to the leaked audio file from the late Montazeri‘s office, it has been experienced that one should not bother him too much before the month of Muharram! I think he wore this cloak for the last time back then! A dear one said he is a healthy person, and during those unfortunate events, the ministry was not effective. Don’t compare today’s system’s authority with that day. I said it wasn’t an unfortunate event; it was a crime. You can’t play with words, and you can’t gain people’s trust overnight.

The media’s favorite diplomat is perhaps the only serious option for the establishment, who has detailed plans for forming the Union of Islamic Republics. Jalili has investigated and extracted every detail so that nothing is missed in strengthening the infrastructure of the largest empire. He has the late Leader’s vote base and is at ease. I take the translation of the Quranic verses recited at the beginning of all debates as an example, which shows the media was completely impartial. Moreover, it is narrated online that alongside Rasaei, Vahid Ashtari was also once a member of his team, and this means he knows who Qalibaf is, and that’s why he first raised the slogan of fighting corruption among friends. I told another dear one, “Jalili is a saint compared to Qalibaf; one should pray behind him. At least he hasn’t committed his violations!” He asked, “Which violations?” I said, “Excuse me, none of them were proven! I wasn’t paying attention! Pray behind him too!”

Pezeshkian, and what do you know of Pezeshkian? You ask, “Is he a healthy person?” I say, “Yes.” “Is he honest?” “Sometimes.” “Should we vote?” “No!” You ask why, and my answers are detailed. As Simin Behbahani said, “Prepare tea, perhaps our conversation will be long.” Although I like him, I oppose him, and I have my own serious reasons. I am not inexperienced; I was a party member. For years, I have been active in election headquarters and fronts. I know what voting is and how to gain votes. From staff work to fieldwork, I have done it all. I have sat and risen with every individual and every faction in every position, from top to bottom, directly and indirectly. And if you consider politics a bowl of abgoosht, I have dared to clean its inside with my little finger! My words are not theoretical; they come from 15 years of experience. What is Pezeshkian supposed to do that you are so hopeful about him? Remove the hijab or the morality police? In a place where the police chief, in response to the illegality of the morality police, told Rouhani, the then-head of the National Security Council and president, “We act according to religious duty,” and then implemented the morality police more strictly, will your wish be fulfilled? Furthermore, Pezeshkian was the one in parliament who rebuked Ahmadinejad, “Why don’t you support the morality police?!” This is a country of tribal rule; everyone is connected to a source of power and does not submit to another. The government has concluded that it always has a critical body, and whatever it does, they will not be satisfied, and a religious body that is committed and will remain if religious decrees are implemented, and they have always kept the foundations of the government strong. So its preference is to keep the body always on the scene, not you! It is wishful thinking to imagine they will remove the hijab. Removing the hijab means removing religion, and this means losing the main body! And this is the exact analysis that Yaminpour stated.

Pezeshkian has come to the scene but without a plan. He wants to be elected first and then look for a plan, and this means disaster for the reformists, who, with all these parties, are still not ready for elections. Someone who doesn’t know that the filtering order was signed by a judge of the judiciary, not the government, how does he want to remove it? Didn’t he himself say that Jahromi said in a call that he was prosecuted for opposition, and the other two rivals did the filtering? So the minister has no authority! Didn’t the dismissed judge of the judiciary give the order? Someone who doesn’t know how much fuel a car consumes and makes that gross mistake, how does he want to confront the car manufacturing mafia? Someone who defends the exorbitant salaries of doctors, how does he want to revolutionize healthcare services? Should people again go and, as Rouhani‘s health minister put it, “rub themselves” to relieve their pain? Moreover, he says he is a first-class surgeon, but his colleagues say he stands aside during open-heart surgery and supervises, meaning he cannot be practical even in his own specialized field! How does he want to take a step for women when during Rouhani‘s government, they couldn’t even open the stadium doors for women! Someone whose ultimate concern about art is underground films going abroad, how does he want to help five thousand unemployed artists? Is art only cinema, and is cinema only in a few underground films? Ultimately, the House of Cinema falls into the hands of a dear one like Marzieh Boroumand, who comes, bends under pressure, and leaves! Pezeshkian is to Iran what Marzieh Boroumand is to the House of Cinema! They used to say Raisi couldn’t speak, and today Pezeshkian has come, whose staff types and he reads, due to his lack of public speaking skills. This means his staff’s biggest advice in debates is, “Don’t speak!” Now tell me, can he stop legal arrests?! Is it in his hands? Can he bring about a change in foreign policy? Is he not subject to the general policies of the system?! So what is going to change? Even the implicit support of the reformists for him is not, without comparison, out of love for Ali, but out of hatred for Muawiyah, to challenge the establishment’s authority, otherwise, the day after victory, they will abandon him and leave. For Pezeshkian, who is stuck in the era of Ayatollah Taleghani‘s fiery speeches and a little of Shariati and some of Beheshti, today’s Iran is too strange. He still doesn’t know that when he criticizes non-profit schools, he is officially threatening the body of power holders, each of whom has established a school for their livelihood, and he is buying enemies. It is foolish to expect the removal of the konkur (university entrance exam). It is ignorance to think that a change will occur in the cultural sphere. When an Iranian writer cannot publish his book abroad due to cultural sanctions, they don’t even reply to his emails, and according to statistics two years ago, the annual book printing in the country was 200,000 copies, and this year it has halved. Looking at this year’s monetary sales statistics is a joke; it appears large due to the increase in paper prices. This is while in England, about 200 million, and in France, nearly 450 million copies of books are sold. Do you see? Even a writer’s pen depends on sanctions, which means it loses value when you follow general policies. So don’t talk to us about change.

