Iranian press review: Iran condemns pager explosions, blames Israel and US for escalation
The explosion of thousands of communication devices used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon has sparked widespread reactions in Iran, with Iranian politicians condemning the attacks and reaffirming their support for the Lebanese group.
Ali Akbar Velayati, Secretary General of the World Islamic Awakening Forum, on Wednesday issued a statement holding both Israel and the United States responsible for the attacks.
“This terrorist act was undoubtedly carried out with the backing of the United States and its allies in the region,” read the statement.
Velayati added that the attack was evidence that Israel has no intention of pursuing peace in the Middle East.
“Once again, the Zionist regime has clearly shown that it not only disregards humanity and has no interest in peace or a ceasefire, but through its continued war crimes and genocide, it poses a significant threat to regional and international peace,” he said.
Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, also commented on the attacks, urging Arab countries to sever ties with Israel.
He said: “How many more lives must be lost before Arab leaders end their relations with Israel?”
Meanwhile, the Hamshahri daily website published a video showing Tehran residents laying flowers in front of the Lebanese embassy in Tehran as a sign of solidarity.
Iranian authorities have escalated their crackdown on political activists and pressure on the families of people killed during the 2022 anti-establishment protests, including restrictions on access to their graves, in the lead up to the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death.
Amini died in the custody of the morality police after being arrested for flouting the Islamic dress code.
Her family say they have been repeatedly summoned by Iranian authorities, prohibited from visiting her grave, and reportedly put been placed under house arrest.
Last week, Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported the arrest of Mina Soltani and Ahmad Hassanzadeh, both of whom lost children in the protests following Amini's death.
According to the rights group, Kurdish activists Fawad Moradi, Farhad Qamari, Mohammad Amini, and Navid Sharifi were also detained by security forces in Diwandara, in the Kurdistan province.
Activists Ali Hosseinpour and Vahed Abubakri were also arrested in Piranshahr, a Kurdish city in West Azerbaijan province.
A court order prohibiting the sale of bread to Afghans has renewed the discussion about the presence of Afghan immigrants, refugees, and undocumented individuals in Iran.
Last week, an image went viral on Farsi media showing a banner at a bakery in the Bardsir saying that the public and revolutionary prosecutor of the southeastern city of has ordered a ban on selling bread to “foreign residents”.
Iranian officials generally use the term “foreign residents” to refer to Afghans living in Iran.
However, judiciary officials in Bardsir later announced that the ban only applied to bakeries using subsidised flour, but the incident drew attention to the situation of Afghans in Iran.
In recent months, a series of campaigns have been orchestrated against Afghans, and officials have commented negatively on their presence in Iran. On 11 September, Ahmadreza Radan, Iran's Chief of Police, vowed to deport at least two million undocumented Afghans by the end of the year.
Iskander Momeni, Iran's new interior minister, has also urged a swift reinforcement of the border with Afghanistan to prevent unauthorised crossings.
Dailies affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian conservative factions have praised the attack by Yemen's Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, on central Israel last week, suggesting that more destructive attacks would follow soon.
On Monday, the front pages of the dailies were covered with headlines that read, “Practicing the destruction of Israel with the Yemeni hypersonic,” “The hypersonic slap,” “Yemen pierced Israel’s heart with a hypersonic missile,” and “Yemen’s iron fist over Tel Aviv’s head.”
Javan daily, funded by the IRGC, suggested that the missile attack was in response to Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah in July.
“The operation was carried out 57 days after the Israeli attack on Hodeidah and demonstrated that the Yemenis and the resistance axis are still determined to take revenge on Israel,” the daily wrote.
The Iranian government’s official daily, Iran, reported that the Houthi attack had a significant impact on Israeli citizens.
“The shadow of terror from Ansarullah's surprise attack on the occupied territories and the launch of a ballistic missile by the Yemeni resistance created a wave of fear in occupied Palestine,” Iran daily wrote.
The widespread promotion of the Houthi attack comes at a time when Tehran has yet to respond to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
* Iranian press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.