TT Rouhani for Nobel Peace - Netanyahu’s Jeans Comment - Zarif and Kayhan OCTOBER 1 ST - 15 TH 2013 CYBERSPACE REPORT PERSIAN ASL19 CYBERSPACE REPORT PERSIAN OCTOBER 1 ST - 15 TH 2013 RESPONSES TO NETANYAHU’S JEANS COMMENT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments about Iranians wearing jeans and listening to Western music garnered a considerable amount of attention in Iranian cyberspace. Social media networks were inundated with pictures of young Iranians wearing jeans and listening to western music accompanied with the hashtags #jeans and #iranjeans. Referencing this, Toronto-based blogger Aida Ahadiany wrote on her Facebook page that although she hates Netanyahu and his policies, she cannot forget that the government of Iran does set strict dress codes. Ahadiany reminded her readers that although wearing jeans is not forbidden in Iran, wearing shorts and tight denim is. While recognizing Iranians’ familiarity with Western music, she added, “Where do Iranians buy artists’ official albums? Can western musicians hold concerts in Iran, or do Iranians have to fly to other countries, like Turkey and Dubai, to see their favourite bands live?” Ahadiany believed Netanyahu used bad examples to talk about the absence of freedom of expression and freedom of dress in Iran. Other users echoed this sentiment writing that although Netanyahu’s comment was inappropriate, the Iranian government still controls dress and censor music. Referening Netanyahu’s comments, famous Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani published a cartoon. The cartoon shows a girl saying “Look Mr. Netanyahu we all wear jeans” as a regime officer chases her. ZARIF TAKES TO FACEBOOK TO DENY KAYHAN REPORT An October 8th Facebook post by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif explained that he spent a couple of hours in the hospital after suffering from back pain and muscle spasms brought on by a misquote in the hardline newspaper Kayhan. The paper reported that Zarif called his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the historic phone conversation between President Rouhani and Obama a “mistake.” Zarif vowed to not hold any more closed- door meetings and said that all his remarks would be made in public from now on. Kayhan’s readers appeared pleased with the report, and some thanked Zarif for being honest about his mistakes during the NYC trip. Many readers said that Zarif’s Facebook post and trip to the hospital showed weakness. They asked Zarif how he will be able to confront the U.S. and P5+1 on Iran’s nuclear program if a newspaper headline can send him to the hospital. Payam Fazlinejad, a member of Kayhan’s editorial board, wrote on his Facebook page that “if the whole truth [about Zarif’s meeting with MPs] was published, Zarif would be in much more pain.” Some users replied to Fazlinejad’s post and asked him to reveal the source of the news, while others criticized the threatening tone of his post. On BBC Persia’s report of the incident, one reader commented that the greatest enemies to Iran’s new government are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hossein Shariatmadari, Kayhan editor-in chief and close aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Another user wrote that if reformist newspapers had been closed for spreading lies and revealing confidential documents in the past, Kayhan should also be shut down for publishing a false report. @AghBahman tweeted, “the main reason Shariatmadari dislikes Zarif is that the [number of] likes on Zarif’s page is greater than Kayhan’s circulation.” Ali Alizadeh, a London-based political activist, used this opportunity to discuss the unblocking of social networks. He tweeted, “another reason for unfiltering of Facebook: Zarif’s page has over 400,000 followers [despite being filtered], and Kayhan’s circulation hardly reaches 100,000, even though it is distributed for free.” The story was made the topic of a Mullah Piaz comic strip. In the panels below, Mullah Piaz says he hopes other radical conservative figures like DehNamaki and Salahshoor do not attack Zarif in the future because “he might actually die.” READERS’ NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: HASSAN ROUHANI Earlier this month, Saeed Kamali Dehghan nominated Rouhani in The Guardian’s online poll for who should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Rouhani won with 76% of the vote. While some encouraged people to vote for Rouhani online, others called Rouhani’s nomination “ridiculous,” comparing the nomination to Obama’s 2009 win and the European Union’s 2012 Nobel Peace Prize wins. Referencing the Iranian #jeans Twitter campaign @BTonekaboni tweeted, “I think if Rouhani wins the Nobel Peace Prize, he should receive it on stage wearing jeans.” Entekhab.ir provided a link to the poll, where one reader commented, “I chose Rouhani as President but I think he still has a long way to go [before he can] be considered a worthy nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.” The Facebook page “Iranians of Facebook” shared the story with its fans, receiving over 480 likes and over 160 shares for the post. The post’s most popular comment considered former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami a more worthy candidate for the prize. Another user wrote that although Rouhani has taken some steps in the right direction, it is too early to award him the prestigious Nobel Prize. IRAN MEDIA PROGRAM WWW.ASL19.ORG WWW.IRANMEDIARESEARCH.ORG