Iran News Round Up

Political

• Mohammad-Sadegh Koushaki, academic, says the Basij has the capacity to function as a political party.

Diplomacy

• Kayhan analyzes "strategy of the United States towards Iran:"
  • "The first paradox is that the Americans are pressuring the [Revolutionary] Guards, but they have not yet understood, or pretend not to know that pressuring an institution like the Guards will strengthen rather than weaken it. For the Guards there is nothing more valuable than being called anti-American..."
  • "The second paradox is that the Americans have made the internet one of the pillars of their new strategy against Iran without having any clear idea of the influence of the internet in Iran...The expectation that the regime can be toppled or the behavior of the regime changed through an instrument which for most people in Iran is a hobby and entertainment is very naive." 
  • "The third paradox is more structural. On the one hand, the Americans say that the aim of the sanctions is not to pressure the Iranian people.... The truth is that the United States has never distinguished between the people and the regime in Iran - with the exception of the propaganda..." 
  • "The American strategy needs time to succeed," "which they do not have!" 
• Hossein Ghannadian, Basij of the Artists chief, says following an Egyptian court deciding to allow production of "a movie insulting His Holiness Imam Khomeini," Iran will produce a movie "documenting the crimes of Hosni Mubarak."
• According to Aftab News Ahmadinejad’s comments about John Bolton’s "liking computer games" has made Ambassador Bolton "more popular among the Iranian youth."
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a meeting with the Netherlands' new Ambassador to Iran C.J. Kole stressed Tehran's willingness to expand bilateral relations with Amsterdam.
• [E] Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called on the world Muslims to take proper measures to soften the "harsh" situation of the Palestinian children.
• [E] Ahmadinejad strongly criticized the United States' performance in providing relief aids for people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  • "While the Americans drop thousands of bombs on civilians in these countries on a daily basis, they avoid humanitarian aid." Ahmadinejad said.
  • "In the US, plans to allocate $50 bln to healthcare for the poor caused a lot of media hype and uproar, while the US military budget for 2010 is over $860 bln, which is eight times more than Iran's total spending budget," did not receive media attention, he added.
  • "The result of this type of governance is either an invasion or the massacre of people," he warned.
• [E] Iranian Minister of Industries and Mines Ali Akbar Mehrabian reiterated that Tehran and La Paz are resolved to develop their bilateral relations in all fields.

Military and Security

• Safavi, former Revolutionary Guards Chief: "The United States has begun pulling the troops out of Iraq but it seems as if it will maintain 50,000 military forces in Iraq and is pursuing a South Korean model for this country and they want to control the oil of this country..."
  • "What happened to the British in the 18th century or the Soviets in the 1980s will most probably be the destiny of the Americans, which is defeat..."
• Intelligence Minister Hojjat al-Eslam Heydar Moslehi: "The Intelligence Ministry is no longer defensive... the ground has been prepared to create an atmosphere and spirit of a more offensive ministry which is a source of happiness and delight...."
• Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshjou says "proof of the enemy attempts at espionage at universities will soon be displayed."
• [E] An Iranian cyber group announced that it has hacked more than 1,000 important governmental websites of the US, Britain and France in protest at their support and financial aids to anti-Iran terrorist groups.
• [E] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has reiterated Tehran's opposition to the acquisition of military nuclear capability, stressing that his country does not need nuclear weapons.
• [E] Ahmadinejad in a meeting with a delegation of the Lebanese Amal Movement reiterated that the rising wave of awareness, vigilance and resistance among the regional nations will eventually force all enemies of the region to accept their defeat and surrender.
• [E] Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has renewed Tehran's preparedness to equip the Lebanese Army with the necessary military tools and weapons.

Nuclear Issue

• Kazem Jalali, parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy committee member, says "Iran is moving towards peaceful nuclearization."
• Salehi, Iran Nuclear Energy Organization director, says Iran has no problem with international inspection of Iranian nuclear installations but adds that Iran is critical of the "unbalanced role" of the IAEA.

Economy

• Fars News reports growth in Tehran Stock Exchange "despite the sanctions."
• Ahmadinejad adviser Mehdi Kalhor says the president approves of the "economic federalism plan of Mr. Mohsen Rezai."
• Abbas Vatanpour, former employees’ representative to the International Labor Organization, says the real rate of unemployment in Iran is 25%.
  • Vatanpour continues "if street vending, military service and studying at universities are jobs, then we do not have unemployment."
• Ezatollah Yousefian-Molla, parliamentary Economics Committee member: "Privatization - as it is defined in the Constitution - has never taken place in this country because profit making industries and companies within the public sector oppose it...."
• Gholam-Reza Kord-e-Zangeneh, former Iran Privatization Organization director, says a special committee—not under the Privatization Organization’s control--evaluates companies engaging in purchase of privatized companies.

Trade

• Khaled al-Abd, representative of Iran-Khodro car manufacturer in Syria, is killed by his son who was angry with the money his father spent on temporary marriages.
• Iran Petrochemicals and a consortium from China finalize negotiations to raise $1 billion for development of the petrochemical industry in Iran.
  • Abd al-Mohammad Delparish, National Iranian Oil Company plan director, says private sector will soon take over all oil-related drilling activities.

• National Natural Gas Company’s Mostafa Kashkouli says Iranian natural gas passing through Pakistan en route to India is "only rational."

Religion, Society and Culture

• Ahmadinejad condemns "wife beating in the Western civilization," says the Islamic model of "presence of women in society" should be a role model for the world.

Photo of the Day

• Ahmadinejad addresses Basij of the Public Servants.