Iran News Round Up

Politics

• Ahmadinejad defends his chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei in dispute with conservatives: "There is an abnormal sensitivity against Mashaei... I fully trust him... If someone has any criticism or believes what he says is wrong, he should invite Mr. Mashaei to speak with him and even debate with him. Why all this row? Some want to change the issues of our enemies, illegal sanctions and enemies at home into secondary issues..."
  • Mashaei has warned he will file a legal complaint against Chief of the General Staff Firouzabadi.
• Ahmadinejad appoints Gholam-Hossein Elham his legal adviser.

Diplomacy

• Kayhan in an article entitled, "Bill Clinton's slave defending the murderers," condemns Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent remarks on human rights abuses in Iran.
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with several senior Syrian officials Wednesday to exchange views over “strategic” ties and regional issues.
• [E] An Iranian lawmaker says that Egypt has yet to issue visas for a Gaza-bound Iranian parliamentary delegation.

Military and Security

• Revolutionary Guards Chief Jafari says the IRGC is "fully prepared to give a crushing answer to anyone unwise enough to attack Iran."
• Revolutionary Guards Navy Chief Fadavi says the Persian Gulf is fully controlled by the Guards.

Trade

·         [E] The recent UN Security Council and unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran will not affect the €18 billion gas contract between the Swiss energy group EGL and the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC).

·         [E] Ankara will respect its €1 billion deal with Iran for the construction of a 660km pipeline to transfer Iran's gas supplies to Europe via Turkey, Turkish Energy Minister said.

·         [E] Turkey's Energy Minister said that Iran and Turkey will continue plans for the joint construction of power plants with a total capacity of 6,000 megawatts.

·         [E] Turkey has paid Iran a $600 million fine for failing to import natural gas at the amount previously agreed between two countries, a Turkish minister says.

Religion, Culture and Society

·         [E] Tehran will host the first International Seminar on English Language Teaching of the Islamic World.

·         [E] The 7^th edition of Iran's International Bismillah Festival has kicked off in Tehran and Isfahan, hosting calligraphy works from 16 countries.

Photos of the Day

·         Revolutionary Guards Navy’s new speed boats.