The column ‘Persian Press Review’ features the headlines and leading articles carried by Farsi dailies.

Monday’s headlines:
AFARINESH: Majlis calls on Amano to amend his report (about Iran’s nuclear program)
ETEMAAD: Probe into conditions of detention centers postponed
IRAN: Foreign planes will be banned from entering Iran’s airspace, if they change name of the Persian Gulf, warns transport minister
ABRAR: Taliban rejects Karzai’s request for peace
KHORASAN: Destroyer Jamaran goes on first mission in the Persian Gulf
TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: IRIB director defends performance of national TV networks
JAVAN: Three immediate plans to be implemented to rein in inflation
RESALAT: Iran is a superpower in the region, says Haaretz daily
KAR-O KARGAR: (Setting) monthly salaries less than $370 for workers is abject poverty
ETELAAT: Death squad broken up in (Western) Azarbaijan province
JAHAN-E SANAAT: Transport minister to be impeached
HAMBASTEGI: Setting up national committee on holding elections will reduce irregularities, says Morteza Nabavi, a member of the Expediency Council
Leading articles:
‘MARDOMSALARI’ in its editorial has enumerated the reasons for pending impeachment of Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani. Although the recent act of a Greek steward (working for Iranian Kish Air) in using the forged term ‘Arabian Gulf’ instead of the Persian Gulf during a flight gave a rise to a movement by MPs to seek impeachment of the transport minister, it seems that the ground for the move had been prepared before the event. During the current year (the Persian calendar year started March 21, 2009) the transport system has encountered an unprecedented number of major failures including back-to-back plane crashes and train derailments, leaving serious causalities. Before Behbahani’s term in office, the country had at least a relatively safe railroad system. However, after a wave of transport accidents, the transport minister not only did not resign from his post, but he even did not bother to apologize to the bereaved families.
‘KAYHAN’ in its editorial has severely criticized the policies of the Obama administration toward Iran. After the June presidential election, at first, the administration supported protestors tactfully, and then it shifted its tacit support and backed them in a brazen way under the cover of protecting the protestors’ rights which it claimed had been violated. The U.S. changed its deceiving tone and regressed to the unrestrained and furious policies followed by the Bush administration. It set a deadline, declaring December 2009 as the final date that Iran must halt its nuclear program, but now the deadline is over and decision-makers at U.S. think tanks do not know what step they should take. Obama, less than a year after election victory, removed his “mask of change, peace, and reconciliation” and turned into the second Bush, but a less capable one.
‘JOMHURI-E ESLAMI’ in its editorial has commented on U.S. stance on possible Israeli offensive against Hezbollah and Hamas. Israeli political and military officials have resorted to the language of threat once again. They are talking about an imminent invasion to make up for their previous disastrous defeats in confrontation with resistance forces. Now, Binyamin Netanyahu’s extremist actions are in stark contrast to Obama’s pacifist slogans. Naturally Obama is not willing to remove its antiwar mask. And in order to win the approval of Arab states he does not like to present himself totally obedient to Zionists. But Obama is not ready to go too far and run the risk of endangering his political position by enraging the U.S.-based Zionist lobbies. Obama’s retreat from opposing Israeli settlement policies is a good example, proving he is afraid of Zionist lobbies’ anger. So it is a remote possibility that the U.S. president take any serious action against Zionists’ new military adventures except for giving cautious and mild advice against waging war.
‘BAHAR’ editorial, written by distinguished journalist Abbas Abdi, has examined the repercussions of implementing the subsidy reform plan. The inflationary pressure resulting from the reform plan not only will have profound effect on ordinary people’s lives, but will also deal severe blows to the production sector by increasing production costs. So the administration should first enhance the social security system which is on the verge of bankruptcy especially by paying off its debts to the organization in order to cushion the impacts of implementing the plan. In addition, the security and political repercussions of the plan and possible ensuing crises should be taken fully into consideration.