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 Aty News, Qodratollah Alikhani, parliamentarian, was "thrown out of the Al-Mahdi Mosque in Minou... by mourners in the mosque," as the mourners accused him of being a part of the "current of sedition," a reference to the reformist camp. 
• News stories concerning disqualification of parliamentary candidates:
  • Commander Morteza Talaei, former Tehran police chief, and an associate of Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, is disqualified.
  • Reports of disqualification of parliamentary candidates from the "current of deviation," a reference to Ahmadinejad supporters, in Semnan province.
  • A certain Dr. Majid Goudarzi, a war veteran from Lorestan who has been "in captivity outside Iran for seven years," protests against his disqualification.

Diplomacy

• The Foreign Ministry summons the Danish ambassador to Tehran to protest against the latest round of E.U. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
• Mashregh News proposes building of a "Pearl Square" in Tehran as an act of sympathy for the revolutionary movement in Bahrain.
• Rouhollah Bojani, theological student and head of the Ansar-e Hezbollah in Tabriz, receiving a delegation from Baku, urges the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan to "rise and join the Islamic awakening."
• [E] Fars News: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's Deputy and Hamas Foreign Minister Mohammed Awad confirmed that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has invited Haniyeh for a visit to Iran. 

Military and Security

• Javad Karimi Qodousi, parliamentary National Security Committee member, says "the United States did not dare to direct its aircraft carrier through the Strait of Hormuz alone," and this is why the carrier was "escorted" by military vessels of other nations. Qodousi adds "if the Strait is closed, the aircraft carriers will become the war booty of Iran."
• Mehdi Jahantighi, journalist and political analyst: "Assassination of Molavi Mostafa, who is one of the staunchest defenders of the discourse of the Imam and the Leader in the South East, seems to be an intelligent yet ideological act." Jahantighi also accuses Saudi Arabia of being behind the assassination.
• Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi discloses the "fifteen-point plan" of the "enemy" to deal blows to the parliamentary elections. Discussing regional Muslim states Moslehi said they only "seem Muslim," and called them "Taghouti," the one who rebels against God. 
• [E] Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar and Head of Russia's Federal Drug Control Service Victor Ivanov signed two agreements to bolster the two countries' security and anti-drug cooperation. 

Economy

• Reactions to the rising price of foreign currency:
  • Kayhan editor, accuses internal elements of being responsible for the fluctuations in the currency market.
  • According to Donya-ye Eqtesad, the government is preparing a "package" in order to stabilize the rial.
  • Asr-e Iran slams the Ahamadinejad government's economic record, pointing at the rising prices of gold and foreign currency.
  • Ahmad Tavakkoli, head of the Parliamentary Research Center, warns against "imminent bankruptcy," and says the parliament will soon take over the control of the economy from the government by dismissing "incompetent government ministers."

Trade

• According to Fars, Norway's Statoil, Britain's BP and an Italian oil company have been "exempted" from the recent anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Azadi News writes that one of the major hotels in Tehran is opening a ladies-only restaurant in which the hijab is not enforced.

Photos of the Day

• Admiral Hossein Alaei participating in mourning ceremony of Imam Reza in the company of Major General Rahim Safavi, Admiral Ali Shamkhani and Major General Gholam-Ali Rashid. Other photos show other Guards commanders including Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, and former Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi.