Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• According to Fars News, Ahmadinejad's Tuesday night TV interview to discuss the second stage of subsidy reforms is postponed.
  • First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi had earlier said Ahmadinejad would announce the second round of reforms on Tuesday night.  
  • According to Alef News, the interview was canceled due to parliament’s opposition to implementation of the second stage of the scheme. 
• Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshjou: "Western humanism first makes the ideological foundations weak. Then they do away with ethics. After this, they replace morality with immorality." Daneshjou adds he is replacing "Western humanism" with "Islamic humanism" at Iranian universities.

Military and Security

• Gholamreza Jalali, Passive Defense Committee Organization commander, says his organization has established a Radiation and Nuclear Crisis Management Base called "Rafee," which will be headed by Fereydoun Abbasi.
• [E] Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran has achieved good results in developing and producing the Iranian version of the sophisticated Russian S-300 air defense missile system.
• [E] Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stressed his forces' ability to produce modern naval tools, systems and equipment, and announced that the Navy will be equipped with new and more radar systems and vessels this Iranian year (started on March 20).

Nuclear Issue

• Ali-Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader's foreign policy adviser, analyzes the Istanbul talks:
  • "These negotiations were a positive step taken by the 5+1 Group. After months they returned to negotiations and in practice they reached the conclusion that Iran does not recognize the language of threats..."
  • "The Islamic Republic of Iran has many times declared that whenever the West stops threatening and prepares for dialogue, it [Iran] is ready to negotiate with them within the international framework and its own rights."
  • "In these negotiations, the Westerners for the first time recognized Iran's right to achieve peaceful nuclear energy within the NPT framework."
  • "The Islamic Republic of Iran did not say anything but this from the very beginning. Therefore, we consider these negotiations a positive step and hope they will be followed positively…”
• Alef News's analyst considers the 5+1 nuclear negotiations in Istanbul positive:
  • "Without the slightest retreat from the positions of our country in the nuclear issue, and without any damages to the might of the great Iranian nation, the other party was ready to deal with Iran according to the clear rights of Iran as described in the NPT." 
  • "It was also positive since the 5+1 Group accepted to take a positive step for any step taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran..."
  • "The Westerners avoiding the discourse of suspension [of uranium enrichment] was another reason the meeting was positive..."
  • "Maybe, the Westerners had no other options but to deal positively in these negotiations. The domestic issues of the 5+1 [countries] are extraordinary, and the members are in a minimal state of solidarity..."
  • "Second, not having a positive approach would deteriorate [the nuclear issue] and since they lacked unity in this regard, that option did not exist..."
  • "The West also knows that its demands are illegal..."
  • "One can't consider the new approach of the 5+1 Group a strategic shift, but at the very least, one can see it at this juncture as a retreat from unwise positions of the past..."

Media

• According to Fars News, the Communications and Information Technology Institute of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has offered solutions to provide a "healthier" and "filtered" Internet.

Economy

• [E] Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi announced on Tuesday that despite the western countries' sanctions against Tehran, over $40bln will be invested in the country's oil industry in the new Iranian year (started on March 20).

Photos of the Day

• Tehran Metro flooded. 
• Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf leads the crisis management.