The strike call faced a significant failure on its first day, the Hamshahri newspaper wrote.

“The failure of the movement calling for strikes and riots was so noticeable that the enemy’s media admitted in an announcement that ‘We accept that some Iranians have not yet joined the street protests for various reasons.’ Although they try to ‘play with words’ to cover up the heavy failure of the past calls, the facts indicate that the citizens, all over the country, not only did not welcome such calls, but also complained about the destructive activities. They demand to take decisive measures to deal with rioters.

Reza Pahlavi, Ali Karimi, Ebrahim Hamidi, Masih Alinejad, Nazanin Bonyadi and others were among the figures who spent a lot of time in recent days to spread the call for strikes on social media, but field surveys from different cities indicates that these groups and figures faced a noticeable failure in the first step,” according to Hamshahri.

Vatan-e Emrooz: Riot against uranium

The conservative Vatan-e Emrooz ran a story of the foreign minister’s statement headlined “America and several Western countries sought to score points in the negotiations by creating chaos in Iran.”
“The recent chaos in Iran were accompanied by abuse and multi-layered foreign interventions and hybrid war. Our nation came out of this hybrid war with insight, pride and success. It was completely understandable for us that the U.S. and a few Western countries are seeking to exert pressure, encourage chaos and terror in Iran. One of the United States’ goals was to force Iran to the nuclear negotiations table in order to gain major concessions in its own favor.

We enjoy democracy in our country and we hear and respond to the peaceful demands of the people of Iran on various issues, but we do not allow anyone to disturb and terrorize our country,” Vatan-e Emrooz quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying.

Etemad: Haste in crisis control

In a note, the reformist Etemad newspaper highlighted that the use of coercive measures and hard power not only will fail to calm the atmosphere but increases tensions.

“After nearly three months of protests in the country, no measures have been taken to properly and constructively respond to these demonstrations and reduce the tension, and provocative reactions are still shown in the face of such protests. A little attention to the literature of political culture and the experience of our own country and other countries in the world is necessary to come to the belief that when the wave of protest in the country becomes widespread, coercive policies not only will fail to calm the atmosphere but also increases the tensions.

Hasty decision-making in such an environment, instead of being a solution to get out of the problem, is like bringing the flame closer to the gunpowder store. Such atmosphere will radicalize the peaceful protestors and bring the silent people to the streets,” the writer said, suggesting conversation with protestors and listening to their voices.

Iran: Political blackmail would be met with political backlash

The state-run Iran newspaper analyzed the new position of the U.S. secretary of state and the passive approach of the West after Iran increased uranium enrichment to a purity of 60 percent at the Fordow nuclear site after the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a censure resolution against Iran on November 18.

“In his latest stance on Iran’s recent incidents, the U.S. secretary of state has claimed that ‘the protests have nothing to do with this country.’ From November 3, when U.S. President Joe Biden made a strange claim about his hope for the collapse of the Islamic Republic, to Blinken’s denial of his country’s support for the unrest in Iran and that the protests in China and Iran have nothing to do with America only a month has passed,” the newspaper said.

It added contrary to their expectations, the United States and its European partners faced a kind of resistance from the Islamic Republic, which seems to force them to retreat and adjust their aggressive policies. 

“By starting 60 percent enrichment in the Fordow nuclear plant, Tehran sent a message to the West that political blackmail would be met with a political backlash,” a part of the analysis read.

Kayhan: Iran neither willing to negotiate nor give concessions under pressure

Quoting the Foreign Ministry spokesman, the conservative Kayhan newspaper said under pressure and threats, Iran is neither willing to negotiate nor give concessions.

“Iran’s position regarding the JCPOA negotiations is quite clear. Iran was committed to the JCPOA and fulfilled its obligations, and the violator was no one but the U.S. government, and the European countries unfortunately did not fulfill their obligations and could not compensate for the unilateral and illegal withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA.

And Iran does not negotiate from a position of weakness and need. On the other hand, Americans and Europeans can delay and pay for it. Our advice to the European partners of the JCPOA is not to surrender to the U.S. and not bear its losses.”

Arman-e Emrooz: National dialogue

Arman-e Emrooz called on the Judiciary to take effective steps to promote dialogue and, as a result, transform “conflict” into “understanding”.

“For more than two months, the country has been experiencing an atmosphere of tension and challenge, and of course, multi-tasking. In fact, the conditions for governing the society have become so alarming that it is necessary for all the electoral, appointed and even governing bodies to look for solutions so that the country can pass through this costly period,” it wrote in its commentary headlined “National Dialogue”.

In a note, a sociologist criticized creating disagreement or hostility between the people and wrote “some officials put people against each other to reduce the burden of responsibility caused by their own wrong decisions. According to many experts, putting the citizens against each other and polarizing the society against the hijab can be considered as a serious danger for the peace of the society.”