Iran News Round Up

 A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by AEI Critical Threats Project Iran Analyst Will Fulton and Iran Intern Amir Toumaj. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

Politics

• The Parliament voted on President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet appointments yesterday and approved all but the three ministers: Science, Research and Technology, Sports and Youth, and Education and Training. The Defense and Economy Ministers received the most votes and Oil, Labor and Transportation Ministers received the fewest votes. 
• Society of Islamic Revolution Self-Sacrificers [faction of IRGC war veterans] Central Council member MP Ahmad Nejabat stated that the positions and actions of the three rejected Rouhani proposed ministers in the “1999 and 2009 seditions” were considered in the voting process. 
• Tehran Interim Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ali Movahedi Kermani criticized “compromise” with Israel as betrayal to the Palestinians and said that Egyptian events “should not be an excuse for the intervention of superpowers.”

Regional Developments

• Lebanese Hezbollah will reportedly unveil its first “spy drone," named al-Morsad 1, on the anniversary of the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel War today. The report claims that the drone is constructed exclusively by Hezbollah engineers and its capabilities include radar evasion, multiple-target striking, a vertical range of 5,000 meters above sea level and carrying capacity of 30 kilogram missiles.
• Lebanese President Michel Suleiman reportedly blamed Israel for yesterday’s bombing in southern Beirut that targeted Hezbollah’s stronghold. 
• Representative of Hezbollah in the Lebenese Government and Agriculture Minister Hossein Haj Hassan stated, “Zahiyeh inhabitants will by no means let go of resistance [as a result] of the terrorist bombing.” 
• The Lebanese Defense Minister announced that authorties arrested Syrian national Hesam Abu Diyab Abu Halq in connection to the Beirut bombing. 
• In Iraq, Leader of the Sadr Movement Muqtada al-Sadr urged Lebanese unity and condemned the car bombing in Beirut.
• An editorial in unofficial Supreme Leader organ Kayhan discussed the Egyptian crisis. The editorial states that: the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated its lack of desire to resolve the crisis through peaceful means; the Army is not prepared to militarily confront Egyptian internal forces, and; ”The West and especially America act in a way in this scene that in the end both sides of the adventure become weak.” 

Diplomacy

• President Hassan Rouhani criticized the Egyptian military and said, “I consider it necessary to give my condolences to the great Egyptian nation and to state my sympathy with them regarding the cruelties inflicted upon them…. The people’s path is the path of democracy and Islam, and all the world must respect the wishes of the Egyptian people…”
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Abbas Eraghchi condemned yesterday’s bombing in southern Beirut that reportedly targeted Lebanese Hezbollah.  
• Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that Egypt will be the first issue addressed in his tenure.
• German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reportedly congratulated Zarif in a telephone conversation for his appointment and invited him to visit Germany. 

Military and Security

• Head of IRGC Public Relations BG 2C Ramazan Sharif denied the statements of Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who announced in an open session of Parliament that the Oriental Kish company was connected to an IRGC affiliate and stated, “In the era when Zanganeh was Oil Minister, IRGC [Khatam ol-Anbia] Construction Base affiliates had not entered into the oil and gas arena. Therefore, any relation of the aforementioned company to IRGC [Khatam ol-Anbia] Construction Base and its connection to the IRGC is vehemently denied.”
• Minister of Intelligence Mohammad Alavi stated, “My priority is security, but we must first be at the people’s service and fulfill security with the Unknown Soldiers of the Imam of the Age [intelligence operatives] so people may live with more peace and quiet.”
• In an interview earlier this week, Head of the Strategic Defense Research Center Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani praised Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan as a capable minister to manage the Armed Forces and requested MPs to cast their votes of confidence.
• Advisor to the Representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC BG 2C Yadollah Javani stated, “The West ponders on how [one] can prevent the trend of the progress of the Islamic Awakening… The main cause of the crises that we are confronting in the Western Asia region and in various Islamic countries, including Egypt, must be observed within the conspiracies of Western countries, and America at its center.” 

Economy

• Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh stated, “As a first measure, a special group must be formed to [deal with] sanctions and increase oil sales in traditional and new markets…. Sanctions will not be lifted in a night, and for this, we will have a special plan in the short-term to increase oil exports.”
• The Iranian Statistics Center and the Tenth Administration Labor Ministry released different statistics on the 2011-2012 unemployment numbers. According to the Labor Ministry, the unemployment number was 3.5 million and, according to the Statistics Center, the unemployment number was 2.9 million. 

Photo of the Day

• Outgoing Foreign Minister and reported pick to lead Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi attends Friday prayer in Tehran.