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 subscribe to this daily newsletter, please visit this page, fill out the "New Subscribers" section, and check "Iran News Round Up" listed under "Projects." 
 
(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the South Pars oil and gas field.
• News stories related to Ahmadinejad's celebration of Nowruz:
  • The Office of the Supreme Leader stresses that Khamenei has not received any heads of the state participating in Ahmadinejad's Nowruz celebration in Tehran.
  •  Parliamentarian Asadollah Badamchian urges the government to commemorate the martyrs of the popular revolutions in the region rather than celebrating Nowruz in the presence of foreign heads of state.
  • Asr-e Iran's editorial - usually critical of the Ahmadinejad government - lauds the Nowruz celebrations.
• Oxford University investigates the degree it had given to Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Diplomacy

• Bahrain Foreign Minister: "Threats from Iran could increase the level of conflict between Iran and Arab neighbors to any level."
• [E] Iranian lawmakers, worried by recent events in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen, call for emergency conferences to be hosted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the by Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).
• [E] Lebanese foreign minister meets with Iranian counterpart and stresses the strong relations between Tehran and Beirut, and called for the further consolidation of the close ties between the two states. 

Military and Security

• According to "Arab news sources" the protesters in Syria have "arrested members of the Revolutionary Guards."
• [E] Qatar's interior ministry denies media reports that the country has seized two Iranian boats carrying weapons in the Persian Gulf as "inaccurate".
• [E] Iran’s Defense Minister denounces deployment of Saudi forces in Bahrain, warning that the move will have dire consequences for regional stability and security.

Economy

• [E] Iran expresses readiness to enhance economic cooperation with Algeria and participate in the industrial and development projects of the North African state.

Trade

• Austrian OMV denies fuel to Iran Air at Vienna Airport. Iran in the Afghan Media
• Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry says Iran plans to execute 280 of 5,000 Afghan citizens jailed in Iran. 
• Afghan President Hamid Karzai asks Iran’s leaders to support transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces.

Photos of the Day

• Ahmadinejad celebrates Nowruz.