MIDEAST MIRROR 25.10.18, SECTION C (TURKEY & IRAN)
From today’s Turkish press
KHASHOGGI AFFAIR: Husnu Mahalli maintains that President Erdogan has failed to grasp the moment in opposition Korkusuz: "The Saudi royal family is the cause of all the problems in the Arab and Islamic region. President Erdogan could have saved the Muslim world from them. Someone who saves the region from these men could have made himself and Turkey the leader of the Islamic world. But that did not happen. U.S. President Trump and the Western leaders will continue to bargain a little longer. After they get their bonuses from Saudi Crown-Prince bin Salman, the case will be closed and this file will be shelved. If the U.S. and Israel have struck a deal with bin Salman and agreed that he should stay, this man will soon become king and continue to hang over the heads of the Arab and Muslim peoples for the next 40 or 50 years. Turkey would be harmed most by this."
Ibrahim Karagul insists that bin Salman will have to go in pro-government Yeni Safak: "From this point onwards, the Saudi regime cannot carry the weight of this crown prince. The U.S. cannot build a regional architecture based on a man who has been mired in the dirt and damaged to such a degree. Whether they like it or not, the U.S. and Israel, will have to let go of bin Salman. If they keep protecting him, they will lose very serious ground in the region."
Markar Esayan claims that Turkey is playing a historic role in pro-government Aksam: "The Khashoggi killing will become a weathervane regarding whether the world's states will turn into a gang of mobsters, or whether they will choose democracy with all its international laws and regulations. We all know what states did in the past during the Cold War. If the Khashoggi killing fails to become a milestone and justice is kept at bay, the vital legal element of states will rot. In brief, Turkey is playing a historic role once again."
LOCAL ELECTIONS: Candas Tolga Isik detects a chink in the ruling alliance's armor in centrist tabloid Posta: "We do not know whom the HDP [opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party] will name as its local elections candidate in Istanbul. But in today's circumstances, whichever party comes up with a candidate regarded as a good alternative for Kurdish voters will win the election. With this in mind, it is clear that the AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party] will lean towards a candidate who has a better chance of appealing to Kurdish voters, rather than one who appeals to the [AKP-allied] MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] base."
Abdulkadir Ozcan finds a formula for the alliance in pro-Islamist opposition Milli Gazete: "It is as if there were a perception that the MHP and the AKP are about to completely merge if they were to strike another election agreement. It is almost as if a step has been taken to push the many other problems facing Turkey off the agenda. In the end, since both parties are committed to the current 'People's Alliance', they could implement a kind of unannounced alliance for the upcoming local elections as well."
Ferda Koc foresees serious trouble ahead in pro-Kurdish opposition Yeni Yasam: "The AKP's divorce process from FETO [Gulen movement] began with under-the-belt blows with intelligence chief Hakan Fidan being called to the prosecutor's office and the December 2015 [anti-corruption] operations. It ended in a bloody manner with the July 2016 coup attempt. It is hard to guess whether the AKP/MHP divorce process will take the same course. The reaction against narrowing down the MHP's space in the police, the courts and the Education Ministry – all of which it sees as its own patch – could even take the form of a FETO-style 'internal blow'. The government and the state are once again trembling on the same fault line, even though those at the epicenter are not the same."
Iran media watch
HONORING FIGHTERS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ: Iranian newspapers focused this morning on Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i's remarks praising Iranian fighters in Syria and Iraq. He said that the Arb'aeen march to Iraq (religious ceremony commemorating 40 days after the martyrdom of Imam Hussein) is safe thanks to their heroic struggle. Khamene'i made the remarks at a meeting with a group of families who lost their loved ones in battles in Syria. Reformist Ebtekar, centrist Etelaat, conservative Khorasan, and hardline Keyhan were among those carrying Khamene'i's report with photos of his meeting on their front pages. Domestic broadcast media carried reports about Iranians' pilgrimage to Iraq to take part in the Arba'een ceremony on 30 October. Channel One (IRTV1) said that over one million pilgrims have already entered Iraq.
SAUDI JOURNALIST'S DEATH: Another story in today's press was the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Hardline Vatan-e Emruz carried a photo of Saudi Crown-Prince Mohammad bin Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump and said Trump "indirectly" accused Bin Salman for being involved in the murderer of Khashoggi. "Trump: He [bin Salman] could be behind Khashoggi's death." Financial Donya-e Eqtesad wrote about "Battle between the Sultan [Turkish President Erdogan] and prince". Conservative Afkar described Trump's recent statements about Khashoggi's case as "suspicious U.S. U-turn." "Pressure mounting on Riyadh" broadcast English language Press TV as UK Prime Minister Theresa May called on Saudi Arabia to cooperate, as their explanations regarding Khashoggi's murder in Turkey lacked credibility.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Pro-regime social media users are asking Iran's Judiciary to arrest an Iranian journalist for "insulting" third Shiite Imam Hussein. Pouyan Khoshhal from Ebtekar newspaper published an article on 21 October, citing Imam Hussein's "passing-away" instead of "martyrdom". People are using hashtags (over 10,000 times) to comment on the issue. Mizan news agency, run by the Judiciary, said on 24 October that Tehran's prosecutor had brought charges against an "individual who works for a high-circulation newspaper (not exactly a description of Ebtekar) and has written several offensive pieces against Imam Hussain". The prosecutor did not name any individual or newspaper, but hardliners are talking about Khoshhal in social media. "We ask the judiciary to deal with such irreverent people decisively to prevent the repetition of such matters", posted one. "Insulting sanctities must be costly", wrote another.