Iranian papers on Wednesday widely covered the shocking case of Mohammad Ali Najafi, the ex-mayor of Tehran and former vice-president who confessed on Tuesday to the murder of his wife Mitra Ostad at her apartment.

Also a top story was the Iranian foreign ministry’s reaction to US President Donald Trump’s softened rhetoric. The foreign ministry’s spokesman said Tehran sees no prospect for talks with the US for now, and that it expects Trump to act rather than talk.

The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:

1- We Haven’t Exchanged Any Message with US: Iran

2- Najafi Confesses to Murdering His Second Wife

3- Iran First VP: Damaging Unity to Serve US Interests

2- Ryabkov to Visit Iran for Talks on JCPOA

3- Iran Says Not after Negotiation with Any US Official

2- Culture Minister: No One Should Speak to Iranians with Coercion

1- Tehran in Shock: A Review of Murder of Ex-Mayor’s Wife

3- Bloody End of Mitra Ostad: Ex-Mayor of Tehran Confesses to Murder

2- Tragic Report of a Murder: Najafi Confesses to Murdering His Wife

3- No Prospect for Talks with US: Iran </s> A former mayor of Tehran who once served as one of Iran’s vice presidents has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife, after she was found dead in her bathtub Tuesday afternoon, shot several times.

The former mayor, Mohammad Ali Najafi, 67, was arrested on Tuesday and handed over to prosecutors Wednesday morning, according to the state-run news outlet IRNA.

Citing an Iranian prosecutor, the news outlet reported that Mr. Najafi had turned himself over to the police and had confessed to shooting his second wife, Mitra Ostad, 35.

Gun crime is rare in Iran, and Mr. Najafi’s prominent political status has made the crime all the more shocking, raising questions about how the country’s news media covers domestic violence. </s> IFP has taken a look at the front pages of Iranian newspapers on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, and picked headlines from 11 of them. IFP has simply translated the headlines and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Iranian papers on Wednesday widely covered the shocking case of Mohammad Ali Najafi, the ex-mayor of Tehran and former vice-president who confessed on Tuesday to the murder of his wife Mitra Ostad at her apartment.

Also a top story was the Iranian foreign ministry's reaction to US President Donald Trump's softened rhetoric. The foreign ministry's spokesman said Tehran sees no prospect for talks with the US for now, and that it expects Trump to act rather than talk.

The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:

1- We Haven't Exchanged Any Message with US: Iran

2- Najafi Confesses to Murdering His Second Wife

3- Iran First VP: Damaging Unity to Serve US Interests

2- Ryabkov to Visit Iran for Talks on JCPOA

3- Iran Says Not after Negotiation with Any US Official

4- US' Goal Not Negotiation with MP

2- Imam Khomeini's Grandson: We Can't Deny the Truths

2- Culture Minister: No One Should Speak to Iranians with Coercion

1- Tehran in Shock: A Review of Murder of Ex-Mayor's Wife

3- Bloody End of Mitra Ostad: Ex-Mayor of Tehran Confesses to Murder

2- Tragic Report of a Murder: Najafi Confesses to Murdering His Wife

3- No Prospect for Talks with US: Iran </s> Tehran, Iran -- Police on Tuesday arrested a former Iranian vice president and mayor of Tehran after he confessed to shooting one of his wives dead in her home, Iran's state news agency reported. Police detained Mohammad Ali Najafi after he went to authorities and confessed to killing wife Mitra Najafi, IRNA quoted prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari as saying. Shahriari said Najafi and his wife were having domestic problems.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media reported that Mitra Najafi, who is one of Najafi's two wives, had been killed in northern Tehran.

Gun violence is very rare in Iran, especially among the country's political and economic elite.

Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018 after hard-liners criticized him for attending a dance performance by young girls.

In 2013, Najafi, an MIT educated mathematician, worked as vice president in charge of cultural heritage and tourism in President Hassan Rouhani's administration for nearly seven months. Najafi has held many ministerial positions in his career.

Gen. Ali Reza Lotfi, head of Tehran police's criminal investigation department, told state TV that Najafi handed the weapon over to police voluntarily and admitted committing the crime.

Lotfi said Najafi fired five times and two bullets hit the victim. He said the case is under investigation by the police and judiciary simultaneously.

Semi-official news agency Tasnim quoted Shahriari as saying Mitra Najafi was shot several times, including once in the heart. Her body was found in a bedroom on the seventh floor of a residential high-rise in northern Tehran.

Polygamy is legal in Iran, though many criticized Najafi, 67, on social media after he married Mitra, 35. </s> The former vice president of Iran and mayor of Tehran, as well as a confidant of President Hassan Rouhani, turned himself into authorities Tuesday, telling them that he killed one of his two wives.

Mohammad Ali Najafi allegedly murdered Mitra Najafi seven hours before walking into the police station, Iranian news outlet Radio Farda reported. The outlet reported that he appeared calm after confessing, and was filmed shaking hands with the police chief.

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Prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari was quoted by the Iranian Students’ News Agency, or ISNA, as saying that the former official, who is 68, told police he and the victim, 35, had been having marital problems.

Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018 after hard-liners criticized him for attending a dance performance by young girls. He had also been criticized for marrying his much younger second wife, with the controversy helping doom his political career. Polygamy is legal in Iran.

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Najafi told police in his confession that Mitra had constantly threatened to reveal his secrets -- which were not described -- and ruin him, Radio Farda reported.

Gun violence is very rare in Iran, especially among the country's political and economic elite.

