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

• Hojjat al-Eslam Kazem Sedighi, Tehran temporary Friday prayer leader, comments on Supreme Leader naming the new year the year of "National Production, Support for Iranian Labor and Capital":
  • "The naming by the Supreme Leader's is not symbolic. He knows our problems, predicts the dangers well, and warns. The economic issue, income security, domestic production and the value of Iranian capital must be taken seriously.... Should we not take such problems seriously, our piety will be endangered. On the other hand, we must take unemployment seriously. If the youth are not unemployed, they will no longer [watch] satellite [television]. Therefore, we must consider youth employment a divine duty... The government must address obstacles to domestic production, and the producers must use the capital they receive from banks to produce and not engage in real estate speculation...”
  • "Despite all the problems and the pressure, Iran has managed to make progress in the nuclear issue. Therefore, it can also play a positive role in the economic realm... The government must stop favoritism and solely honor meritocracy. Of course, we are not saying that the government has not done so until now, this is just a recommendation..." 
• Nedaie az Daroun website, close to Ahmadineajd, slams Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, who has criticized Ahmadineajd's praise for the epic poet Ferdowsi during a recent visit to Tajikistan.

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei receives Turkey’s Prime Minister in Mashhad:
  • "Iran is very rich when it comes to oil and gas reserves."
  • "Thanks to the divine benevolence, the regional developments have so far been to the benefit of Islam and Muslims and they will remain so in future."
  • "The most important issue in the sensitive regional circumstances is that the regional states make correct decisions...The Americans do not recognize any nation as independent... This is how Americans treat all countries and, therefore, in decision making one must consider the interests of Islamic states."
  • "The Islamic Republic of Iran is just as content with the presence of Muslim brothers at the helm of power in Turkey, as they [the United States and the West] are unhappy with the circumstances in Turkey."
  • "Iran will defend Syria because of its support to the line of resistance against the Zionist regime, and is against any foreign intervention in internal affairs of Syria... We have always supported reforms in Syria and reforms which have begun in Syria must continue."

• [E] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Tehran and Ankara's joint cooperation to resolve the Syrian problems.

Religion, Society and Culture

• Mohammad-Kazem Rashed Yazdi, professor of ethics at the Theological Seminary of Mashhad:
  • "Islam entered Iran through invasion. Its result was good and blessing for the people, but the attack had no Islamic bearing. And therefore none of the pure Imams [the twelve imams of the Shi'a] participated in those wars... These wars were not jihad, they were harb [war] and none of the Bani-Hashem [household of Prophet Muhammad] was present in these wars... When the Commander of the Faithful [Imam Ali] saw that in those invasions they burned places and artifacts, he sent Imam Hassan to stop those actions."

AEI’s Latest Publication on Iran

• Alfoneh on generational change in IRGC’s Quds Force:
  • “Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC QF) personifies the new generation of IRGC commanders whose careers at Base Ramezan during the 1980s war between Iran and Iraq qualified them to direct QF operations after the 2003 US-led invasion of the country. As Masjedi’s generation is being promoted to advisory positions in Tehran, a new generation of field operatives is emerging. Those seeking to predict who will direct the IRGC QF in the future should therefore look to this nascent generation of field operatives.”

Photos of the Day

• Khamenei receives Turkey’s Prime Minister.