Not all Iranian analysts bought this explanation. The Iranian daily Kayhan accused Zarif of distorting Khomeini’s words and of departing from the goals of the Islamic revolution, which, the paper said, includes the destruction of Israel. Other commentators quoted other Iranian leaders who spoke of Israel as a cancer that must be destroyed and Khamenei’s statement from 2012 that Iran would assist any country or group that would fight the Zionist state. [...]
The moods, criticism of the regime or political and diplomatic analyses published in Iran, which do not follow in the spirit of official declarations, hardly ever reach the public in Israel. “We read the Israeli newspapers translated into English. We know who the Israeli politicians are, we follow the Netanyahu investigations and try to understand Israeli society,” an Iranian journalist wrote Haaretz, communication with whom is by roundabout emails. But in Israel, only a handful of scholars and intelligence people read the Iranian newspapers, although some of the important ones appear online in English or Arabic. [...]
Not all Iranians are busy all day long with nuclear bombs, missiles, Israel, Hezbollah or sanctions. Since November, the musical “Les Miserables” has filled the theaters in Tehran every day of the week, although the cost of a ticket – $20 – is prohibitive for most Iranians. The actresses are not permitted to uncover their hair, their singing is accompanied by background voices so they are not singing solo, which is against the law. But the director, Hossein Parsaee, has seen to impressive lighting, artificial snow and a live orchestra. He is even proud of the fact that Khamenei has given his stamp of approval to the show when he said: “Victor Hugo’s book is wonderful. A book about love and compassion.”
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