Gen. Ali Reza Lotfi, head of Tehran police's criminal investigation department, told state TV that Najafi handed the weapon over to police voluntarily and admitted committing the crime.

Lotfi said Najafi fired five times, hitting the victim twice. He said the case is under investigation by the police and judiciary simultaneously.

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Mitra's body was found in a bedroom on the 7th floor of a residential high-rise in northern Tehran, according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> Tehran - A former mayor of Tehran who once served as one of Iran’s vice presidents has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife after she was found dead in her bathtub Tuesday afternoon, shot several times.

The former mayor, Mohammad Ali Najafi, 67, was arrested Tuesday and handed over to prosecutors Wednesday morning, according to the state-run news outlet IRNA.

Citing an Iranian prosecutor, the news outlet reported that Najafi had turned himself over to the police and had confessed to shooting his second wife, Mitra Ostad, 35.

Gun crime is rare in Iran, and Najafi’s prominent political status has made the crime all the more shocking, raising questions about how the country’s news media covers domestic violence.

The state broadcaster IRIB news aired footage of Najafi on Tuesday, taken at a police station in Tehran, in which he sips tea with officials apparently unhandcuffed. Later in the video, while answering a reporter’s questions, Najafi smiles and talks casually about the circumstances of the shooting, which he appears to imply had been an accident during a marital dispute.

Najafi told the news outlet that he had suggested divorce to his wife several times, but that she would not allow it. He also described increasing fights with his wife that had led the pair to live separately.

Another clip, also posted by IRIB and widely shared on social media, shows the same reporter who interviewed Najafi handling the gun that was said to have been used in the attack, removing the magazine and handling the bullets one by one.

The video clips outraged some observers on social media, who said the images showed a comfortable relationship between Najafi and police officials, who treated him with deference, and neglect on the part of reporters who handled potential evidence.

Najafi resigned as mayor last year, citing illness, but many believe he was forced out by hard-line opponents. He was criticised for attending a dance performance by young girls at an event to celebrate International Women’s Day.

His resignation came months after he married Ostad, who is the second of his two wives, according to The Associated Press. Polygamy is legal in Iran, but many hard-liners criticized Najafi for marrying Ostad, three decades his junior.

Najafi has held several prominent ministerial positions in the Iranian government and served as vice president for cultural heritage and tourism under President Hassan Rouhani from 2013 to 2014. </s> Iranian TV showed officials bowing and serving tea to the former mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Ali Najafi, after he confessed to killing his second wife. In a report on state TV, a correspondent held up the gun for the camera and counted the bullets inside it. </s> A wife of an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was shot and killed at her home, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Tuesday.

 The report said Mitra Najafi — the second wife of Mohammad Ali Najafi, a former reformist mayor of Tehran and a Rouhani confidant — was killed in northern Tehran. The report did not elaborate.

 Such gun violence is incredibly rare in Iran, especially in the tony neighborhoods of northern Tehran, home to the country’s political and economic elite.

 Another Iranian semi-official news agency, Tasnim, quoted Tehran prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari as saying she was killed by several gunshots, one of which hit her heart. Her body was found in a bedroom on the seventh floor of a residential high-rise in northern Tehran.

 Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018, after hard-liners criticized him over a video showing he attended a dance performance by young girls at a school show.

 Polygamy is legal in Iran, though some criticized Najafi on social media after he married Mitra Najafi. </s> Najafi’s wife, Mitra Ostad, was murdered at her home in Tehran on Tuesday. Police found her body with several gunshots in her chest.

Najafi has reportedly gone to the Criminal Police headquarters in person and confessed to the murder.

Najafi had resigned from the post of Tehran’s mayor in April 2018, citing failing health for leaving the office.

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 67-year-old Najafi was elected mayor of Tehran in August 2017.

Affiliated with the reformist political faction, he used to serve as the minister of education and the minister of culture in various administrations.

He also took the helm at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) during President Hassan Rouhani’s first term, but resigned after six months. </s> After resignation of Tehran’s mayor on Monday for the second time, councilors mulled over the resignation process and agreed with it unanimously.

Of 21 votes in total, fifteen were in favor, five were against and one was blank.

After accepting resignation of Tehran's Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi, councilors submitted their proposals until the selection of new mayor in an expert-level session. In the meantime, 14 councilors proposed appointment of Samiollah Hosseini Makarem as caretaker for this significant post at Tehran Municipality.

Eventually, Hosseini Makarem was appointed by councilors unanimously as caretaker of Tehran Municipality with 14 votes out of 21 votes cast.

Earlier, Hosseini Makarem served Deputy Municipality of Tehran for Financial and Economic Affairs.

It should be noted that City Council members on Sun. rejected the resignation submitted by Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi over 'ill health' and voted for his remaining in office.

A session was held on Sunday at the City Council, chaired by Mohsen Hashemi, to discuss the resignation of Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi.

Mr. Najafi handed in his resignation on March 14, citing medical reasons.

“What forced me to hand in my resignation from the City Council was my poor medical condition,” Najafi said during the session today, adding that he is currently undergoing treatment.

“I would like to ask you not to link my resignation to political issues, although intensifying factors are always there to exacerbate the case,” he added.

The Chairman Mohsen Hashemi, speaking before the voting, rejected rumors that the reason behind Najafi’s resignation was lack of support from the City Council, adding that the assumption was “unfair” and “untrue”.
Former Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Ali Najafi is arrested after confessing to the murder of his wife.