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 ILNA, Mohsen Rezaei, Expediency Council secretary and former Revolutionary Guards commander, may run for president in 2013.
  • Rezaei refuted the speculation about his candidacy, saying he has not decided to run for president. 
• Kerman Municipality begins the Ayatollah Khamenei Highway project.

Military and Security

• Morteza Heydari, TV anchor, discusses the arrangements prior to his interview with Hezbollah General Secretary Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah:
  • "Q. Did you go alone?"
  • "A. Yes."
  • "Q. Did you carry a camera?"
  • "A. No."
  • "Q. Did they film it?"
  • "A. Yes, the friends in Hezbollah film it themselves."
  • "Q. Why has the Voice and Vision [of the Islamic Republic] has not yet had a comprehensive interview with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah?"
  • "A. I don't know the reason."
  • "Q. Did security issues harm your work?"
  • "A. No, not at all. I was so motivated to interview him that it was very joyful. Apart from this, I thought that the protocol would have been harsher, but they were kind to me and were less restrict, and there may have been other things. A person facing assassination and threats should have been guarded more..."
  • "Q. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has a good command of Persian. Why was the interview not in Persian?"
  • "A. He understands Persian perfectly well, but has natural Arabic accent when he speaks." 
  • "Q. Did you insist on the interview being in Arabic?"
  • "A. I did not insist. I even begged Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to speak Persian. He said I don't mind, but since I may not be able to express myself correctly in Persian, the content of the interview may be difficult, and my command of Persian is not good enough, I prefer to speak Arabic. He also said that it is natural that when I want to speak my heart and mind in another language some of my answers may be incomplete because I do not have the necessary command."
• Colonel Abedin Khorram, West Azerbaijan Revolutionary Guards commander, Colonel Esmail Khalilzadeh, West Azerbaijan 3rd Shohada Division commander, Colonel Khodadad Ebrahimi, Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada intelligence commander, Colonel Majidreza Hassanzadeh, 53 Engineering Corps commander, and Colonel Ezatollah Jafari, Resalat Base Artillery commander, were promoted to brigadiers. Colonel Asgar Karimian, 37th Hazrat-e Abbas brigade commander in Zanjan, and four other Revolutionary Guards commanders in Tehran and Kurdistan were promoted as well.
• Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi, addresses the people in the city of Dibaj:
  • "The Leader is at the same level as the prophets, the infallible and the Guardian Jurist and enjoys the same level of competence... It is a necessity to follow the example of the Leader in the same way that one must follow the example of the Imams..."
• [E] Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi warned the European countries about the revival of the terrorist al-Qaeda group in Southeast Mediterranean region, describing it more dangerous than even atomic weapons.

Nuclear Issue

• Asr-e Iran releases a few passages from the memoirs of Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Rowhani, former nuclear negotiator, documenting Rowhani's last round of negotiations with three European Union foreign ministers. According to this document, in the course of the negotiations, Rowhani stressed that the Islamic Republic would only suspend uranium enrichment for a year and not any longer. 

Economy

• Fars News reports sharp increase in the price of fruit.

Trade

• [E] US exports to Iran grew more than threefold in April 2012 compared with the value of exports in March, the US Census Bureau announced.

Photo of the Day

• Supreme National Security Council secretary Said Jalili and his predecessor Hojjat al-Eslam Hassan Rowhani.