This column features excerpts from the editorials, commentaries, and news articles of the leading Iranian newspapers.

Thursday’s headlines
HAMSHAHRI: Only 11 percent of metro budget has been paid
HAMSHAHRI: Kashan carpet on the verge of danger
JAM-E JAM: Death penalty for armed thieves from now on
IRAN: Culture minister says the behavior of Tehran prosecutor general is mistaken and should be revised
IRAN: Tehran City Council spokesman admits some technical measures have not been observed in Towhid Tunnel
TAFAHOM: Fire still rages in Golestan forests
JAVAN: Judiciary chief stresses corruption cases will be investigated immediately
JAHAN SANAT: Official warns spraying water in Tehran causes acidic raining
DONYA EQTESAD: Ahmadinejad suggests the formation of 6+1 Group (a group with inclusion of Iran)
SHARQ: Strong reaction of Judiciary chief to the criticism of Ayatollah Jannati
QODS: Health minister says employment of nurses will be done this year
TEHRAN-E EMROOZ: Traces of France’s hand evident in seizure of Iranian ships
Leading article
AFARINESH in an editorial discusses the fake name for the ‘Persian Gulf’ by the U.S. and China and regrets the weak reaction of the government to the falsification. The U.S. administration has always been using the terms ‘Persian Gulf’ in its diplomatic relations but in a strange movement the word ‘Arab’ has replaced ‘Persian’ on the website of U.S. naval force. Earlier in the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Guangzho, China also used the fake name for the Persian Gulf. The writer says Iran’s not-too-strong reaction to such a scandalous falsification will embolden the Arab states on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.