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

• Presidential crisis:
  • Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says to Parliamentarians: "abstaining from conflict is a national duty in defense of Islam, the revolution and Iran," and continued: "No one must in any way intervene in the election. The election must take place according to the legal procedure and the parliament must be shaped according to popular preference and choice."
  • Ayatollah Abd al-Nabi Namazi, representative of the Supreme Leader to Kashan:
    • "The centerpiece of the beliefs of this [Ahmadinejad’s] current is that during the occultation we do not need a medium between the people and the Imam of the Era, praise be upon him. The Quran is there, so are the tales [of the deeds of the infallible Imams] and we can establish contact with the Imam of the Era."
    • "This thought aims at eliminating the guardianship and as a result of it, the clergy, if they can - God willing they will not be able to do it - their intent is to eliminate it."
    • "An individual called Ghaffari and some others, including an individual in clerical garb called Amiri-Far - he too has been arrested - have formed the Clerical Assembly of the Guardian which is connected to the office of the president's chief of staff. In their confessions they have told shocking things: Economic corruption involving huge sums. This Mr. Ghaffari is someone who is involved with jinns, exorcism and the like. He has achieved this power by insulting the sacrosanct."
    • "[IRGC Chief] Major General Jafari visited the Supreme Leader and said: 'Allow us to arrest them and the entire mayhem will come to an end. There may be a few days during which some may express concern, but everything will come to an end.' His Lordship has apparently still not reached this conclusion, but said: 'Arrest all the elements, all those engaged in the operational side of this scheme.' His Lordship said: 'Interrogate them forcefully and investigate, but separate the president [from the issue].'"
  • Tehran Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Hamadani comments on the possibility of "the deviant current" being allowed to run for parliamentary election:
    • "The Guards are not alone. Different institutions in the structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran have predicted [such events] and they all live up to their obligations. They will not allow those who - God forbid - desire to harm the movement of the nation to enter [the political arena]. This not only means the Guardian Council disqualifying them, but it also means informing the people about who a specific person is and what his past performance was... We are monitoring [the deviant current]. Not only this current, but all currents are monitored by the Guards. Deviant currents, both inside and those guided from outside, are monitored by the Guards and there is total intelligence superiority. Should it be necessary, it [the Guards] will get into action."

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the Revolutionary Guards at Imam Hossein University:
  • "The United States, the Great Satan, has from the early days of the revolution used its military/economic/propaganda and political empire with its entire force to defeat the Islamic revolution and the Iranian nation, but the reality of the political realm of Iran and the region shows that the United States has been forced to its knees in front of the Islamic revolution."
  • "Thirty years ago, the Great Satan lost only one of its corrupt dependencies [the Pahlavi regime], but today it loses many dependent regimes."
• Iran sanctions 26 senior United States political and military figures upon charges of "violation of human rights."
• Egyptian authorities say it is "still too early" to normalize diplomatic relations with Iran.
• [E] Iran’s foreign minister denies plan to visit Saudi Arabia.
• [E] Ahmadinejad says Tehran is prepared to transfer its experiences in different technological and scientific fields, including the civilian nuclear technology, to the Egyptian nation.

Trade

• Bahrain's Chamber of Commerce cuts relations with Iran.

 Photos of the Day

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the IRGC’s Imam Hossein University.