Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Katherine Faley, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To subscribe to this daily newsletter, e-mail [email protected].

(E) = Article in English

Senior cleric calls on Parliament to revise election law; Tabnak slams government’s silence over China’s “suppression” of Muslims; Iran’s police chief implicates Britain in post-election riots; Iran summons German ambassador to protest murder of veiled Egyptian woman in German court; Iranian protestors take to streets despite government warnings

Politics

• Ayatollah Emami Kashani, a member of the Assembly of Experts and the temporary leader of Tehran Friday Prayer, criticizes Mousavi's allegations against the Islamic Republic authorities: "What is fundamental in an Islamic society is ethics. Economic and political issues come second. Using ugly names and inappropriate words against others disturbs the society. Who knows who will be exalted in the court of God and how can one claim ‘I am better' or 'my followers are better than their followers'?...History has demonstrated that the enemy is opportunistic, uses any opportunity for its ends, and uses a few hypocrites [ed. reference to the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization] to incite internal strife within the nation. One must know the enemy very well. Here, the need for the leadership is important...He said one must know friends and foes. “It is not the 40 million people who are the enemy. The enemy is someone who has received money from America and Britain to start the mayhem. It is very important that the people know how they can advance their cause without allowing enemy’s influence...When Mr. Mousavi was the Prime Minister and people from the provinces sought his advice about elections, I used to explain the issues to him [ed. Mousavi]. I am urging the legislative power, the Parliament to learn from this experience [ed. of the post-election unrest]. Do your utmost to bring changes to the law so as to avoid similar problems in future. It is common in all over the world that some win and some lose. But usually they [ed. those losing the election] will not follow up on it. Some issues have legal and ethical aspects and one can solve them..."
• (E) Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani recognized flaws in Iran’s presidential election law and called for reforms, stating: “The Parliament should rectify the election code of conduct in whatever way it deems necessary.”

Diplomacy

• Tabnak News Agency deplores the Islamic Republic’s silent diplomacy towards suppression of Muslims in Western China. The article wonders whether the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy is based upon "values" or "national interest". Is there any difference between Israel's oppression of Muslims in Gaza and that of the Chinese government against Muslims, it asks. Why does the Islamic Republic vehemently protest against the Israeli abuse of Muslims, but remain silent when the oppressors are Chinese, it complains.
• Tabnak News Agency runs a backgrounder about Islam in Western China.
• (E) Iranian Police Chief Ahmadi-Moqaddam said on Thursday: “The role that the British embassy and the BBC have played [in Iran’s post-election riots] is too obvious to be denied.”
• (E) In addition to summoning Italian Ambassador Bradanini, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the “suppressive actions” of Italian police during anti-G8 protests as “clear breaches of civil freedoms and fundamentals of democracy."
• (E) The violent murder of a veiled Egyptian woman in Germany has prompted Iran to summon German Ambassador Honsowitz.
• (E) Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon summoned an Iranian official, explaining that "Canada is gravely concerned about the continuing detention of Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari."
•  (E) President Obama and Prime Minister Brown “expressed solidarity on Iran, where both leaders were clear that the detention of embassy staff by the Iranian authorities was unacceptable.”

Trade

• Iran’s Embassy in Jakarta, brushes aside worries about the six-year delay in completion of a co-financed oil refinery in Indonesia.

Military and Security

• Press TV claims that student demonstrations around Tehran University Campus on Thursday involved "several hundreds of students" commemorating the 1999 student uprising. The agency adds that there was a "heavy presence of security forces" in the area. Tabnak News Agency quotes eyewitnesses as claiming the demonstrations to be larger, covering Enghelab [Revolution] Square, and Jamalzadeh Avenue to Vali-ye Asr Square. Tabnak also adds that the riot police raided the Golshan Student Dormitory Complex, vandalized the dormitory reading room, the bath facilities, the mosque and various floors of the dormitory, and used tear gas against the students.
• Authorities claim Amir Kabir student dormitory is calm.
• Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee to meet Ahmadinejad.
• Law Enforcement Forces Chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam says two-thirds of the 1,032 individuals imprisoned after the elections have been released. Ahmadi-Moghaddam adds that the remaining prisoners are handed over to the Judiciary. Ahmadi-Moghaddam also makes accusations against Great Britain: "The British involvement in the recent unrest in our country is definite and clear. Their involvement, either through their embassy or the BBC… is so clear that it can't be denied..."
• Journalist Abbas Abdi says imprisoned Said Hajjarian is in good health and condition.

Nuclear Issue

• (E) Prime Minister Brown stated: “If there is an international agreement that requires all countries to be open with the rest of the world then Iran would have to prove to us that it did not have nuclear weapons, rather than us to prove they were developing nuclear weapons.”

Iran in the Afghan Media

• [E] Afghan court convicts Iranian citizen on drug charges.
• Afghan officials have voiced concern about the country’s waters flowing out to neighboring countries, especially Iran. In a meeting in Kabul, the officials sought the international community’s help to channel the water within the country, especially to the drought-hit areas. Afghan Vice President Ahmad Zia Masoud said nearly 50 percent of Afghanistan’s irrigation system is in ruins and requires immediate reconstruction. According to the Afghan Ministry of Water and Power, Afghanistan has more than 120 billion cubic meters of water, of which 80 percent could be used for agricultural purposes inside the country. A great portion of the Helmand River in Afghanistan’s southwest flows into Iran.

Photo of the Day

• Memorial service for Mrs. Khadije Saqafi, the deceased wife of the founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini.