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, with contributor Mary Ella Simmons. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Moderation and National Expansion party Spokesman Gholam Ali Dehghan emphasized President-elect Hassan Rouhani's commitment to forming an inclusive and "bi-partisan and moderate" cabinet, and said, "For him, the issue of foreign affairs, people's livelihood, and the nuclear matter have high importance. Rouhani also has fundamental and pivotal plans for confronting sanctions and will propose strategies on this matter."
• Interim Friday Prayer Leader Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Kazem Sedighi condemned the EU terrorist designation of the "faithful and globally popular" Lebanese Hezbollah and said, "Economy and scientific progress are our two priorities and the next administration must advance the country from the place that previous administrations have [progressed the country to]."
• Mashhad Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Alam ol-Hoda stated, "Today, the enemy's power does not reach Muslim society and the world of kufr [blasphemy] prepares the groundwork for Shi'a killing through sedition and deception and by deceiving the youth. The Wahhabi current that is currently facing defeat in Syria and the measures of al-Qaeda and terrorist groups in this country corroborate this act. Insulting Muslim belief is the enemies' tool of sedition. America does not have the capability [to invade] Iran and does not dare attack this country, and their only strategy is to [have] Muslims kill each other and prepare the layout for Muslim killing in the country."
• Imam Hossein University School for Officers and IRGC Training Deputy BG 2C Mohammad Nasser Shabani criticized those who have been silent regarding the 2009 "sedition" and addressed Hamas' relationship with Iran:
  • "The [June 14, 2013] election invalidated the suggestions of individuals that accused the Islamic Republic system, and for individuals that have been silent toward these slanders. After these elections, those same individuals suggest that these elections were the most democratic elections [a reference to former president Hashemi Rafsanjani].... One of the foreign media outlets, based on one of its studies, announced that between June 16 and 23 Iran was one of the happiest countries in the world. The reason for this has been the victory in the election, the victory of the national football and voleyboll teams, the shabaniyeh holiday, etc."
  • "Everyone should know that without cooperation with Iran, the problems in Syria cannot be solved....In recent days, Hamas has announced....that it wishes to imitate Iran and have a tendency towards cooperation with Iran, because they have concluded that America cannot manage the problems in the region, and that the problems in Syria will not be solved without cooperation with Iran."
  • "Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has been known as a man of the Arab world, in a meeting that he had with the Supreme Leader, kissed the hand of [Khamenei]. When asked about the reason for this, [Nasrallah] said, 'I wanted to show him that the Arab Man of the Year is a soldier of the Supreme Leader,' and he referred to his own victories as a product of acting upon [Khamenei's] orders and instructions."

Diplomacy and Regional Developments

• Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced that a delegation was being sent to Yemen to investigate the kidnapping of Iranian embassy employee Noor Ahmed Nikbakht. He expressed hope that there would be good news shortly.
• A South Korean news agency is reporting that the Head of the North Korean Parliament would be attending Hassan Rouhani's inauguration. Oman's Minister of Heritage and Culture Haytham bin Tariq al Said is also reportedly planning to attend.
• Vice President of the Lebanese Shi'a Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qablan condemned the European Union decision to include Hezbollah on its list of terrorist groups, saying, "We are strongly opposed to terrorism and the attachment of these charges to Hezbollah, because the phenomenon of terrorism overall is very far from our behavior, customs, and conventions."

Military and Security

• Law Enforcement Forces Commander BG Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam discussed the 2009 Kahrizak detention center fatalities and said, "When I visited the families' homes of those individuals who lost their lives in Kahrizak, I told them certain truths and I apologized [to them]. And this caused them to select the path for demanding their truth that they follow today. When I came to Agha [the Supreme Leader] and I told him I visited these families he said that this was a good thing to do, but that I should have done it sooner. Of course, at that time the families said to me, 'We will visit you under the condition that the visit is not publicized,' and we have not publicized this visit. Later they themselves raised this meeting in court. I said to [these dear friends] during the visits, 'I can do anything for you except bring back your children."
• Followers of the Line of the Imam and Supreme Leader Front Kamaleddin Sajjadi urged the Parliament to define "security crimes," and said, "Some have considered committing security crimes against the system as political crimes, and from this [perspective] to propagate against the Islamic Republic while their crime is against the government and the people. In reality, if security crimes are accurately explained, there will no longer be a need to explain a political crime."

Economy

• Head of the Central Bank Mahmoud Bahmani announced that the Central Bank will not be able to provide the currency difference for importers and that the bank will for ships and storage goods and customs to facilitate goods clearance.
• Head of Iranian National Gas Company Self-sufficiency Affairs Jafar Zaki Zadeh announced that more than 90% of the gas industry's mechanical items are now produced domestically.
• Administration Economic Spokesman Shamseddin Hosseini announced that Iranian foreign exchange reserves surpassed $100 billion under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tenure.

Photo of the Day

• Law Enforcement Forces Commander BG Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam and Chief of Staff of the Office of the Supreme Leader Hojjat al-Eslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani attend Tehran Friday Prayer.