Iran News Round Up

    A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh and Ahmad Majidyar. To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

(E) = Article in English 

Politics

• News stories about the 2013 presidential election:
  • Farda News discusses potential candidates for the 2013 presidential election. The list includes Mohsen Rezaei, Ali Larijani, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, Mohammad-Reza Nahavandian, Mehdi Chamran, Said Jalili, Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, Kamran Baqer Lankarani, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Ali-Akbar Salehi, Mohammad-Reza Aref, Eshaq Jahangiri, hassan Rowhani, Mohammad-Ali Najafi, Ali-Akbar Nateq Nouri, and Ali-Akbar Velayati.
  • According to political commentator and activist Akbar Abdi, Rafsanjani may support Nateq Nouri's bid for presidency.
• Ahmadinejad's office refutes reports that the president used vulgar language against Iranian lawmakers in New York.
  • Nameh News' says  Ahmadinejad’s entourage to New York costs $490,000.

Diplomacy

• Shafaf slams Ahmadinejad's statements concerning negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the United States and quotes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: "The person who speaks of negotiations with America is either politically illiterate, or has not mastered the alphabet of honor."
  • Twenty five parliamentarians warn Ahmadinejad against his "position on the United States."
• The Foreign Ministry warns Iranian citizens against traveling to Canada since "the track record of the Canadian police shows that this country is unwilling or incapable of investigating crimes against Iranians... There are some cases of murder of Iranian citizens... in which the Canadian police have not taken any serious or effective steps to prosecute the murderers... The rise of crime and threats in Canada has always been a source of concern..." Iranian citizens living in Canada are also warned against the Canadian government's support to "anti-Iranian lobbies."

• [E] A senior Iranian foreign ministry official strongly rejected rumors about Tehran's agreement with an overthrow or resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as "sheer lies". 

Military and Security

• Press TV journalist Maya Nasser, who was also Fars News Agency's photographer, was killed in front of the Syrian Joint Command Council building in Damascus. 
• Brigadier General Hossein Salami, Revolutionary Guards deputy: "An Israeli attack is a historical opportunity to totally annihilate it."
• Raja News releases the names of the martyrs of the Saberin unit which has fought against PEJAK terrorists in north western Iran. Link upon request. 

Nuclear Issue

• According to Khabar Online, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, Ambassador to the IAEA, the Islamic Republic has offered to stop 20 percent uranium enrichment in return for removal of sanctions. 

Photos of the Day

• Ahmadinejad in News York.