Can Pezeshkian cure the autoimmune disease of the freed? Can he free active women from bondage? Can he bring out the old man Zibakalam, who did not speak in a channeled way? Can he be the voice of Tajzadeh, who said our only way is civil participation and elections, and was imprisoned?! Can he clarify his stance on Mousavi‘s house arrest? He doesn’t even hold his photo out of fear and doesn’t mention his name. If not, then how does he say he stands firm?! How is the Charter of Citizen Rights supposed to be implemented? He didn’t even mention the late Neda Agha-Soltan in the June 21st debate, even though it was her anniversary, and the entire establishment announced she was killed by a foreign enemy in the Green Movement protests and wanted to call her a martyr, but her family did not surrender to this dangerous staging! Tell me, does he have a plan for Iran’s ailing economy? When he is 100% compliant, what change will be realized? Is he aware of the farmers’ pain? Does he know their needs? Does he know the athletes? What about the workers? Is the Islamic Labor Party not under the reformists? Has it achieved anything other than impoverishing workers? He even supports the performance of proxy forces. I’m not saying this support is wrong, but it’s a contradiction. How do you want to negotiate with the West when there is no permission to carry out a regional nuclear deal? When you sell drones and missiles to Russia and have signed arms purchase agreements and other long-term contracts, how do you want to extend a hand of friendship to Ukraine’s allies? When Yemen strikes American and British naval ships with missiles and blocks the sea route, is there any room for dialogue? When you have adopted China’s global policy, how do you lean towards America? How are you supposed to return to the JCPOA when you are subject to general policies, and those policies say the condition for progress is that Americans do not come close? How do you want to sign FATF when one of the IRGC was declared a terrorist, and after accepting, you have to provide the IRGC’s report?! Can you return them to the barracks? It’s not because Shervin‘s “Baraye” song is played at the headquarters and his election color is green that we should vote for him. It’s not because he shouts about pains that we should support him. Opening old wounds without treatment only tortures us!

He must be held accountable for how Ms. Zarabadi is active in his headquarters alongside Azari Jahromi. Didn’t Ms. Zarabadi shout that Azari Jahromi was involved in massive corruption in the Ministry of Communications? Didn’t she say she was under pressure to remain silent? So how do they work together? How thin is the line between temptation and slander? How does he fight corruption when he doesn’t answer this? When he didn’t sign the transparency of votes plan in parliament?

Does Pezeshkian know that the employees of the presidential institution were made official with 30-year contracts so that he cannot dominate that seat and install his own people in Pasteur? Does he know that if Trump returns, he will once again reduce oil sales to the lowest possible amount per day, and the last year of Rouhani‘s presidency will be repeated? Wasn’t it true that China and Russia said they couldn’t help due to sanctions, and China’s only favor was to provide us with its oil silos so we could take our oil there, so that if sanctions were lifted one day, we wouldn’t be delayed by extraction and transportation? Of course, they took the rent for the silos to the last penny, and everything Rouhani stockpiled, Raisi sold, like when they kept all the vaccines Rouhani bought and didn’t give them out until Raisi came and posed as a hero over the lifeless bodies of people who were victims of the power struggle! Does he not know that negotiating with Trump means negotiating with Soleimani‘s killer for him, and for themselves, it means heroically negotiating with Saddam? Is he aware of the impending war in Lebanon that forces are being deployed to? Does he know it has been officially announced that if Lebanon is attacked, we will respond directly? Does he know that this Al-Aqsa Storm battle is just the beginning of a larger crisis that Israel also needs? Does he know that the president in Iran is just a logistics manager, and thousands of other “does he knows” that when you are supposed to play with people without providing a plan and proper guarantees, it leads us to this sentence: If voting were effective, people would not have the right to vote!

Although the author knows that the first option for the establishment is Pezeshkian, and the second is Qalibaf, because he brings a win-win game. If he doesn’t get elected, it means the death of all members and organs of the reformists, and the ventilator can be disconnected from it so that it doesn’t even have artificial life. If he gets elected, it’s also a win, because by creating votes, legitimacy is bought, and in the next four years, something can be done so that, like August 19th, his supporters will also turn their backs on him, and the death of reform will occur then. A dear politician who is the headline of the media said, “Be careful, Raisi tried very hard to negotiate, but the Westerners didn’t come. The core of the system wants to reach an agreement and knows that Westerners are more comfortable with reformists!” Pezeshkian is an agent of the system to finalize the agreement. I asked, “Didn’t the Americans come to Iran in the early days of Raisi‘s government with disguised identities and by sea from the southeastern borders and negotiate directly?” He said, “This time it’s different. Israel is under pressure, and the Republicans are also willing to give concessions! China has become rebellious and has not honored its contract and has taken a stance against us in the region and must be disciplined. The Russians, since they are sanctioned themselves and have overcome the crisis, are willing for this relationship to be established so that they can breathe through us!” I said, “There is a lot of contradiction in this analysis, and it’s hard to believe!” He said, “You see, the Leader knows his job. He knows that whatever he says, the opposite will be implemented. If he says don’t vote, people will vote. If he says these are not suitable, people will understand that that one is suitable. They disrupt his speeches and cancel his ceremonies so that people become conditioned. The system wants him and gathers votes for him, but in their own way!”

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