A Tragedy Named Zakani on Paradise Street

A Disaster Named Zakani on Behesht Street

A Disaster Named Zakani on Behesht Street. According to Iran Gate, since Alireza Zakani took the helm of Tehran’s municipality, unprecedented disasters have occurred in the capital. Although Tehran has always been a city full of events and calamities, never before has the situation been as dire and disastrous as it is under Zakani’s management of the Behesht Street building.

Zakani’s performance in Tehran’s municipality, despite his short tenure on Behesht Street, has been accompanied by significant disasters. From financial corruption in the mayor’s office to insulting political and artistic figures on the official tribune of Tehran’s municipality, all have been recorded in his record. Recently, a disaster in district 19 of Tehran, on Khalazir Street, has sparked numerous reactions to Zakani’s weak management in the municipality.

Interestingly, neither he nor his team feel the slightest responsibility to respond. Instead, whenever faced with criticism, they mock the audience and public opinion with a demanding tone. This report attempts to take a brief look at Alireza Zakani’s record in the Behesht building in Tehran and examine some of his special and important actions in this area.

The Illegal Mayor

Alireza Zakani’s appointment as Tehran’s mayor was met with reactions from many media people and urban management experts from the very beginning. Among the most significant reactions was critics’ reference to the Tehran City Council’s regulations, pointing out the irrelevance of Zakani’s educational background to managing a metropolis like the 20-million-strong Tehran.

In fact, experts and critics referred to these regulations to label Zakani as an illegal mayor in the media. Moreover, there were many rumors about Zakani’s medical degree. Many claimed that he not only did not enter university through the entrance exam but also did not attend classes and spent most of his time in the Basij office of the medical faculty. Despite all these ambiguities and doubts surrounding his appointment to Tehran’s municipality, the city council took no action to enlighten public opinion, resulting in Zakani’s dark record on Behesht Street.

Hamshahri, Zakani’s Personal Page

Professional media audiences in Iran have almost become accustomed to the idea that the well-established and famous Hamshahri newspaper has turned into Alireza Zakani’s personal tribune. From Hamshahri’s strange and bizarre stances on the issue of hijab to attacking individuals who have had verbal confrontations with Zakani, all can be seen on the front page of this newspaper.

Given the severe rift between hardline and moderate conservatives, even Hamshahri has not refrained from attacking conservative figures. Even a hardliner like Mostafa Mirsalim has not been spared from harsh and insulting headlines alongside unprofessional cartoons by the newly established Hamshahri editorial team. Mirsalim, who had engaged in a verbal spat with Zakani on Twitter, was so harshly criticized on Hamshahri’s front page that he directly filed a complaint against Zakani for the insulting nature of the cartoon and headline.

In other words, even Mirsalim accepted that Hamshahri is essentially Zakani’s personal tribune and preferred to directly file a complaint against the mayor instead of beating around the bush.

Meanwhile, the Hamshahri newspaper initially started to reflect the voice of Tehran’s citizens. It has faced many ups and downs at various times, but overall, no mayor has ever dragged this newspaper into such decadence, turning a large media organization into their personal public relations and bringing their verbal clashes with various figures to the front page of this historic publication.

Incompetence in Behesht

Zakani’s controversial trip to Belgium proved to everyone that he not only lacks the scientific qualifications to sit in the mayor’s chair of Tehran but also seems to be, at best, of average intelligence. Zakani’s controversial presence in Brussels, which was met with reactions from social media users, showed that audiences were embarrassed by his strange behavior during this trip. Moreover, this trip led to the resignation of Belgian government officials and the Brussels municipality, who had invited the Tehran mayor.

The disaster did not end there; the Belgian government was forced to apologize to public opinion for inviting an undesirable element and a supporter of terrorism. Such behavior towards Tehran’s mayor has never been seen before, and no Tehran mayor has ever been treated this way. But Zakani’s conduct led to this national embarrassment being added to his record.

Celebrating Incompetence

Zakani’s incompetence is not limited to these cases; there are numerous examples of this over the past two years. Among these examples are the disaster in district 19, the escalators of Tehran’s metro, and the ideological banners and billboards that suffer from severe graphic weaknesses. Recently, he invited the mayor of district 19, who caused the Khalazir Street disaster, to speak to the media on Journalist’s Day. These actions by Zakani are, in fact, a kind of mockery of the country’s elite and, in a way, a celebration of incompetence, which can indicate the depth of the disaster on Behesht Street.

Alireza Zakani’s Strange Action on Journalist’s Day