Iran News Round Up

 Politics

• Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressing Hajj Pilgrimage Organization employees comments on the $3 billion embezzlement:
  • "For some years it was said many times that we should not allow corruption to grow its roots, since as the time passes, uprooting it would be very difficult and it will also take the hope away from sincere... investors, but unfortunately it was not listened to... Of course, there are some who want to use this issue to question the authorities at a time the authorities in the cabinet, the parliament and Judiciary are living up to their responsibilities... The media should not create more mayhem about this issue, but should allow the authorities to pursue and investigate the issues in a forceful, managerial and precise way... The people should know that the authorities will investigate this issue to the very and will severe the treacherous hands."
  • Hojjat al-Eslam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, Chief Inspectorate head, says his organization has many new legal cases in the embezzlement case.
  • Fazel Mousavi, parliamentarian, urges the Judiciary to intervene in the embezzlement affair.
• Hojjat al-Eslam Mojtaba Zolnour, former representative of the Supreme Leader to the Revolutionary Guards and current parliamentary candidate, attacks "the current of deviation" within the Ahmadinejad cabinet.
• According to Mahramaneh News, opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi is severely ill and has been hospitalized for more than two weeks.
• Parsineh releases a very rare interview with the wife of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about her personal life with the ayatollah.

Military and Security

• Abdollah Eraqi, Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces deputy, says PEJAK has "capitulated" to Iran.
• Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari appoints Amir Rastegari Navy Coordination commander, Hossein Azad 1st Operational Zone commander chief, Abbasi 1st Operational Zone commander deputy, Zamini Navy technical commander and Saidi Navy factories commander.
• Mohammad-Karim Abedi, parliamentary National Security Committee member, on Iran-Russia relations: "First of all, we are not interested in being military allies of Russia and military unity with Russia is not on our agenda. Second, our country is not in need of being in a military alliance with any country, since the military strategy of the Islamic Republic is not offensive, but defensive and our country will never be considered as a threat to other states... Strategic unity is an issue different than a military alliance and it is better that the Russians take steps to achieve strategic unity with the Islamic Republic, since Iran is a neighbor of Russia and the regional interests of the two countries are tied to each other. When a threat emerges in the region, it is directed against both countries..."

Trade

• According to Ramezan Tahmasbi, Mazandaran Water director, Chinese companies will build the Haraz dam near Amol.
• ISNA reports on delayed development of the Azar oil field due to lack of foreign interest.

Photo of the Day

• Said Jalili, Supreme National Security Council secretary, receives Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal.